Disclaimers and Notes: Good Gad, you get it by now!
Sorry this took so long, AGAIN. It's getting hard to make everything come out the right way, you know? This fic is going to be "high paced" again, things are going to go FAST. In fact, this fic might be brought to a close within maybe 3-4 chapters, plus epilogue, or maybe LESS!
I actually have a beta now, Giesbrecht, and she's really good at what she does. What I would do without her! T__T I would drown in my own bad grammar!
Though this chapter in the end was a crash course, little bits will be correct in due time, I just felt I NEEDED to get it out as soon as possible. Please forgive me.
Hold tight and enjoy the ride!
Geuna~
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Author: Lady Geuna
Official Editor: Giesbrecht
This Chapter Rated: PG
Summary: You should know by now. ^__~
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"..." - speech
'....' - thoughts
/..../ - with italics means a part of a flashback.
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Pranks, Plots and Planning: Part 2
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"It's practically useless to question Dumbledore's ways, my lads, as peculiar as they might be. And knowing him, he probably knew exactly what [The Marauder's Map] was and what it does."
"So, who would you consider suspects, besides myself?"
Sirius held out a silencing hand, hissing, "Shh!" sharply. He whispered, "Someone is here with us..."
~ Sirius Black, Fanfiction "Charmed Curses", Pranks, Plot and Planning: Part 1, by Lady Geuna
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The two silhouettes stepped forward out of the shadows.
"Good evening. Harry. Ron. Mr. Potter. Mr. Black..."
It took a moment to take in the features of the two figures, who were hard to make out in the shadows, the faint moonlight just barely able to show their red hair…
Oh, that was all that was needed to figure it out.
Fred and George Weasley.
This certainly did take a moment to sink in.
Harry pointed to them, feeling both shocked and stupid for having not completely suspecting them from the very start. "You?" Whether this was a simple exclamation or an accusation; Harry wasn't sure. He was so confused... It couldn't be them, it just couldn't! But the pieces seemed to fit.
Fred and George nodded, each saying, "Harry/Ron" at the same time, then together they both said, "Mr. Black/Mr. Potter," again nodding their heads in greeting, appearing rather calm and cool, considering. Each wore robes over their nightclothes, the same dark red plaid, and Muggle trainers adorned their feet. Both looked almost... pleased with themselves.
This wasn't good at all, depending on what they had planned. Depending on if their suspicions were corrected after all, and by the looks of it...
So it was them after all!?
"It was YOU," Ron suddenly cried out through the thick silence that had settled upon them, looking positively horrified. "You're the Pranksters!? Mum is going to kill you!"
Fred and George blinked once, grimacing no doubt at the image of their mother's undying wrath. "What the bloody hell are you thinking of," Fred snapped. "And from our brother, no less," he added crossly to George, then turned back to Ron. "Thought at least you would have enough sense."
"Really," George agreed, then to Ron he said dryly, "Proved us wrong! And who are you to yell at us for sneaking about-here you are doing just the same! Twit. And Harry, mate, thought you knew us better than that."
Harry, unprepared, decided to raise his own protests. "Now just wait a minute!"
"You're the ones sneaking up on us," Ron shot back, taking an almighty step forward, trying to appear brave and confident before his older brothers, the criminals. And he did a fairly good job, considering he was livid to begin with."What other reason would you be here, spying on us like this, you stupid, nosy—!"
"We have every reason," Fred said bitingly.
George added, "And one way or another, this is completely our business, too. In fact, it's probably more our business than yours, and none of you have the right to keep us out of the loop!"
'What "loop"...?' Harry sighed, rubbing his fingers under his glasses. Was this an interrogation or a family brawl? The three Weasley's looked as though they were about to pounce on each other at once. "Well, we can tell you that we're not the ones responsible, either!"
"Well we're certainly not," Fred and George retorted.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Sirius and James stared at them blankly, their wands now reluctantly lowered. They both frowned deeply as the four teenagers continued to bicker amongst themselves. The twins weren't armed, that or at least they didn't appear to be, and while James felt confident that the two brothers wouldn't try anything, Sirius had inconspicuously declined to return his wand to the folds of his robes, ready to use it in a moment's notice. From Sirius' experience, never assume anyone is unarmed, nor incapable of harming others…
"Actually," James said quietly to Sirius, "this really isn't the way to solve anything..." Arthur always said that in the face of an argument, make them talk it out, or don't talk at all. Yelling surely didn't help, much less name-calling (which slowly became more vicious and even childish amongst the four).
"I don't know, James," Sirius muttered back, "I mean, surely they can settle it like men. No wands. No aiming for the eyes and such. Just pure fists—"
"Oh shut-up, you bloody fool," James said flatly. "Stop being such a prat and be practical. Please?"
Sirius just shrugged, smirking.
James spoke up, getting the boys' attention, "Now hang on just a minute! It's one person's word against another's and unless someone has a few vials of Truth Potion on them, I doubt very much that we can say who's lying and who's not."
They stayed silent, since he did have a point...
Encouraged by the silence, James continued slowly. "In that case, Fred, George... tell us exactly why you're here, and we'll tell you exactly why we're here."
Fred and George nodded in agreement. After all, they respected the man whowas becoming a good friend to their father. But although they agreed, the two sharing a quick glance out of the corners of their eyes, nodding in what seemed like a silent agreement, then said flatly, "You first."
Harry decided to speak up first. "Well, first of all, I-we know this looks..." He trailed off a tad uncertainly.
"Suspicious," Fred offered lightly under his breath, just loud enough to hear, and sounding somewhat condescending. James didn't like this tone directed toward his son at all.
".... er, yes... But Sirius had been wandering about because we'd sent him a letter, you see, asking him about the Marauder's Map." James and Sirius both gave him a quick, curious glance to this but Harry continued. "We were going to see if he'd seen or knew anything, or if he was actually the one... er..."
James watched his son intently, silently encouraging him, knowing that doing so verbally would probably embarrass him terribly. Perhaps this was harder to explain than his son thought. From what James understood, they weren't really sure as to what they were doing to begin with, they didn't have a plan. But at least they should tell the Weasley boys as much as they could allow...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
But Harry continued, "We figured the Prankster must know about it--the map, I mean--so we were trying to think of all the people who know something about it. You guys, me, Ron, Sirius, my dad—"
"Wait," Fred muttered, pointing between James and Sirius, "they know about the map...? Since when?" Suspicion was clearly evident in his tone...
