Hello again. I'm very aware that this has been a very long stretch between chapters but I've had other priorities just lately. If anyone watches the news my employer has been on it recently when they announced they were closing a lot of their sites and moving the work elsewhere, including India. So me and my Mum, who works for the same company, are both being made redundant. So a lot of my spare time has been taken up with job-hunting and such.

So, looking at the comments on my reviews, I decided to just post this chapter as it was, without waiting to write more plot into it. God knows when you'd have seen it then. I swear there is no way on earth I can escape from putting lots of plot in the next chapter though!

So profuse apologies for taking so long & enjoy.

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It was a magnificent mirror, with an ornate gold frame and two clawed feet. There was a familiar inscription carved around the top: 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.'

'The Mirror of Erised.' He paused, wondering how it had come to be in the Room of Requirement, and remembering what Dumbledore had said the last time he had taken his Invisibility Cloak to sneak a look at it. 'The Mirror will be moved to a new location tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will be prepared.'

'Almost as if he knew what would happen,' he said softly, running a hand over the carving. 'Wonder if he saw us being here tonight?'

Orion whined and Harry looked down at him.

'Well I definitely wasn't thinking about the mirror, and somehow I doubt you were thinking about it so why is it here? Why now?'

He was torn. If he stepped in front of it he could see his family again but he still remembered how it had bespelled him in his first year. 'Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible,' he murmured, repeating Dumbledore's warning.

Orion whined again and he bent to pick the puppy up.

'I don't even know if it's the real mirror,' he told him. 'But this is the Room of Requirement so somehow, for some reason, I must need to see it.' The puppy nudged him under the chin and turned to look at the mirror. Harry straightened his shoulders and stepped towards it. 'We might as well find out why.'

There he was, in the mirror, a little taller than he had been the last time he'd stood before it, with a grey Grim pup in his arms. And there to his right was his mother, dark red hair spilling down her back and green eyes soft as they looked at him. 'Hi Mum,' he whispered.

Stood beside her, one arm around her waist was James Potter, hair still as unruly as his and looking a little sheepishly at his son. Harry looked back at him. 'You were a bit of a prat you know Dad,' he told the figure in the mirror, who looked even more sheepish. 'But I guess you grew out of it. Otherwise Mum would never've married you.'

Lily Potter smiled and ruffled his hair, and Harry wished with all his heart that he could feel it and not just see it. He looked down and stroked Orion until he felt a bit more in control.

'I guess everyone's a bit of a prat sometimes,' he told them. 'I know I am.' James laughed, a wide smile on his face. Suddenly he turned to look at something beyond the mirror frame and grinned.

Harry turned slightly as his father made a beckoning gesture to whoever was lurking just out of sight and it was like a sudden blow, driving all the air out of him. He turned white. 'Sirius?' he croaked.

His godfather looked healthier and happier than Harry had ever seen him. No longer a starving convict, or the haunted prisoner of his own unhappy memories, this Sirius was the man his godfather should have been.

This Sirius was laughing as he caught James Potter in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles in the messy black hair, knocking his glasses askew. This Sirius was grinning broadly as he winked at Lily Potter over her husband's head.

Lily whacked him gently on the back of the head and directed his attention towards where Harry stood frozen outside the mirror. For a moment time stood suspended as they stared at each other, before James Potter wriggled out of the headlock and gave his best friend a shove towards his son. Harry stepped closer, until he was almost touching the mirror.

The look in Sirius's eyes was hard to describe. Love, yes, and pride, and maybe just a touch of regret.

'I miss you,' Harry told him simply.

James came to stand beside him and draped an arm over Sirius's shoulder. Lily came with him, to slide an arm around James waist and lean into her husband. She reached a hand out to touch his face and Harry realised he was crying, tears streaming down his cheeks. Orion wriggled in his arms and a rough tongue began to wipe them away.

Sirius looked down, as if noticing the Grim for the first time and he laughed, reaching out to pet the puppy. Harry wiped his eyes on the corner of his cloak. 'This is Orion,' he told him.

He looked at the picture they made in the mirror, his godfather, father and mother, all smiling and happy. His eyes met Sirius's again.

'I guess, wherever you are, you're with them now and you're happy,' he told the image. 'But you're gone and it hurts and there's nothing I can do about it. You're not coming back, and I'm just going to have to learn to live with that fact. But I'm going to miss you.'

It felt like he was letting go of a weight he hadn't even realised had been pressing down on his shoulders as he continued to speak.

