Harry quickly stepped out of sight around the corner nearest to him,
waiting in tense silence, as someone slipped through into the common
room, obviously making an effort to be quiet. The figure turned and
gently pulled the portrait shut, before gradually turning back around.
"A bit late getting back tonight?" Harry asked, recognizing the person immediately and stepping out into full view.
Neville jumped a foot in the air, visibly paling at the surprise of being caught sneaking in, before he met Harry's gaze.
"You scared me," he said quietly, breathing fast.
"We're even then, you scared me coming in so late, I didn't think you were a student," he stopped for a moment, looking into Neville's eyes, which were unreadable, before continuing. "What happened tonight Neville?"
Neville took a few hesitant steps forward and Harry noticed his leg immediately, he was no longer limping.
"Feeling better?" he asked, gesturing towards his leg.
Neville looked down, then back at Harry.
"Much," he answered shortly.
"What did Madam Pomfrey say?"
"Huh?" Neville replied, then it dawned on him. "Oh.no, I didn't go to her."
Harry sighed, seeing that this was going to be like pulling teeth.
"Neville will you just be straight with me?" he asked, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. "There are some very strange things going on and a great deal of them have to do with you. Where did you learn the magic you used tonight? How did you know Ron and I were even there? Why didn't you want anyone to know about it? How did Gazten get Percy's wand?"
Harry stopped for air, and looked at Neville stubbornly. He wanted answers to at least some of these questions.
"Alright," Neville began, "I can't explain anything about the magic, or how I knew you were there. I didn't want anyone to know because I can't tell them anything either and I gave the wand to Allison."
Harry looked carefully at Neville, as if weighing him, before replying.
"So what, you two are good friends now?" he asked. "Is she the one who healed your leg?"
Neville just nodded once.
"So why can't you tell me anything then? I know she helped you and you both helped me.what's the problem with Dumbledore knowing?"
"We're not going to keep it from him forever, Allison said when the time is right."
"Right? For what?" Harry asked and Neville just shook his head. "If you're not going to tell me anything I don't see why I should keep your secret," Harry stated evenly. He fixed Neville with an obstinate glare, waiting for his response.
"You do whatever you feel you need to," Neville replied quickly. "Though it won't help you find out any faster. If they make Allison leave you'll only be making things worse."
Harry turned away, considering what Neville just said. He hated keeping this from Dumbledore, but at the same time, felt what he'd just been told was the truth.
"Do you swear to me that Gazten is on our side? Do you know this for a fact?" Harry asked at last.
"Yes," Neville replied without hesitation. "Yes she is Harry. And I promise you will be told everything.but I can't be the one to tell you.not until more is known."
"Neville, if you tell me even just a little, maybe I can help you find whatever else it is you need to know." Harry started.
"Not my decision," Neville said firmly.
"Neville.I don't like this. Not one bit."
"Like I said, you do whatever you feel you need to. I can't tell you anymore than I already have." The two men stood, staring at each other for a long moment in silence, until Neville finally stepped forward.
"Good night, Harry," he said, moving towards the door. Harry didn't try to stop him, just watched him pass by and listened to his footsteps as they ascended the stairs. A few moments went by, before he went up the stairs himself, thinking it would be better to make his decision in the morning.
Harry felt as if his head had barely touched the pillow, before he was shaken awake, roughly. He opened his eyes slowly and found the sun blaring through the window was too much, so he shut them immediately and tried to roll over.
"Harry, c'mon!" he heard Ron's voice say, "We've got some things to do today, the girls are already waiting for us in the great hall, let's go!"
Harry sat up groggily and looked around. He wanted only to go back to sleep and stay that way for several hours. But when he felt his glasses being put on roughly by Ron, he began to move.
"Alright, alright.I'm comin!" he said irritably, shooing his friend's hand away, pushing off the covers and heading for his closet.
When he was dressed, although still not fully awake, he followed Ron downstairs and through the portrait hole. They entered the great hall together and headed straight for where Hermione and Ginny were sitting.
"You stayed too long, didn't you?" Hermione asked playfully, giving Harry a knowing look.
He tried to glare back at her, but couldn't. He began to chuckle to himself from overtiredness, and his friends just stared at him in confusion.
"Did I miss something?" Ginny asked. "What's so funny?"
Ron and Hermione just shrugged, and waited for Harry to finish.