"Previous owners," Sirius said flatly, then soundly cleared his throat, which clearly meant 'end of story, no questions.'
"Now it's your turn," Ron said quickly, perhaps trying to bring attention away from the map. "What are you two doing here. Why are you here!? We thought you were-"
"The Prankster," Fred finished dryly. "Pffh. How insulting..."
"He has no class, whoever he is," George agreed. "Too blunt, vicious-"
"Sadistic, loony...."
"Indeed. And besides, you really do need to keep your conversations a bit more private, Harry, Ron. The way you two were going on in the halls we thought you were up to something."
"And Ron, you call yourself our brother? You should know by now we always keep and eye and ear out for everything. Especially family."
James' brow furrowed at this statement. 'What sort of family are the Weasley's...?'
Ron, however, snorted at this comment, looking disbelieving with his arms crossed over his chest. "So what exactly have you heard, hm?"
Fred shrugged. "That you've been secretly housing a would-be killer in the school (George: "But he's not, of course."), and 've secretly been meeting up with him as that big black… "thing" (George: "Animagus, right?") everyone's been seeing around here. It was truly conspicuously-inconspicuous."
Ron looked as though he wanted to kick himself.
"Oh yeah..." George reached into his pocket and took out a small piece of paper. It was the note Sirius had written to Harry or Ron earlier. "And you dropped your little 'invite' on the floor."
While Harry cursed his own carelessness and Ron grew even more annoyed at his brothers' nosiness, Sirius finally decided to get in on the conversation. "And what do you intend to do now that you know about me," he asked slowly, with an edge of malice in his tone. It even made James look at him warily, as he was not used to the usually charming and bold Sirius Black being so... so dark and fierce. So cold. "Do you intend on going to the headmaster? Because I assure you, Dumbledore won't be of any help to you..."
To this Fred and George looked positively insulted.
"Who do you people think we are?" George asked. "Honestly!"
Fred nodded. "We want in!"
Sirius frowned incredulously. "'In'? Boys, this isn't a game."
James agreed entirely. "If it was up to me I wouldn't let my son get into any of this."He didn't seem to note Harry, who looked a little frustrated with that comment.
"We know all that," Fred said seriously. "We've known it perfectly well since everyone started dragging our names through the mud 'round this bloody school."
"We're nobody's scapegoats," George agreed with the same serious tone, punching a fist into his palm as though to punctuate their own determination. "And no one hurts a Weasley! Our family could get hurt through all this, too, and we can't just stand back and let it happen without batting an eye!"
"You seem to think we have a plan of action," Ron muttered, scratching the back of his head and looking up toward the moonlight still pouring in through the high windows. "We have no clue of what to do..."
"And honesty," Harry said carefully, "we have no idea if you're telling the truth..."
"You're in that same boat, now aren't you," Fred retorted in just the same way, both he and George looking just as serious (and cold...?) about this subject as they had been with regarding the incident with Ludo Bagman the year before. "Now, what do you think we should do about that?"
"Nothing to do," Sirius said impatiently. "But I say that you shouldn't get involved anyway."
"What!?" Fred and George exclaimed. "You have no right!"
"That isn't really fair," James muttered as well, much to Sirius' obvious disapproval, which he sounded with an annoyed grunt. No one could ever say Sirius Black was an easy man when it came to proving him wrong about something.
Harry nodded, rubbing the back on head neck, sighing. "They do have a right, don't they?"
"A little bit," Ron muttered. The thought of his brothers being a part of this was fair, but still really annoying. "But they're only sure to get us all in more trouble if we're found out!" He of course ignored the fact that Dumbledore would probably not only allow them to get away with their little secret detective mission but encourage it as well.
George scoffed. "No more trouble than he's already gotten himself into." He gestured toward Sirius. "Half the school knows he's here already, or at least knows about the dog… and it's only a matter of time before people start figuring it out! We did, after all."
Sirius didn't seem to appreciate the boy's tone at all. The look in his eyes even made Harry shiver a little. "Respect your elders," he growled.
"Hey," Fred countered, "we've got reason not to like you, sir ("With all due respect, of course!"). And now that we've finally met you, you can explain yourself."
Sirius raised an eyebrow, more curious than confused, "Explain myself?" What were those two on about?
"What're you gettin' at, swishing a knife about at our little brother!"
Ron groaned in embarrassment, his face in his hands when Fred said "little brother." Harry look positively miffed, mumbling something about not remembering any of the elder Weasley's referring to Ron as "little brother" at any time, ever.
"That sort of act against a fellow Weasley can get a bloke killed, it will," George continued, not really in a threatening tone, but "matter-of fact."
"Literally," Fred said seriously. "That is of course if mum ever got there first."
"Terribly protective, that woman."
"You would thereby forfeit any body part of her choice if she knew about all that. Think dad may've kept a few details to himself... Intercepted a few owls..."
"To prevent her from exploding," George explained helpfully to the somewhat lost James Potter. "That, or she simply handled it very well, which doesn't make sense at all... Given what we've known of her all our lives."
"You have got to be totally off your rockers," Ron groaned, using all his willpower just to not turn beet red. "It wasn't me he was after at all!"
Harry was starting to feel just as annoyed as Ron. "What does this have to do with anything?"
"They're idiots, Harry, that's what…"
James was staring at Sirius. "You went after the boy with a knife?"
"It's wasn't him," Sirius protested.
"Hah-yeah right," Fred said, rolling his eyes. "Then who was he after, huh? That stupid fat yellow rat?"
"Rat?"
"I'll explain later, Pro-"
"Shhhh! Someone's coming!"
Echoing voices and the thuds of hard footsteps could be heard from the stairwell...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"N-n-n-n-no, Mr. Filch," Mr. Weasley persisted as he followed the caretaker up to the Owlery, speaking as loudly as possible, hoping the sound would carry to the top of the stairs, give them enough time to do something... "There isn't anyone up here, I'm sure of it!"
Mr. Filch simply grunted, ascending the stairwell at a good pace, Mrs. Norris swiftly moving ahead with ease, her skeletal form disappearing into the darkness ahead of Filch's lamp-light, leaving only the faint sound of yawing to make herself known.