'I'm not going to stop missing you, and wishing I hadn't been so stupid, that somehow it all turned out all right. I can't. But I'm going to make you proud of me. I'm going to fight Voldemort and I'm going to bring him down and maybe, someday, when it's all over, maybe we can be together than.'

His eyes met the Mirror Harry's and the image nodded. It felt like a solemn promise.

He looked back at the other images and was warmed by the pride already in their eyes. Mirror Sirius reached out, as if he was trying to reach through the glass to Harry and Harry's hand rose to meet his, only to be blocked by the cold glass. They stood that way, eyes locked; hands separated by the glass for a long moment before Harry dropped his arm and cuddled Orion closer.

'It does not do to dwell on dreams,' he whispered brokenly. He sighed, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand as he looked up at the mirror one last time.

'I love you,' he told them. Sirius nodded, and his parents held each other tighter as they waved him goodbye.

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Harry woke late on Saturday morning, surprisingly well rested considering his nocturnal activities. Orion was curled up at the foot of the bed. He felt better, his head clearer than it had in weeks. His stomach growled and he nudged the puppy with his foot. Orion looked up and yawned. 'Time to get up,' he told him.

Together they padded downstairs where he could hear that Ron and Hermione were already up and already arguing.

'All I'm saying, Hermione, is that it doesn't all have to be done right this second!'

'Perhaps if you sat and got on with it a bit earlier, Ronald, you wouldn't rush around like a headless chicken the night before its due trying to copy my notes!'

It was an old and familiar argument and Harry was smiling as he joined them. Ron swept an arm out to indicate the piles of books and parchment on the table in front of the couch.

'This is nearly as bad as the OWL's this is, and it's only the first week! If you keep this up Hermione your head's going to explode!'

She snorted at him.

'What're you working on?' Harry asked, picking up a star chart.

'I'm plotting the ascendancy of Venus,' she replied. 'We're starting Fertility Rituals soon.'

'Fertility Rituals,' Ron choked, staring at her. 'What do you need a Fertility Ritual for?'

She looked at him and turned bright red.

'It's not for me, Ron! It's for the greenhouses, the plants – oh my goodness.' She covered her flaming face with her hands and started muttering to herself.

Harry looked from one friend to another. Ron was also turning pink. He decided to change the subject. 'So, anyone up for a trip to Hogsmeade?'

Hermione categorically refused to move until she had finished plotting Venus so Harry decided to start on the essay Snape had assigned them for Monday.

'Bloody bastard,' Ron muttered. 'Everyone else give us reading but that slimy git wants a bloody essay.'

Yeah, well, at least you don't have detention with him.'

20 minutes later, and Hermione decided she was done, at least for now, since Harry had made a point of mentioning his lack of food to prevent her cross-referencing the chart with the moon phases and double checking the translations on her Runes.

'All right, all right!' she exclaimed. 'Boys! I suppose it can wait a little while. And if we go into Hogsmeade I can pop into Empousai's for the anointing oils and some candles.'

Harry put down the copy of 'When Wizards Go Bad – Sensational Trials of the 20th Century' he'd been making notes from. 'Well I'm ready when you are.'

Ron was already packing up. 'Get a move on then, we can stop by the kitchens before we go. I'm starving.'

They were in luck, as neither Dobby nor Winky were in the kitchens, though that didn't prevent Hermione mentioning SPEW. Harry decided to change the subject again before she really got started.

'Has anyone seen Malfoy lately?'

'Funnily enough mate I try my best not to notice the little ferret. Why?'

'No, he's right,' Hermione said thoughtfully. 'I don't think I've seen him since Potions.'

'So what?'

'So, if he isn't prancing around insulting everyone who isn't pure-blood where is he? And what's he up to?'

'Trying to think of better insults than Potty, Weasel and Mudblood? Plotting Harry's downfall? Writing love-letters to the Dark Lord? Who cares anyway?'

'I don't think he's in the Hospital Wing, we'd have heard if he was.'

'Why're you wasting your time thinking about Malfoy anyway Harry?'

'Ah. Just, you know, wondering if the little sneaks, uh, plotting some new way to make my life miserable,' he ventured. He could see Hermione wasn't buying the explanation.

'Harry,' she said sternly. 'What have you done?'

'Nothing!'

She just looked at him. He rubbed his scar absently. 'Oh all right! I, uh, slipped this thing Fred and George gave me into his cauldron and I haven't seen him since.'

'Well what was it?'

'I don't know.'