"It's nothing," Harry said finally, putting his elbow up on the table and resting his chin in his hand. "I'm just tired, don't mind me."
"How late did you stay up exactly?" Ron asked.
Harry shook his head.
"I don't know.long enough to see Neville trying to sneak in."
"What?" The other three cried in unison, cutting Harry off.
"What do you mean sneaking in?" Hermione asked.
"Just what I said," Harry replied. "He was trying to be very quiet and I startled him when I asked him why he was so late."
"What did he say?" Ron asked.
"Not much, actually," Harry replied and began to tell them everything he could remember from the conversation the night before.
"You are telling Dumbledore, right?" Hermione asked when Harry had finished his story. He remained silent, not meeting anyone's eyes, before slowly turning to look at Ginny.
She still wanted to go to the headmaster with everything, it was very apparent in her eyes, but Harry shook his head.
"Not yet.I want to hear what they found out from Percy, if anything. And what Gazten told them about her powers. Neville swears she's on our side."
"What if she's controlling him, huh? Ever think about that?" Ginny interrupted him, speaking harshly. "She could be using him to get to anyone, most likely you." She fixed Harry with a pointed glare and folded her arms across her chest.
"I believe," Harry began, meeting Ginny's gaze, "that would be even more of a reason to keep the secret. Suppose she is controlling him, and thinks we know it, then we won't have time to figure out why if she decides to accelerate whatever her plan is. If she isn't, then we have nothing to worry about. Either way we're better off staying quiet, at least until we know more."
"How exactly do you propose we find out more then?" Ginny asked, stubbornly.
"By doing what we had planned on yesterday. We talk to Dumbledore, find out about Percy and Gazten, whatever he knows."
"We have to tell him about Cho's letter too," Hermione said.
"Believe me I haven't forgotten," Harry replied. "This way he'll know about the ministry as well, and Thurston lying to him," he added looking again at Ginny. "He probably won't send Percy back there, and so he'll be under Dumbledore's care, he'll be safe."
Ginny still looked far from convinced, but grudgingly nodded.
"I won't say anything.for now." she said quietly.
"Thank you," Harry replied.
The four of them ate breakfast in silence, and as soon as they finished, decided to head straight for the headmaster's office.
"No sense in putting it off," Hermione said as they got up from the table and headed out to the hallway.
"I hope he's talked to Gazten already," Ron said as they walked. "I mean, we don't know what time they were planning on meeting and if it isn't until this afternoon or something."
"We can at least find out what he knows about Percy," Harry cut him off. "If we have to come back later for Gazten, then we do."
They reached the statue and Harry said the password. It swung open slowly and the four of them started up the stairs, Harry first. They could hear voices that got progressively louder as they got closer, and Harry realized they were arguing. He motioned for everyone to be quiet as they reached the top and he recognized the voices immediately.
Sirius and Snape.
Harry pushed the door open slightly, and the four of them didn't move a muscle as they listened to the argument taking place.
"I don't trust her, she should never have been allowed here in the first place. I think it's time we ask her to leave," Sirius was saying in a strained voice. He and Snape were standing a few feet from each other, both standing. Dumbledore and Remus were in the room as well, watching the other two men.
"You don't have any idea what you're talking about!" Snape replied fiercely. "I've spent a great deal of time with Allison and I believe her intentions are all good." He paused for a moment, eyeing Sirius before continuing.
"You should be paying more attention to your fiancé, I think. Only the darkest witches and wizards know how to control the power required to kill a dementor."
Sirius took a step towards the potions master, who Harry noticed still looked quite ill.
"I'm sure you'd know all about that, wouldn't you Snape?" Sirius practically spat at him. "And I believe the important thing to remember is that she was in fact using her powers to destroy them, not aid them in any way. Marzia acquired the knowledge for many different types of magic on various ministry assignments."
"Take what you're saying about Allison and apply it to Marzia," Snape said quietly. "She too could have been doing something to make it appear as if she were on your side, only to ensure you trust her until she decides to reveal her true intentions, and then it will be too late."
Sirius could not have looked angrier. His eyes flashed dangerously at the potions master and he took another step towards him.
"You've known Gazten for a few months, I've known Marzia for years!" he shouted. "You couldn't possibly know as much about that stranger as I do about my fiancé! She would never."