Filch was sure he's gotten something now, Mr. Weasley was just sure of it. And despite his rapid protests and assurances that the culprit(s) couldn't possibly be anywhere near there, Filch had put all his trust in that bloody cat of his, and the feline's obviously impeccable sense of hearing.
Dratted beast.
At they neared the top Mr. Weasley lost all hope, dreading them the lot would be found out. He'd kept Filch away as long as he could. But they were here, the door to the Owlery flung open, and—
He didn't really look directly into the room himself at first, but instead watched Filch carefully for the man's reaction, the glee that was bound to show on his face. But on his face Mr. Weasley saw no glee, no sadistic satisfaction, but he looked rather... crushed.
Mr. Weasley's then turned to gaze around the room himself. The moonlight shone into the room, and owls could be seen sleeping, their heads tucked under their wings.
No one...
No one there! No one there at all, the room was empty! Mr. Weasley had to keep himself from laughing out loud, but that was hardly the thing to do if he didn't want to seem conspicuous. Had they all left early!? They must have! They weren't here now, that was for sure!
"Ah! See, no one here at all!"
Filch sneered. "There was someone 'ere not long ago," he growled, his eyes flashing dangerously has he moves the lamplight over the door. "The straw's been disturbed..."
Indeed it had. It looked as though a number of people had been walking through it, straw piled in off places, indicating footsteps or someone shuffling their feet.
It was then that Mrs. Norris let out a rather annoying growling noise, one that instantly caught their attention. Mrs. Norris stood before an empty wall, red eyes narrowed in a calculating fashion.
There was nothing there...
"They must've been here not long ago," Filch said, more to himself than to Mr. Weasley. "That's what she's smellin', I'm sure of it." And without giving Mr. Weasley a chance to comment he turned on his heels and strode back out toward the doorway.
Mr. Weasley followed, though not before sending one last curious glance toward the empty wall, then Mrs. Norris.
It was some time after he left that Mrs. Norris decided to follow them once more, and Mr. Weasley could've sworn the cat seemed disappointed...
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"Are they gone?"
"Quiet, Ron!"
"Bloody bugger, you'll get us in trouble!"
"Pfff, you two are just angry I suspected you!"
"Damn right!"
"Ha! Then what about Harry, eh?" (Harry: "Oi…") "He suspected you, too, and you don't say anything 'bout him!"
"You're family."
"It's our right and duty."
"BOYS. If you don't shut-up now I swear I'll—"
"Sirius, do calm down." James raised the Invisibility Cloak up over their heads, glancing around. "I do believe they've left us…" He smirked over to Ron, Fred and George. "You know, your dad is quite good at that…"
Fred grinned. "Of course!"
George. "And we're so proud."
Ron snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Maybe we need to get back to our rooms," Harry suggested. After all, they could all just go together. James' room was down the hall from the Gryffindor portrait hole, and Sirius could stay with him for the night.
Harry sighed…. One more thing to explain to Lupin… What would he think if Sirius didn't return for the night? Would he be worried for his safety…? Or that he's been found out? Of hurt that he was suspected, guilty or not?
Maybe in the end Harry didn't want to know who the real Prankster was at all.
Fred's muttered exclamation of, "Ah, bugger," drew Harry's attention. Both Fred and George inspecting his (James'?) cloak closely with the scrutiny of professional art critics. "You need to take better care of your cloaks, Harry. Especially something as expensive as this." The was note of longing when he said the word 'expensive.' "Look, it's all torn at the end."
"What?" Harry grabbed for the end the two were looking at, eyes widening.
One whole edge of the cloak… It looked like the hem had been scraped open, hair-like threads sticking out, some areas looking for tattered than others…
Harry's face turned bright red, because he could feel his father coming up next to him to looks as well… What had he done? When did it happened? Even so, was he supposed to say something? Apologize? "Er, I-I…" He jumped when James' hand came down heavily on his shoulder, and Harry could feel his stomach sink for a moment, until he saw the smile on his dad's face.
"I've used this cloak for years, Harry, and I can't say it's never come out unscathed."
Sirius snorted. "Hasn't it…"
"And half the time it was Sirius' idiocy—" He ignored the cross look Sirius gave him and the snickering that came from the twins.
That didn't make him feel much better… "I don't remember when that happened," Harry muttered, a bit disappointed in himself for ruining his father's precious cloak. He seriously couldn't remember when it happened. Why hadn't he noticed!?
"Don't worry about it for now," James insisted with some note of urgency. "I know a few spells we can use later, but for now we need to get out of here. If Filch is anything like he was years ago, he'll come back at least a dozen times tonight just to double-check if he's missed anything."
Sirius nodded in agreement. "Still the obsessive old goat he always was, I'd wager."
With that, the twins again snickered, Harry and Ron smiled, and all six of them disappeared once more under the damaged cloak and headed off…
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Putting together the clues, putting together the clues.
Have to end my stay here soon, can't stay here anymore, no, no, no…
Just a little longer, then I say bye-bye…
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The following day…
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
It had been particularly uneventful at Hogwarts…
Oddly enough, even by the late evening, the Prankster hadn't struck…
For those who were actually keep close track, this was very odd, since the Prankster always did something everyday since it all started weeks before…
Harry, Ron, Sirius and James weren't missed the night before, though James never came to eat breakfast. Harry and Ron seem unusually exhausted, which Seamus, Dean and --surprising-- Hermione noticed.
And now, somewhere in Hogwarts, Harry was dreaming…
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A cold room, a fireplace, an armchair, men clothed in black…
Harry wasn't sure where he was. Everything was hazy. On some level he was aware that he was dreaming. Harry was also aware the he'd dreamed of a similar place before. He felt certain that he should be able to remember. But no amount of certainty would help him…
"Lucius," a voice hissed from the plush green armchair, which was turned at an angle, and Harry couldn't see who was sitting there.
As though on cue, the men standing around the room turned and left single file through the door, some more hastily than others, though trying not to be too obvious.
Once they were all gone, the Dark Lord spoke again. "You're late… Very late. It's been over a week, has it not?" The voice spoke slowly, not intentionally try to sound dangerous or intimidating but giving that impression nevertheless. "You were to report to me the instant you left the borders of Hogwarts." A gray, sickly looking hand came into view, gripping the chair arm with inhuman force, until Harry could unmistakably hear the wood groan in protest. "Were my orders so obscure?"