'You don't know! Harry, you slipped one of the twin's concoctions into Malfoy's cauldron and you don't even know what it does?'

'Wicked!'

'Shut up Ron.'

'Well it is,' Ron insisted stubbornly. 'I mean, come on Hermione, they won't have poisoned him or anything.'

'And what if it's one of their experiments?' she asked. 'If they decided to just 'test' one of their products on Malfoy?'

'Oh.'

'Yes oh!' she snapped. 'Harry, you could get into serious trouble for this. And you got Parkinson too.'

Truthfully, Harry had begun to feel a little nervous about what might have happened to Malfoy. It would've been alright if they'd only seen the results, or even heard rumours but Hermione had a point – he wouldn't put it past the twins to slip Malfoy something they hadn't worked out properly, just for a laugh.

'Well there's nothing he can do about it now, is there,' Ron pointed out.

Hermione looked worried. 'I'll have a word with Lavender when we get back, see if she's heard anything.'

'Lavender? Why would she know anything about Malfoy?'

'Honestly Ron, Lavenders the biggest gossip in Gryffindor. If she hasn't heard anything then we'll have to report it to someone.'

'But that'll get Harry in trouble.'

'Well maybe Harry shouldn't be dropping strange bundles into other people's cauldrons when he doesn't know what they'll do.'

'And maybe the pair of you should speak to Harry instead of over him,' Harry put in, rather annoyed. 'Why don't you just send Pig out to the Twins and ask them what it was? Then we'll know if it even needs reporting.'

There was a moment's silence then Ron clapped him on the shoulder. 'Great idea – I'll do it when we get back.'

The conversation, to Harry's great relief, turned to lighter topics as they continued down the toad to Hogsmeade with the Grims, and eventually turned to the D.A again.

'I've been looking over my notes from the meetings,' Hermione began. Harry and Ron looked at her in astonishment.

'You took notes?' Ron exclaimed.

'Hermione, it's not like I set you homework!' Harry added.

She ignored them both. 'And I was wondering what you've decided to start with?'

'The Patronus Charm again,' Harry replied. 'We were getting really close with everyone last year and I think it's important. Did you see the news in the Prophet?'

'The one about the unseasonable mists being a sign the Dementor's are breeding?'

'That's the one.'

'Urgh,' Ron put in. 'Dementor's breeding. That's an even worse mental image than Snape breeding.'

The others shuddered in agreement.

'So definitely the Patronus. What else?'

'Well, we'll probably need to do a review, make sure everyone remembers last years spells…'

Hermione nodded.

'Then there's the spells we found in the Black Library…'

Ron's eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically. There had been some very interesting spells in the books at Grimmauld Place.

'And I've been looking through that book Lupin gave me….'

'The Marauders one?'

'Yeah, and there's some really useful stuff in there.'

Hermione looked dubious. 'I thought that was a guide to magical mischief making?'

'Well it is, but it's got some good stuff in there, like this spell to stop people listening in when you're planning something – we could've used that at the Hogs Head!'

'I suppose so,' she allowed.

'And you know that Bat Bogey hex Ginny's so fond of?'

'Yeah?'

'Did you know Sirius invented it?'

'He didn't.'

'He did. Sixth year. It's all in the book.'

'Cool.'

They rounded the corner into Hogsmeade and Hermione immediately headed for Empousai's, a large white building with Greek columns that Harry had occasionally passed but never entered. It smelt a bit like the Divinations classroom, all incense and candles, and there were always groups of girls in it. He and Ron decided to wait outside.

From there they hit the Apothecary, where the two Grims nearly upset a barrel full of rat spleens and Harry stocked up on more Pixie Dust. They stopped by Zonkos and Honeydukes, where Orion found a Fizzing Whizbee on the floor and spent the next half hour hovering 6 inches above the ground.

Shopping done, they headed for the Three Broomsticks, since Ron reminded Harry he owed him a drink. Since it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend the pub wasn't as packed as it usually was and they found a table quite close to the bar.

Ron, to no ones surprise, volunteered to fetch the drinks and a plate of chips to share. In Harry's opinion the chips at the Three Broomsticks were even better than those at Hogwarts, which was saying something.

Hermione nudged him in the side with her elbow as he sat back, and lowered her voice. 'Look over there, isn't that Neville?'

Harry looked into a shadowy corner booth, to see Neville sat on his own with Mandrake. He was just about to call across to him when Neville leaned down to pat the Grim and Harry saw who was sat beside him.

'Is that Hannah?'