"Yes you have known her for years.but how well?" Snape interrupted. "Because for the last sixteen of those years you've known her you haven't so much as seen her. How can you possibly know everything she's been up to.?"
"She's told me all about what's happened in her life.that's what people who care about each other do, not that I'd expect you to know anything about that," Sirius replied, glaring at Snape.
"You assume too much," Snape hissed. "People can change a great deal in that span of time and if she were here as a spy do you really think she'd just tell you? But you're letting your feelings get in the way and you haven't even considered the possibility."
Sirius was clearly done with talking and was ready to lunge at Snape, when Remus stepped up beside him, placing a firm hand on his arm.
"I think this discussion has gone a bit off topic," he said cautiously, looking back and forth from Sirius to Snape before turning to Dumbledore.
The headmaster had been watching the 'discussion' with interest, listening to both sides intently.
"I understand your concerns, both of you. However I am not prepared to ask either Allison or Marzia to leave, as quite frankly, I don't see a reason for it. Neither of them has done anything that suggests they want to harm any of the students and at this time, we need each and every ally we come by."
Sirius and Snape were still staring hatefully at one another, but neither of them argued with the headmaster.
Harry decided at once to take advantage of the silence that was sure to be short-lived. He rapped softly on the door and pushed it open, to see everyone looking back at him.
"Good morning Harry," Dumbledore said with the familiar twinkle in his eye. "I expected you'd be visiting me today, please come in," he said, gesturing for him to enter.
"Good morning Professor Dumbledore," Harry replied as he stepped into the room revealing the others behind him.
"I see everyone is present and accounted for," Dumbledore said, smiling. "Wonderful, I needed to speak with all of you today."
The four of them made their was quietly into the room, no one sure what to say after what they had just heard. As they seated themselves, Snape eyed them suspiciously before addressing Harry.
"Exactly how long were you eavesdropping Mr. Potter?"
"Severus!" Remus said, sounding shocked. "You can't just go around accusing."
"I wasn't eavesdropping," Harry replied, cutting him off. "We were coming here to speak with Professor Dumbledore and happened to overhear the end of your.discussion."
Snape's eyes narrowed and Harry continued.
"I didn't realize you had so much dislike for Marzia.but I can't understand why." Harry looked at the potions master, waiting for his response and noticed how anxious Ron appeared to hear it as well.
"Yes I'd like to know that too," Sirius spoke up drawing Snape's attention back to him. "What happened? Did she save your life in school? We all know how much you hate being in debt to people."
Snape's face flushed and his eyes flashed dangerously at Sirius. If it weren't for his weakened state, Harry would've bet anything he'd have taken a swing at Sirius.
"That is quite enough from both of you," Dumbledore spoke up in a demanding voice. "Severus, I appreciate you coming here today, you've been a wonderful help. But now it is time you get your rest." He turned to Lupin before going on. "Remus, would you be good enough to see that Severus gets back to his quarters?"
Remus nodded.
"Certainly Albus," he replied. "Severus, are you ready?" he asked.
Snape was still glaring at Sirius, angrier than even Harry could remember seeing him. He wondered if Sirius really had been joking when he asked about Marzia saving him, or if there were something else.
Remus went up to Snape after a moment, tapping him gently on the arm to get his attention. The potions master turned to him sharply, but Remus didn't flinch.
"Come on then Severus, we best be on our way," he said gently.
"Get your rest Severus, you need it," Dumbledore said to him.
Snape nodded at him, obviously not wanting to leave, but too weak to argue any more. He followed Lupin across the room, not allowing himself to be helped in any way. He didn't hide the fact that he didn't want an escort to his room, but still remained silent.
As soon as the door was closed, Harry turned to Dumbledore.
"Has anyone found out what's wrong with him yet? Why is he still sick?"
"Professor Snape is being cared for by Professor Gazten, he has shown great improvement over the last few weeks, however we still have been unable to determine the cause of his illness," Professor Dumbledore said.
"Is he going to be okay?" Harry asked, concerned. "I mean, this is something that can be cured, right?"
Dumbledore met his gaze evenly, pausing a moment before replying.
"I hope so."
Harry felt the knot in his stomach tighten. Another worry to add to his growing list.
"Shouldn't we at least consider the possibility," Sirius spoke up, "that the reason he isn't getting well is because of Gazten? She seems to be the only person here that has any clue as to how to treat him, do we know for a fact that's what she's doing?" He was looking at Dumbledore, a determined expression on his face.