Though Harry couldn't find himself doing anything but watch, and his mind at the moment as only capable of registering mere fragments of rational thought, he was somehow aware that no matter what answer Mr. Malfoy gave, it was probably not good enough.
He knew what Voldemort was thinking, or at least he could feel it. He knew... that Wormtail has been a bundle of nerves for the past few days since James Potter reappeared… How Wormtail was sent from his master's sight because he couldn't stop seeing James Potter or Sirius Black around every corner….
And Harry was also vaguely aware that perhaps he should be scarred out of his wits at that moment…
Mr. Malfoy shivered, eyes on the carpet, groveling on the floor with both knees and palms laying flat to support himself. "I-I was very busy, my Lord, but—"
"With what, Lucius?"
Mr. Malfoy shivered each time Voldemort said his name aloud. "The Ministry… There were loose ends to tie up… I came here before, but you weren't here, my Lord, and stuck in a committee the rest of the time. I couldn't… I… I made sure you were sent the file reports, all the information so that-"
"Are you saying these other affairs were more important than your obligations to me?"
"No, my Lord!"
There was a moment of pause, and Voldemort seemed to change the subject in a slightly different direction. "And what of Severus?"
Lucius' trembling seemed to go down to a minimum, and said solemnly, "He is loyal, my Lord…"
Voldemort's grip in the chair arm seemed to slacken. "Good. Very good. Then may his recovery be a smooth one. And what of the Potters?" Surprisingly, there was a note of amusement in his voice. "Is the report accurate?"
"Yes, my Lord…" Mr. Malfoy looked confused now. Baffled as to why he wasn't being berated or tortured within an inch of his life… That his master seemed very, very pleased about something, while he had all the reason to be foaming with rage. "My Lord?"
"Hm?"
"Forgive me, but you seem…" He paused as if deciding to pre-phrase, delicately rephrasing with a simple question. "May I ask what has put you in such a pleasant mood?"
Voldemort was grinning now, Harry could feel it. And by the way Mr. Malfoy's face twitched, it was probably the most grotesque sight. "Oh, Lucius… Are you so unfamiliar with Dementors…? We may just have another in the 'family'…"
At this, Mr. Malfoy's eyes widened considerably.
Harry was completely and utterly confused….
"My Lord… Can it be true? James Potter has been…" He looked mystified for a moment, before a particularly villainous grin spread across his own lips. "That would explain everything," he whispered almost to himself. "This whole time, my lord? I thought those stories to be myths. Fictions. But if you say they are true, I believe them as well. Can you be sure?"
"One can be very sure," Voldemort chuckled, which sounded like a low hiss, the armchair squeaking as he adjusted his position. "It's only a matter or time, however… James Potter hasn't yet escaped the fate I've set for him."
Voldemort laughed, a horrible, spitting sound that didn't seem natural in the slightest. And at that moment, Harry felt an odd thrill of terror, one that he knew he should have felt a while ago when the dream began. His heart began pounding, he could feel it, wherever his real body was at that moment, his chest was tightening painfully. Like he was falling.
But he didn't wake.
He was becoming less and less aware of anything other than that turned armchair. The firelight seemed duller, Mr. Malfoy's kneeling form now undefined. Harry couldn't focus on the man even if he tried, Mr. Malfoy's now distant voice echoed in Harry's mind.
"What is it, my L—?"
He was cut off as his master suddenly stood, the armchair slipping back from the force, the floor rug becoming wrinkled as it caught under the chair-legs, just barely preventing it from toppling over on its back. Harry's chest tightened even more --to a point that he was feeling ill-- as he could now see the head of a gray, misshapen skull, billowing black cloaks… The face angled upward, the sound hissing, of rapid intakes of breath, as if he were smelling the air...
Mr. Malfoy's blurry form nearly fell over, his hand reaching into his robes as through trying to get out his wand. His voice showed that he was highly frightened, trying find what his master was looking for, but of course he wouldn't. "My Lord!? What is it!?"
Then Voldemort turned, coming around the chair gracefully, swiftly, blood-red eyes scanning across the room in a almost mechanical fashion. As soon as they landed on where Harry "stood", they halted, narrowing as he bared his teeth viciously…
He saw him…. VOLDEMORT SAW HIM!
'WAKE UP!' he yelled to himself, terrified. He should be waking, why was he still asleep!?
With an enraged hiss, Voldemort took a stride forward…. Another…
'WAKE UP, HARRY!'
Voldemort grinned fierily, and this time Harry could see it for himself. It was worse than he'd imagined. It nearly distracted him from the equally grotesque, clawed fingers that reached for him-
"Hey, HARRY!"
Harry jumped in his seat, taking in a sharp breath, eyes wide behind his glasses, which had been painfully digging into his skin as he had slept with his face in his folded arms.
He was sitting at a table in the library… He and Ron had gone there to read up on their projects again, and… he must've fallen asleep… Ron was giving him a odd look, as were a few other students nearby. A couple Slytherin who had glanced up from a few tables away were sniggered at him, most likely after one of them had pointed him out.
But no wonder. Even if they were always looking for a good reason to laugh at someone, Harry must look ridiculous, his eyes squinted because the light, his hair plastered unattractively to his forehead, tie scrunched up and crooked. He hastily moved to fix it, muttering to himself.
The dream…
He remembered the dream, and it gave him a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. The tight feeling in his stomach had yet to leave, making his nauseous.
Ron glared over at the Slytherins for a moment before turning back to Harry, patting him on the back. The Slytherins in turn went back to their business, already losing interest. "You all right, Harry? Sorry about that, I just poked you in the shoulder... didn't think it'd give you such a fright."
"How long have I been asleep?" Harry croaked, avoiding Ron's question for the moment. He rubbed his face with the sleeves of his robe, yawning. For some reason he felt really in need of a drink of water…
"Nearly an hour," Ron replied. "Nodded off soon after we got here." He yawned himself, his hand quickly coming up to cover his mouth. "We didn't get much sleep last night, so don't worry 'bout it. Why don't we just go back to the tower, eh?"
Harry nodded, picking up his school bag. Ron shuffled all his notes together, leaving the books there on the table, though tucking one (which he'd checked out a while ago) under his arm.