'What you looking at?' asked Ron as he set down the drinks and popped a chip in his mouth.

'Neville,' Harry grinned. 'And Hannah.'

Neville's got a girlfriend?'

'Oh don't sound so surprised Ron, Neville's a really nice boy and he's really shot up the past few years…'

'I'm tall,' Ron interjected.

'And since the Department of Mysteries he's never been more interesting or more fanciable.'

'I was at the Department of Mysteries.'

'Hannah's not the only person to have noticed you know.'

Ron eyed Hermione in what looked like alarm. 'Who else has noticed?' She rolled her eyes at him.

'Aww, that's so sweet,' she sighed. The boys turned to see Neville helping Hannah out of her seat. He was a little bit pink as they walked out of the pub hand in hand. Harry was glad to see his friend was happy but sincerely hoped he hadn't looked that sappy when he was going out with Cho.

Looking back on it he figured he had probably just looked panicked, which really wasn't any better.

The WWN was on in the background, playing the latest releases from Nightstalker and the Weird Sisters and Harry relaxed, enjoying the music, at least until the news came on.

He listened in mounting anger as the newsreader advised that Umbridge would be staying on at the Ministry though the post of Inquisitor would be scrapped, and that an opinion poll was showing growing support for 'not undermining the Ministry during these dark times.'

'Minister Fudge,' the newsreader continued, 'had this to say: "I am gratified to hear that the British Wizarding Public have acknowledged that the instability within the Ministry that would be caused by a change of power could be to no ones benefit but the D-Dark Lord. I am determined to lead us through these dark times and can assure you that progress has already been made against You-Know-Who's forces.

I can announce that just last night Aurors captured one Stanley Shunpike, who was overheard discussing the Death Eaters plans in the Leaky Cauldron. We hope to use information gained from him to move against other such dangerous individuals."'

'I don't bloody believe this,' Harry ground out. 'What the hell is the Ministry thinking? That bloody idiot manages to lose Malfoy and a load of other top Death Eaters but he arrests Stan Shunpike so suddenly he's our best hope?'

'Isn't Shunpike him off the Knight Bus? The one who told all those Veela's he was going to be the next Minister?'

'Yeah, that's him. He's no more a Death Eater than I am! This is Sirius all over again! Who cares if we've got the wrong bloke so long as we've got someone!'

Harry's voice was rising and people in the pub were beginning to look round.

'Harry,' Hermione began.

'And Umbridge! That fat toad didn't even get a slap on the bloody wrist! The pair of them should've been kicked out of the Ministry week's ago!'

People were openly staring now but Harry didn't seem to notice. Ron and Hermione started tugging him towards the door.

'They should've been out on their arses over the summer but no, it's dragged on and on and now nothing is flaming happening!' His voice was rising with every word and Orion and Selene yapped in apparent agreement.

Hermione let go of his wrist and grabbed his face in both hands. He glared at her, chest heaving.

'Harry, I can fix this. I promise you, I can fix this, but you have to stop shouting and come outside.'

He opened his mouth.

'Right now, Harry.'

He stomped out. Ron and Hermione hurried after him.

'Alright Hermione. How are you going to fix this?'

'Do you trust me Harry?'

'Of course he trusts you!'

'Of course I trust you! What sort of stupid question is that?'

'It isn't a stupid question at all. I knew something like this was going to happen…'

'You knew…how did you know that?'

'Because she knows everything, Harry. She always knows everything. How do you know everything Hermione?'

She rolled her eyes. 'I do not know everything, but I may be the only person in the school who pays attention in History of Magic.'

'Told you she was weird,' Ron whispered to Harry, startling a snort of laughter out of him.

Thank goodness, Hermione thought as Harry visibly relaxed. Ron might not be the smartest boy in the school but he was the only one who could read Harry well enough to calm him down like that.

'Something similar happened during Grindelwald's rise,' she explained. 'So I knew it was a possibility and made a few contingency plans, just in case.'

'I don't even remember covering Grindelwald,' Harry said.

'You wouldn't,' she replied dryly. 'You were asleep. The point is that Fudge has managed to hold onto power so far, despite the crisis, so the public are starting to wonder if maybe he should just stay on.'

'So how can you fix that?'

'Harry, you of all people should know how quickly public opinion can change. All it needs is the right push.' She smiled beatifically.

You know what Hermione,' Ron put in. 'You look a little bit scary when you do that.'