The headmaster sighed inaudibly before turning to Sirius.
"After speaking with Allison and Hagrid I feel there is no reason to doubt her intentions, I've explained this to you and I stand by my decision. You are entitled to your opinions, but I will not argue about this any longer."
Sirius appeared very much ready to continue the argument, but held whatever he had to say in, with obvious effort.
"So you did talk with Professor Gazten then?" Ron asked.
"Yes Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore replied. "Professor Gazten was quite eager to answer a few of my questions earlier this morning."
"Were any of them about Percy?" Ron asked immediately. "From what I saw yesterday it seemed like she knew a lot more than we did."
"Oh you got that impression too?" Sirius asked pointedly before the headmaster could reply.
Harry threw his godfather a questioning look. Why did he seem so very distrustful towards Gazten when Dumbledore obviously felt the complete opposite?
"Yes, she did in fact recognize what happened to Percy, and why he was acting so strangely," Dumbledore replied to Ron, ignoring Sirius' comment.
Ron and Ginny looked anxiously at the headmaster, waiting for him to continue.
"What we do know at this time," Dumbledore began, "is that Percy was not acting of his own free will, someone was manipulating him, using him to get to you." He looked at Harry as he finished speaking.
"Why?" Harry asked, feeling both nervous and relieved that his suspicions were correct. He had hated thinking Percy actually harbored those feeling towards him. "I didn't understand his questions at all."
"Whomever he was referring to, unfortunately, is still a mystery to us," Dumbledore replied. "We are doing everything we can to find out."
"Well why can't we just ask him?" Ron asked, confused. "I mean, we know he was being controlled, but not anymore, right? Once you found out.I mean.he's back to being.himself again, isn't he?" He looked at the headmaster, earnestly.
Dumbledore's expression became very grim before he spoke again.
"Your brother has not spoken a word since we found him, and it doesn't seem he will be doing so any time soon."
"What?" Ginny asked, weakly.
"Why not?" Ron asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
Harry felt his heart aching looking at his two friends, and one glance at Hermione showed she felt the same. He felt terribly guilty that they were being put through this, and it was all because of him.
"The person that is controlling your brother still has a hold over him, which they are only using to keep him silent. For the moment, it appears they have abandoned using him to get the information they want," Dumbledore said. "By making sure he doesn't speak, their identity will remain a mystery to us."
"Isn't there anything we can do to break it?" Hermione asked. "There are so many counter spells that could be used."
"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Sirius interrupted her. "But this magic is not from our realm, apparently, or so the great Gazten tells us."
"Sirius, please." Dumbledore began.
"No Albus," Sirius interrupted again. "I can't let this go, not where Harry is involved, and in such a dangerous situation."
The two men looked at each other evenly, while the four students watched, fascinated and uneasy. Dumbledore and Sirius had had their disagreements, but this felt different to them. Finally Harry couldn't take the silence any longer.
"Sirius, what are you so worried about?" he asked, looking from his godfather, to Dumbledore and back again. "Can someone please tell us what's going on?"
"She's not like us, is she?" Hermione asked and Sirius looked up sharply at her question before looking back to the headmaster.
"Please," he began, "we need to tell them what she is."
Dumbledore seemed to consider this for a moment, before nodding once.
"Yes, it is probably best that they are aware," he said to Sirius before turning to the students. "This is to stay between us, so please be careful to think before you repeat anything said here today."
He waited for the four of them to nod their agreement, before continuing.
"You are correct Miss. Granger, Professor Gazten is not the same kind of witch as you are Miss. Weasley here is. She comes from a place called Faerun."
"Faerun? Where is that?" Hermione asked, to Harry's surprise. If any of them would've known about something like this it would've been her.
"Faerun is farther away than most wizards will ever dare travel," Dumbledore began. "It is a land few of us have seen, and of those few only a handful have returned to tell of their experiences. Even the most skilled wizards would be entering Faerun at great risk to their lives. There are creatures that are far more dangerous than any you will ever encounter here."
Why would anyone stay there then?" Ginny asked, shocked. "It sounds positively horrid."
"Those that are born in Faerun, have powers that differ greatly from those we were born with here. They are taught differently as well. While we try to show you the full scope of your abilities here, they like to find what they are strongest in, and focus on that. So for example if you were particularly gifted with fire, you would be taught to hone those skills above all others. The advantage being your ability to handle fire would most likely be greater than any other magic user you might come across, but your other natural abilities would be diminished and you would have little control over them."