Harry would need to talk to Dumbledore about this as soon as he could… About Mr. Malfoy. About Snape.
And most certainly about his dad…
The evening wasn't going the way they had hoped.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
After sleeping in for a bit, James and Sirius awoke with the pure intent of visiting Filch. They hadn't thought to do it before, but now it seemed like a good idea…
***Flashback***
"Is this everything?" James asked. Not an unreasonable question, not in the least, but Filch didn't seem to think that way, looking rather annoyed…
Filch nodded. "Everythin'. Not much in the end, though."
James stood with his "dog" in Filch's office, where Filch had a drawer designated for all the "evidence" he had form the pranks… There wasn't much other than a few food samples, a bit of silver dust, and a few other odds and ends that were of no use at all in finding the one (or those) responsible.
"You have nothing else?"
Filch grunted, shrugging. "'And some other things… Dumbledore took a few, an' McGonagall. But somethin' else 's missin', 'm sure of it…" He sneered. "Probably that dratted kid 'imself…"
***End Flashback***
From what Filch had told them, all the people who had gone to look over this evidence, as little as there apparently was, were Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, and Remus…
Remus had been doing a few things behind their backs, it would seem.
That's who they were going to find now.
This didn't sit well with James at all as he and Sirius (in his human form) walked along the halls. Sirius had been getting less and less cautious about running into a student. For him, it just meant that his trial would come sooner than he expected. James told him that he was just trying to be daring, as though he wanted to be found out.
Sirius, of course, would say that he'd grown out of that sort of thing.
But James strongly believed in the phrase "old habits die hard"...
James sighed, looking around quickly to see if anyone was about... But the halls were silent and empty. "We've been talking to Remus everyday this whole time..."
"... and he never mentioned it once," Sirius finished, frowning.
"No, he didn't."
"You know," he said carefully, "the last thing I want to do is doubt him, but—"
"Then we do what we didn't do before."
Sirius looked to James questioningly. "What?"
James smirked. "We talk to him. We ask him. We owe him that much. And I don't think Remus is going behind our backs at all, or at least not in the way we think." When Sirius looked to his questioningly, he explained, "I think he's conducting his own investigation."
"Why," Sirius persisted. "Why in secret?"
"Aren't we?"
Sirius didn't reply…
James finally came to a stop at a classroom door, and still, no one was around. "Is this it?" Sirius nodded, while James immediately picked up on something peculiar.
He didn't hear voices, of students or Remus, or any noise at all. Only complete silence. They did find, however, a note pined to the door.
Afternoon classes to be canceled for the day. Have a nice evening.
Professor R.
J. Lupin ~
James and Sirius both gave each other a curious
look. "Never in my life," James said, "in all my year
going to this school, have I ever known a professor to cancel
class..." Sirius gave a sort of chuckle in response, then James
lifted his hand and rapped on the door three times.
A voice could be heard from within, "Classes canceled, please come back tomorrow during my office hours, thank you!"
Again, James and Sirius glanced at each other; then Sirius pushed ahead, letting the door swing wide open without a knock, call or prior warning.
Remus sat at his desk, body bent over his work as he almost feverishly scribbled with his quill, pausing every moment or so to reload it with ink, shuffle papers around or read. He looked to be very absorbed in grading rolls of parchment.
Remus let out a heaving sigh, then spoke without looking up, drawling as though someone had walked in on him a few time already, "I dare to repeat myself, but I'm..." He trailed off as he finally looked up, eyes widening. "Oh... James, Sirius.... you didn't come back to the room last night." His words were spoken very clearly, calmly, even casually.
"I was out," Sirius said, as though to state the obvious. "I had to stay in James' room."
Remus gave him a very disbelieving look, raising an eyebrow . "Oh? And what were you out doing last night, pray tell?"
Might was well get down to it... "Remus," James began, pausing, ".... Moony... Filch tells us you looked at some evidence recently... From the pranks?"
"Yes?" He had gone back to writing, perhaps in an attempt to avoid their gaze... Or maybe to avoid only Sirius' eyes. James didn't like looking into his eyes for long, it would give him a horrible chill.
"Some of it went missing," James went on, watching his older friend carefully for a reaction. "I also heard that Dumbledore put the Map in your keeping. Some time ago, in fact."
Remus' quill halted… He looked up, frowning as though to say he didn't like where this is going... "If you have any accusations to make, James, please do get on with it. Save me the time. I do have quite a few papers to grade, and I'm falling behind from where Dorrey left off. And Sirius, please stop scowling at me like that, it's terribly annoying."
Sirius blinked, his face going slack as though he hadn't realized he was making a face at all.
James did a double take. Were they that obvious? "We're not here to accuse you, Moony, we're just-"
"What?" Remus asked defensively. "You were what, James? Dropping little hints? Don't think I'm blind to what's going on..." He trailed off, but his face softened... Remus took a deep breath and continued again, "Forgive me... Yes... Yes, you have the right to ask me... I was going to tell you about last night—"
Sirius cut in, "Last night?"
"But," Remus began again, with an air of undying patience, though sending Sirius a warning look, "I also have the right to ask you why you two were out last night as well, don't I?"
James fidgeted. Who was the one doing the accusing here? 'Accuse'… such an ugly term. "How did you know...?"
Remus shook his head, head and gaze lowered. "James, I'm not an idiot. Sirius never came back to the room." Then addressing Sirius, still without looking up, he said, "You didn't talk to me, didn't warn me, not even a note, and you most certainly didn't feel obligated to fill me in this morning. And don't tell me you're worried about being seen, I know you aren't." Remus frowned. "So, what other reason could there be? And if you must know," he looked up, gazing at the two from under his grayingfringe,clasping his hands in front of him, "I was out... 'investigating' last night, by the staircases. There's a secret passage there..."
"How did you remember where it was?" Sirius asked a little bit too quickly, now sitting down on a desktop. "Back then you didn't seem so interested in memorizing all those passages."
"I was paying more attention back 'then' than you think..." He starred off into space for a moment, as if remembering something, then shook his head, looking directly at Sirius with a piercing gaze. "I remember just about everything on that bloody map, I'll have you know. Just because I wasn't as enthusiastic about causing mayhem and pulling pranks doesn't count for anything. And yes," his eyes wavered, then he looked downward, away from Sirius, "Dumbledore did give me the map..." His voice lowered to nearly a whisper. "And I didn't tell you of it because I didn't have that chance."