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Before Harry knew it he was stood in front of Snape's door, waiting to begin detention. The rest of the day seemed to have just vanished. They had walked back to Hogwarts & Pig had been dispatched to the Twins while Hedwig had been sent off as part of Hermione's mysterious plan.

'It's all arranged,' she had told them in the Owlery, as she tied a note to Hedwig's leg. 'You remember when we were in Diagon Alley and I stopped at the Post Office? Well let's just say Mum wasn't the only person I wrote to.'

'Rita Skeeter?' asked Harry, remembering their conversation after reading the Daily Prophet's reporting on Umbridge.

'Yes,' she smiled serenely. 'And a few others.'

'Brilliant,' Ron declared, because even though he and Harry didn't have all the details of what Hermione was up to yet, it was a recognised fact that Hermione's plans were usually pretty good.

Then it was to the Great Hall for some food and suddenly there he was, waiting for Snape. He briefly wondered why the ex-potions professor hadn't moved into the more usual Defence Against the Dark Arts office, rather than staying in the dungeons. Maybe it had something to do with being Head of Slytherin.

Or maybe the prat was just at home in the dank and disgusting dungeons.

The door was yanked open right on time and Snape glared down at him for a long moment, sneer firmly in place. Harry mentally sneered back. 'And I don't care if you did hear that,' he thought.

The vein in the professor's forehead didn't react so Harry was pretty sure he hadn't been listening in.

The office was the same as it had ever been, smelling of damp and dead things, with unpleasant bits of things floating in glass jars lining the walls. There was also a pile of dusty and cobwebbed boxes piled by a small table where Harry was plainly meant to sit.

He could just tell that this was going to be as much fun as answering Lockhart's mail.

'Mr Filch has been looking for someone to clear out these old files,' Snape said softly. 'They are records of other Hogwarts troublemakers and their punishments. Where the ink has grown faint or the cards have suffered damage from mice you are to copy them afresh and sort them into alphabetical order. By hand. You will not be permitted to use magic.'

Snape glared into his eyes and Harry immediately thought of a big, wet blanket of fog, right behind his eyeballs and covering his thoughts. Just in case. And then he mentally stuck his tongue out.

'I thought you could start,' said Snape, a singularly nasty smile on his thin lips, 'with boxes 1012 to 1056. You will find some familiar names in there to add interest to the task…'

He reached into the topmost box and withdrew a badly nibbled card with a flourish. 'James Potter and Sirius Black. Apprehended using an illegal hex on Bertram Aubrey. Aubrey's head twice the normal size. Double detention.'

Snape sneered. 'It must be such a comfort to think that such a record of their achievement remains now that they are both gone.' He smirked and Harry badly wanted to punch his yellowing teeth in and ram them down his throat.

He pushed down the familiar boiling rage in the pit of his stomach and forced himself to think of nothing but thick, wet fog. He had no intention of letting Snape see how much he was getting to him. Stomping across to the boxes he sat down and began.

It was, as he had anticipated, useless, boring work, punctuated (as Snape had clearly planned) with the regular jolt in the stomach that came from reading his fathers or godfathers names, occasionally accompanied by those of Remus Lupin or Peter Pettigrew.

What Snape probably hadn't anticipated was that, after the first few hours of mind-numbing boredom, the hot shame that Harry had felt after watching the memory of his father in his pensieve started to fade under the sense of righteous indignation.

Maybe his Dad had no right to treat Snape the way he had but Snape didn't have any excuse for the way he insisted on treating Harry either. It was starting to seem like revenge in advance.

Last time he'd seen his Dad abusing Snape he hadn't done anything to deserve it and he'd been ashamed his dad was such a prat. It soothed the uneasy feeling in his stomach to read that Snape was far from an innocent victim.

Harry didn't think Snape had thought this punishment through thoroughly otherwise he'd have removed the cards that said things like: 'Severus Snape, apprehended after putting Silver Nitrate in the Prefects Bathroom. 2 Weeks detention.'

After that, reading things like 'James Potter & Sirius Black. Apprehended after hanging Severus Snape from the clock tower by his underwear,' merely roused a certain sense of vicious satisfaction.

He glanced over at the bat like figure seemingly absorbed in a pile of marking.

Yeah alright, Harry thought, massaging his aching wrist. My Dad may've been a right prat at school, and big-headed and arrogant and all the rest. But at least he grew out of it. And that's more than you can say isn't it Snape?

So what if his Dad wasn't perfect. So what? Nobody's perfect. If nothing else his little visit to the Mirror of Erised had helped him come to terms with that.