"So, if Professor Gazten is from there, that means she must have been taught like that, right?" Harry asked.
"Yes, indeed she has," Dumbledore replied.
"What was she strongest in?" Hermione asked.
"In Faerun, Allison is what is known as a Paladin. She has the ability to heal almost any ailment, and no disease will ever have an affect on her as she was born with the ability to heal herself."
"That's why she's caring for Snape," Hermione said, appearing deep in thought.
"Quite right, Miss. Granger," Dumbledore replied.
"Then why isn't he well again?" Sirius asked. "If she has these divine healing powers, why is it so hard to heal him? Unless, she really isn't doing that at all, don't you see? Something about this situation doesn't feel right."
"I will agree with that, something does not feel right at all," Dumbledore said. "But I don't believe it has anything to do with Allison. Severus' condition has improved considerably since she has begun to treat him."
"I have a question," Harry spoke up before his godfather had a chance to continue the argument. The both of them turned their attention to him and Dumbledore nodded for Harry to go on.
"Why is it so important to keep this a secret?"
Dumbledore was silent for a few moments before replying.
"Sixteen years ago, Voldemort had managed to ally himself with a great many dangerous creatures of Faerun. Not all of the inhabitants are evil, but those that are were quite willing to side with Voldemort. They wanted nothing from him, as all they cared about was being given the chance to cause terror and pain to the people in our realm."
"How many of them were there?" Ron asked. "Helping him, I mean."
"They greatly outnumbered us, that is certain. The only reason we are not living under Voldemort's rule right now, is because the creatures of Faerun are unable to get out without a struggle."
"You mean they have to fight their way out?" Harry asked.
"In a way, yes," Dumbledore replied. "Those that are born there must use a great deal of power to travel through the barrier into our dominion and even if they are very strong they still would require an escort. Someone here would need to see them through safely."
"Then why did so many of them join with Voldemort?" Hermione asked. "It sounds like it would be too much trouble to escort all of them through."
"Exactly, Miss Granger. It would be more time and energy than Voldemort was willing to put forth. From what we know, he had been working on a way to open their barrier. It only affects them, as we can enter and exit as we choose. The thought of being able to run free in our realm was too tempting for many of these creatures to refuse, and so they gladly sided with Voldemort."
"Did he ever figure it out then?" Harry asked. "Does he know how to let them through?"
"I don't believe he does, not yet at least," Dumbledore replied. "He had some of his death eaters escort a few of the stronger ones through, but still had not destroyed the barrier by the time he was beaten, by you."
Harry averted his eyes, slightly embarrassed. In all honesty, he felt he had little to do with the fact that Voldemort was stopped that night. Now that he knew about Lunis, he believed even more it was just a lucky coincidence he survived.
"When he returned," the headmaster continued. "I'm sure he was eager to continue with his search for a way through. Since he hasn't yet broken the barrier, we believe he still hasn't found how."
"And.you said Professor Gazten is from Faerun too?" Ron asked.
"Yes Mr. Weasley, and that is the reason for the secrecy. While many students here would not recognize the name Faerun, their parents would indeed. If any of them were to discover where she was from, it would cause unnecessary panic, which we want to avoid especially now. Too many other things require our attention."
"That's also the reason," Sirius spoke up. "That we can't trust her."
"Gazten is from the one place we know for certain is full of Voldemort's supporters, she could easily be one of them," Sirius explained.
"We can't be sure of that Sirius," Dumbledore replied.
"So we're going to just let her roam the halls freely until she does something to prove you wrong? Is that what it's gonna come to?" Sirius asked angrily.
Dumbledore lowered his gaze before answering.
"I strongly believe it will not come to that at all. From what we know of the Faerunians that allied themselves with Voldemort, Paladins did not make up a large number of them."
"How did Professor Gazten get here?" Hermione asked, interrupting the argument. "You said that anyone born there would need an escort, right?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"Yes that is correct and that is exactly what happened. It was Hagrid who brought her across."
"So is that where Hagrid has been for all this time?" Harry asked. "In Faerun?"
"He spent a short time in Faerun, but not for his entire journey," Dumbledore replied shortly. The way he said it made Harry not ask about Hagrid's trip any further, for he could tell the headmaster wasn't going to be answering those questions.