"What chances did you need," James asked. "Only a few words, and—"
"It was stolen, James."
James' jaw dropped and he stepped up, standing directly in front of Remus' desk, looking him in the eye. "Stolen? How can it be stolen, no one knows of it!"
"Not many know of it," Remus corrected, his voice a little stronger. "I had it with me for but a day, I was looking over it in this very classroom..." He lifted a hand and pressed it upon the aging wood of a drawer to his right. "Right here, I had put it right here... I went through there a few times, to get other things... Parchment, quills... I'm not sure where that blasted Dorrey kept all his rubbish, I'm still looking for things..." He shook his head and continued on topic. "A student could've seen it if they were standing near my desk surely, but there were so many..." He ran both hands through his hair, leaning back in his chair. "None of them could've known what it was, I know... But by the end of the day I went looking for it everywhere, tore the desk apart inside out, but it was gone..."
"You didn't want to tell us," James realized, feeling a swell of guilt. "You thought it was your own fault...?"
Remus stood and started pacing, hands clasped tightly behind his back as James and Sirius followed his every move. "Of course I did. That map was important to all of us back then, it still is now, and I allowed it to slip through my fingers. And I still can't figure out how."
"How indeed..."
Remus looked up to both James and Sirius. "Something strange is happening at Hogwarts... And I don't just mean those blasted pranks," he unconsciously rubbed at his eyes, grimacing, "I mean since you came here, James. Since we brought you here..."
"Of course it's odd," James said honestly, "no could've guessed I would—"
"Not, not you exactly. It was what was wrong with you... If course you should still remember… I hate to be blunt, James, but with you there wasn't just a slight slip with reality, you were insane. You'd go mad one moment, forget everything the next, and in a day you're right as rain, and I didn't feel anything from you. I didn't get that... cold feeling whenever I would come near you..."
James shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like to be reminded, he'd been trying to forget. "Yes... I knew there was something wrong... I don't know how that changed. Something happened—"
"Something like that just doesn't miraculously disappear," Remus interrupted. "Not without some really powerful bit of magic."
"No doubt," Sirius agreed. "Spells didn't work on James at all, not even a dozen Supefying charms would work at all…"
Remus nodded. "Whatever it was wasn't just something common in the least. And I don't think it's as gone as we think, either, whatever it was..."
"This is what you speculated?" James ventured, a bit worried. What if he was right…?
"Yes. But it doesn't stop there. I thought of something. After the map was gone, and I decided to go out looking last night..."
Sirius looked between the two carefully. "What were you looking for?"
"It's not just a matter of what I was looking for, Padfoot," he said almost humorously, "it was what I found."
"Tell us, Moony," Sirius said quickly. "You've got to tell us."
"I don't know it I can," Remus said quickly, his tone not really panicked, but did reveal that he was very uncertain about something. "I shouldn't say anything, not yet, until I'm—"
"You need to tell us something, Remus..."
They were close now, James could feel it...
This mystery wasn't going to remain a mystery for long.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"You know what's really off, Harry?"
"What?"
Harry and Ron had just reached the stairwells. They had to pause and wait at a landing, however, as their particular stairwell was angled in another direction. In fact, it was in the very direction that started many of their adventures during their first year at Hogwarts…
"Well, Percy's been acting strange, you know?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Has he?"
Ron nodded. "He's been writing letters, to me, Dad, Ginny, and even Fred and George."
"Has something to brag about, does he?"
Ron shook his head quickly. "Naw, that's the thing! He never talks about himself, anymore! I mean, he even complemented ME."
Harry's eyes widened. "Is he ill?"
"Nope. Just talks about mum, and how she's doing with Bill and Charlie… Charlie's been doing better, so I heard, but mom has him under house arrest. Won't let him touch any sweets, leave his room on 'is own, or work with any dragons for the next month or two. But Percy's sure he's already made a full recovery."
Harry chuckled. Good to know the Weasleys hadn't changed a bit. Well, Percy had changed a bit, it would seem…
"You'd think," Ron laughed, "Charlie'd be a little less scared of her right now, what with working with dragons and all. But when mum gets protective like she is now, even a Dementor couldn't stand up to the likes of her!"
Dementors…
A chill shot up Harry's spine, and then he remembered something…
"Ah, staircase is here," Ron said cheerfully, moving forward as Harry sluggishly followed behind. When he noticed this, Ron took a few back-steps to meet Harry's snail-like pace. "Something wrong? The staircase might move again before we reach the top if you keep moving like that."
Harry frowned, having hardly heard a word Ron said, looking down at his feet. "You know, Ron… You know when I was asleep… in the library, remember?"
"…. Yeah…?"
"… I was having a dream. And I mean a dream." He looked his friend in the eye. "And He was talking about my father with Mr. Malfoy… Something bad's going to happen. Something to do with the Dementors, I know it…" A new Dementor, actually… But Harry didn't know what they meant. Did it mean that a Dementor was going to be born? WERE the born?
Before he had to chance to gauge any sort of response from Ron, Harry suddenly felt a…. draft… That was odd… Harry only had time too blink before he took another step, felt his foot tangle on something, heard clothe rip, and found himself colliding heavily with something…
It felt rather cold...
Ron was startled when Harry mentioned that he had one of those dreams. One of those dreams that meant trouble, and trouble was never something easy to handle for the likes of him.
He was ever more startled when Harry let out a cry and suddenly pitched backwards onto the steps, hissing in pain and cursing under his breath.
"Harry??" Ron moved to help him, but as he got close to Harry he found himself running to something.
Something rather large that he couldn't see.
He tried to stay upright, the book he had under his arm slipping from his grasp. "What-GAH!" Ron lost his footing, he was going down. But he was sure to take whatever he had run into, invisible or not, down with him. He grabbed at it --or where he thought it was-- and unmistakably caught what seemed to be an arm or limb of some sort. And it was freezing, whatever it was!
He went down hard, falling sideways so that his left arm hit the edges of the steps painfully, he bit his tongue. He groaned.
"Ron, what is that!?" Harry had gotten himself upright, starring at Ron's hands, which where clutching at 'nothing.'