Sighing, Harry turned back to the piles of cards. Eventually he started to realise that there were some very interesting sounding spells described in connection with the Marauders. Even if they never came out and mentioned the spells by name Harry decided to take a much closer look at the Marauders book when he had the chance.

Finally Snape, who had not spoken since setting Harry his task, allowed him to put down his pen.

'Bear in mind, Potter, one wrong move and you'll be back here. I have plenty of boxes; we can keep this going right up until the blessed moment you leave Hogwarts for good. I am the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher now, and you and your little club will be learning what I deem necessary.

Now that I am in charge you can consider your little teaching career over. Oh and Potter, I'll be keeping an eye on you. Now go.'

Harry went

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He stormed into the library, causing Madam Pince and a number of seventh year Ravenclaws to glare at him. He ignored them as he stomped over to a table near the History of Magic section, which was almost always quiet, and where Ron and Hermione were sat.

He threw himself into a chair.

'Bad time mate?' Ron asked sympathetically.

'That prick, he doesn't want the DA starting again – threatened me! – said he could keep me in detention till I left school,' he growled low in his throat.

'You what?'

'He was all "I am the DADA teacher now Potter," "I'll be keeping an eye on you Potter," "Your little teaching career is over now, Potter.'

Madam Pince kept scowling over at them for daring to talk in her library so Hermione casually stood, loaded the boys arms with books and headed into the stacks. She paused by a statue of Quasim the Queasy, the great sea-faring wizard and turned.

'Then we have a bit of a problem,' she said matter-of-factly.

'Just the one?'

'He's going to be watching the Room of Requirement.'

'Oh bloody hell, that's all we need!'

'Shush, Harry, let me think.'

'Does he even know we were using the Room of Requirement?'

'Can we really take that chance? Umbridge was able to find us there. And even if we make it safe to be inside Snape could just as easily wait in the corridor until we come out.'

'Well where else are we going to go?'

'Well, we're sixth years now. Couldn't we do it in Hogsmeade?'

'And what about the Fifth Years?'

'Oh yeah. What about the Shrieking Shack?'

'Too small.'

'And how many people are going to want to go there anyway? We might know it's not haunted but are they really going to believe us?'

There was silence for a moment, broken by the rustling of paper wings. They looked around, and Harry snatched the paper owl from the air above Hermione's head and opened it.

It read: 'Granger, surely you must have the intelligence to know not to discuss your secret plans in a public place?'

Hermione blushed and looked around wide eyed. 'Someone's listening!'

They peered around the shadowy stacks. Ron even pulled out a few books to peer through to the other aisles but there was no one near.

There was another flutter of papery wings. Harry snatched the Phoenix as it swooped towards him. 'Try and see where they're coming from,' he hissed.

'Potter, think! I know it's difficult but try your best. You need a place no one else can go, a very secret place, one that only you can open – have I given you enough clues yet?'

'Bit insulting, whoever they are,' put in Ron.

Harry was staring at the note. It tickled something at the back of his mind.

'No one else can go, secret, only I can open,' he repeated. Then his eyes widened. 'The Chamber of Secrets! You can't be serious!'

Ron and Hermione looked back at him, equally wide-eyed. There was a moment's stillness, before papery wings once again interrupted the quiet. This time it was clearly a Raven.

'Potter, think! A chamber so secret it was undiscovered for hundreds of years, a chamber that can only be opened by one person in this school – you! – how much more secure do you want? And rumour has it it's more than large enough for your little group.'

'Who are you?' Harry demanded. 'And where are you?'

A paper hawk dive-bombed him.

'If you really want to know, meet me tomorrow morning, after breakfast, in the History of Magic classroom. We'll talk then.'

'Why not talk now? Why are you hiding?'

He was answered by silence.

The three of them looked around but nothing seemed out of place. They looked at each other.

'Maybe we should head back to the Common Room,' Hermione suggested. 'And talk this over without eavesdroppers.'

They walked out of the stacks warily, constantly glancing behind them. Nothing stirred. Their listener waited patiently, and just as he expected Weasley leapt back into the stacks, ready to go 'Aha!' not two minutes later. The poor boy looked terribly disappointed.

He waited until he was certain they had left for good.

'Gryffindors,' he sighed. 'So predictable.'

A red velvet curtain rustled as Blaize Zabini leapt athletically down from the high windowsill, walked behind the bookcase (no sense in being careless after all) and went to find Nott.

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Well hopefully you all enjoyed that and will be sticking around for the next chapter. As always, let me know what you thought.