"ARGH!" Ron flinched he felt a shoe tip connected hard with his shin, but he refused to let go even at his captive began to struggle violently. Man, that HURT!
Harry was reaching forward carefully, until his hands seemed to come in contract with something solid, and his hands closed as if to grip whatever it was. But as soon as he did an almost dark look came over Harry's features…
Before Ron could ask what he was doing, what was wrong, Harry flipped his hands up, and Ron felt as well as heard the unmistakable rustle of silken cloth.
Ron choked in shock when he saw Harry gripping a slightly torn cloak in his hands, Harry's Invisibility Cloak, which still partially covering the figure whose ice-cold arm Ron still gripped, rendering them partially invisible.
But their face was fully visible now…
"I don't believe..."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Of course the great stone castle was riddled with a number of obscure, hidden locations. Most of these only known to the very observant attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and every upperclassmen knew of at least one. Passages that led easy from one end of the school to the other, through walls, and even down and below the dungeons themselves
One such passage lead, "coincidentally", right out to where the three students had fallen the week before. If one were to carefully press their palm on a certain stone between the painting of a flower basket and a young boy playing the flute, the wall would swing inward.
Yes, James remembered it like it was yesterday. They'd slipped inside to avoid the caretaker during his nightly rounds…
And there Lupin made an interesting discovery...
"Footprints?"
Remus nodded. "And not my own, mind you... They were smaller... A student. You can go check for yourself, I assure you the entrance opens as easily as it did in the old days."
"Can you be sure?"
Remus rolled his eyes. "It was a clear sign, someone has been in there recently, I assure you. The entrance at the other end has been opened as well. Within the last week or so. The dust hadn't had time to cover the tracks."
Sirius nodded. "Then... if someone did take the map..."
"The stairwell accident happen the day after..."
"So… it had to be whoever took the map?"
Remus shook his head. "That's is giving the map too much credit… That passage isn't one of the "better" ones, after all. There's a good chance that a good number of students and teachers alike already know of it."
"I see...." That didn't help much, then. "What else did you find?"
Remus opened and reached into a drawer to the left-hand side of his desk and pulled out a small jar. Inside it looked like… string? "This," he tapped the lid on the jar with a finger before handing it to James, "is what tripped those students in the stairwell."
James took the jar, looking at it oddly. As he tipped it in different directions, he found that the sting looked also invisible… "This is what you took from Filch?"
He nodded. "As near as I can tell," Remus said carefully, "and from what Flitwick as told me, it's make from the hair of a demiguise…"
James looked up quickly. "Demiguise? Like an invisibility cloak?"
Remus nodded, watching them as Sirius walked over and took the jar from James' hands, looking at it himself. "You can take it out of the jar, it won't bite."
After giving Remus a wary look, James took the jar back and carefully unscrewed the lid, laying it on Remus' desk. He then proceeded to carefully remove the string… When visible, it glistened ever so slightly… "Did Filch ever figure out what this was?"
Remus shook his head. "I doubt he knew what he was looking at. Thought it was some sort of prank wire… Another time he said it was rope, and this is hardly either of those. I'm honestly surprised it didn't snap when those children fell, though Flitwick also said it had been charmed."
"How could anyone have something like this at all?" Sirius muttered to himself, taking one end of the string, which was a good ten feet long… It looked like a few pieces had been tied together. "Demiguise is rare, expensive, and you can hardly just buy spools of it."
"But look," James said, "it's been dyed. Do you see the color there? This isn't raw thread." Indeed, even though the thread was very thin, one could just make out a few colors; blues, reds, violets…
Sirius squinted for a moment, looking at it very closely... "It almost looks like…"
Then it registered… "Sirius… wasn't my cloak… Harry's cloak…?" The cloak, it'd been tattered on ends, frayed… Harry couldn't remember when it happened…
Sirius' eyes narrowed, following exactly where James was going, what Remus had already figured out.
Remus nodded gravely. "There may be quite a few who know about that passage, but only one person, one student with an invisibility cloak in this school… There are only two other students who also know of it..."
"Then it was…"
He nodded again. "And I can give you three guesses…"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Hermione!?"
"Hermione, what the bloody hell are you doing!?"
Ron by now released her arm, and now the two stood a short distance away, just in case she decided she needed to escape. Not that it really mattered, she wouldn't get far, and they saw who she was now, there was no mistake.
A chill hung in the air.
"Hermione," Harry breathed, "it was you...? This whole time..." They should've KNOWN! She's been acting off, disappearing at odd moments… They should've seen it, but.... "Why...?"
Hermione meanwhile was backing up... Not running, mind you, simply taking cautious, hesitant steps backwards, moving up the stairs... "Ron, Harry, I didn't expect you to run into me like that..."
Harry clutched onto his cloak, which now had a long tear in it, but he wasn't as worried about that... "You're the one who ripped it... That's why no one sees you, you've been taking my cloak!"
Harry hadn't needed to use the cloak in a while, he would've never looked unless he needed it... He's never checked because no one knew about it besides Ron and Hermione... he trusted them... She must've taken it every night. Nothing was preventing her from sneaking into the boys' dormitory... Slipping out of the tower... Set up the pranks...
"That's why nothing happened today!" He looked to Ron. "We had the cloak with us last night, she couldn't 've taken it! She would've been caught by Filch!"
"Why are you doing something so stupid?" Ron yelled. For some reason it made Hermione flinch and stumble, but she caught her balance.
"That's mean, Ron," she said quietly, almost a whisper. "You're so mean... You're mean, both of you."
"Hermione," Harry said carefully, trying to make up for the space the girl was creating between them without pushing her to flee, feeling along his robes for his wand, "are you alright…? You look sick."
She did appear sick. In fact, she looked worn out, fatigued. She hadn't looked like this before... Perhaps dazed, quiet, but not like this... Her skin looked pale, thin, and Harry knew from touching her earlier that she was ice cold... The circles under her eyes gave her a very unhealthy air, sunken, even.
"Get away... Please..." She sounded small, scared...
"What have you done to yourself?" Ron asked, taking in Hermione's obvious lack of health for himself. "Why didn't you talk to us if something was wrong?"
To this, Hermione let out a loud, sharp laugh that was very unlike her. "Oh, Ron," she sighed mockingly, shaking her head. A mood swing...? What was wrong with her? "You really don't pay any attention to what you read, do you?"
Harry was confused. "What is she talking about?" he asked Ron.
But Ron only shrugged, eyes never leaving Hermione. "I have no idea..." Harry noted that the redhead had yet to make any sort of move for his wand... perhaps he didn't want to at all. Harry didn't want to hurt Hermione, either, but… "Pay attention to what," Ron called out desperately. "We can help you—I can help you. Just tell me what you mean?"
"Getting in the way," she muttered, "so nosy—can't even see what's in front of you—not what you read, not what you see, not what you hear..."
"What I read...?" Ron glanced back at the book that not lay open near the base of the stairs, pages wrinkled, page markers scattered about. "You..." His eyes widened. "No... wait. NO!" His eyes opened over wider, hands raising to clutch at his hair. "Oh Merlin!"
"Ron!?" Harry looked between the almost humored expression on Hermione's face to the Ron's, that appeared horror-stricken. "Ron, what the—" Ron suddenly grabbed his arm tightly, Harry's words becoming lost in his throat.
"Harry, listen to me, don't touch her! Don't go near her!"
Hermione was giggling now, watching to two in amusement, and the air around them seemed to become colder and colder.... "So funny... Funny, funny, funny..." Hermione had now moved herself to the top of the stairs, watching them intently.
"Ron, what the bloody hell is going on!?"
"Dementors, Harry!" Ron as looking scared now. "You said You-Know-Who was planning something with Dementors? You did, didn't you? The book, it says... MERLIN, Harry, there might be something inside-"
A voice suddenly made him go silent.
"Hermione?"
Ron and Harry looked up to see Hagrid standing on the landing where Hermione was now. He smile instantly faded at the sight of him, replaced with a look of curiosity.
Hagrid smiled to her when she looked up, her curious gaze going unnoticed, and almost immediately he caught sight of Harry and Ron as well, their panic also going unnoticed. Hagrid was positively glowing, his cheeks rosy as he spoke. "Ah, 'Harry! Ron! Nice ta see ya 'bout! Jus' comin' from doin' a 'lil' business up 'n the Owlery. Hatchin' some new eggs!" He smiled proudly, rubbing his bushy beard idly until he finally noticed the boys nearly identical looks of distress... "Wha 's the ma'er, boys?"
But Hermione was now smiling pleasantly to Hagrid, looking up at him. "A giant…" She looked... pleased. Harry didn't like that one bit...
"Hagrid," Harry cried, unsure if he should use he wand or not. He didn't want to hurt Hermione, even if he had to. But somehow, he had this horrible feeling that she was putting Hagrid in danger.. "Stay away from her!"
"Wha' 're you talkin' 'bout," Hagrid asked, puzzled. He came forward until he was at Hermione's side, looking eager to help them with whatever problem they had.
It seemed that Ron had put all the pieces together, looking distressed and even panicky as Hagrid moved closer to Hermione. "Merlin, GET AWAY FROM HER! Now, Hagrid!"
"Ron, what is it," Harry demanded. He didn't understand at all, and even with his wand ready, he wasn't about to do anything rash to Hermione without knowing exactly why. What was Ron talking about!? Dementors? There weren't any Dementors in this situation, where there?
Though it was so cold, it felt like it...
"Harry, the book—it's in her—it—"
It was at that moment that the staircase began to shift.
Harry and Ron stumbled a little, grabbing for the railing.
Hermione and Hagrid stood at the landing, slowly moving out of reach.
Then Ron did something totally unexpected, running at them, jumping.
"RON!"
"Ron, 'ang on there, I'll get ya!"
"No, Hagrid, don't let her-"
"Ron! HAGRID!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
To be continued in... "Body Tag"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Next chapter/chapters to come:
Secrets are out, enemies revealed, more than one life may be put on the line, nothing is as it seems, and the fate many may lie in the hands of a strange darkness that no one can touch...
But is it the Weasley twins may suffer worst of all...?
For those of you who are very confused, this is part of the plot. Everything will be explained soon, however, you can't figure it out on your own by re-reading thing. Only Ron knows what's going on, because he unknowingly was researching something that had to do with… well, you'll find out soon enough. ^__~
READ and REVIEW, as always! I hope you like this one. Most of it just popped in there during the last few days. Suddenly things get even more complicated!
And please excuse the comedy. I just had to lighten the mood a little... And is the action too much? I'm not pulling it there be "exciting", I'm putting it there because it HAPPENS. Sorry for the cliffie, AGAIN, but it just popped in there, and I hope you won't kill me.
Yeeeeees-yes-yes-yes, most of you knew it was Hermione, it HAD to be Hermione, after all. But you still don't know WHY.
If you would like to be emailed when I update, feel free to write your email in a review or email me directly. If you have requested for me to email you already but you have NOT received an email, please let me know. I've had a few people ask me more than once to be placed on the update list, so I'm worried that the emails didn't send, though I've not gotten return mail saying it didn't go through.
Oooh, and isn't the cover for book 5 cool!? ^__^ Weeee! And EVIL teasers can be found on the web! I'd post the address, but no matter how hard I try this stupid document won't LET me.
Geuna~
AUTHOR NOTE:
Please keep in mind all in formation here is either directly taken form or somehow based upon actual research I have conducted (and what a pain THAT was, oi...). These "creatures" are actually considered "dark creatures" of sorts. Like the use of unicorns, phoenixes, and other mythical creatures in the books by J. K. Rowling, "entities", "spirits", and the like are considered mythical creatures. This entity should be considered a magical creature/beast/being. Or should I say, a "dark" magical creature/beast/being. ^__~
A chapter will be posted as the "actual text" from the book Ron read (The Shaman's Voice), using exactly the research information I've found as well as what I have adapted. I will not being going in depth with explaining it directly in the story, so I will just give you as much as I can give directly without giving away the plot.
FOR ALL THOSE WHO ARE LOST TO THE PLOT!!! I understand lots of things can escape you, they escape me all the time. To help with this, along with the written out version on The Shaman's Voice I will also have another summary of events from where I left off on the "time-line" to this point in the story. I understood that the timeline helped a lot of people, and a summary will help to get everything else into order for most people.
PLEASE RESPOND TO ME ABOUT THESE TOPICS if you can via email, review, or AIM (MidoriGeuna) it is most helpful sometimes.
Stay tuned!
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