"Um.not to change the subject, but about my brother." Ron began. "Since Professor Gazten knows what's wrong with him, can she do anything to help?"
Sirius snickered loudly, but didn't say anything after a warning look from Dumbledore.
"When we find who is doing this to your brother, than she will be able to help him, yes."
"Can we see him?" Ginny asked, hopefully.
Dumbledore nodded gently.
"Yes you may see him, he is currently in the hospital wing. Please remember he will not answer you, and it is very likely he won't even know you're there. The spell over him is very powerful."
"Only because the person that is controlling him is very close," Sirius said quickly. "We know that Gazten is capable of doing this."
"We certainly do not," Dumbledore interrupted sternly. "Being from Faerun does not make her evil, nor does the fact that she has access to different magic than we do. There are certain things we are capable of that she would be weak in, and there is our balance."
He turned back to the students before continuing.
"If you would like I will accompany you down to the hospital wing," he began. "But I will not be able to stay, as I have put off contacting the ministry long enough. They must be notified of Percy's condition."
The headmaster's last statement caused Harry to remember his letter from Cho and he stood up abruptly.
"Wait, you can't tell them anything!" he said speaking quickly. "We can't trust them either!"
Dumbledore and Sirius regarded Harry with uncertainty, waiting for him to continue.
"I got a letter yesterday," Harry began, "from Cho. She's in trouble." He pulled the letter out of his pocket and held it out to the headmaster. Dumbledore and Sirius leaned over it and read it together.
"This complicates matters," Dumbledore said as he finished reading. He looked up, a grim expression on his face.
"We have to find Cho immediately," Sirius said, looking from the letter to Dumbledore and back again.
"Yes I agree," Dumbledore replied. "But I will still need to contact the ministry."
"But why?" Harry asked, shocked. "This proves Thurston lied to you!"
"We don't know that yet, though I would have to say I agree with you. However, we still need to inform them of Percy's condition, as they will become suspicious when he is no longer reporting to them. Mr. Weasley will also need to be notified."
"Can't we just tell Arthur?" Sirius asked. "At least for the time being? Let's wait until Thurston calls on us and asks about Percy. If we can get more information before that happens, then it'll work to our advantage."
Dumbledore seemed to consider this for a moment before replying.
"That may work, for at least a few days," he began. "But if we can find no answers in that time I will have to tell them about Percy. If we let it go too long he may try to send someone else here, which is another unnecessary obstacle that I would rather avoid."
He looked again at the letter, carefully reading it over, before turning back to Harry.
"Do you have any idea where Miss. Chang may have gone Harry? Someplace she might've mentioned to you?"
Harry shook his head in dismay.
"I can't think of anyplace," he said slowly.
Dumbledore nodded gravely.
"Very well."
"I'll find her," Sirius spoke up almost immediately. Harry looked at his godfather, beginning to feel hopeful again. Dumbledore turned to him as well.
"You understand there isn't much time?"
Sirius nodded firmly.
"Completely, Marzia and I will go together, we'll find her before the week is out."
He turned to his godson and smiled reassuringly.
"Will Marzia be okay though?" Harry asked. "She looked like she would be in bed for a month last time I saw her."
Sirius grinned, proudly.
"When I get back, the three of us can have a talk, but trust me, she'll be fine."
He looked once more to the headmaster, waiting.
"Then please, make haste Sirius. Send an owl for anything you might need, and keep in contact as often as possible."
Sirius nodded curtly, before heading for the door, but Harry moved to block him. He stood looking at his godfather, seeming uncertain, before finally speaking.
"Bring her back Sirius.please."
"I promise you Harry. She'll be alright." He put a hand on Harry's shoulder, and pulled his godson into a hug. As they separated, he nodded good-bye to the others and swiftly went through the door.
Harry turned to his friends again, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. He knew Sirius would pull through, he had to.
"Let's go see Percy."
The four students and the headmaster walked to the hospital wing in silence, each of them deep in thought.
Harry was concerned for Cho, more than he could say, and fervently hoped Sirius and Marzia would find her quickly. But there were so many other questions he still had, and probably would have asked Dumbledore about, if he'd had more time.
What he wanted to know above all else, was what exactly Gazten was capable of. She obviously had amazing healing abilities, but was that where it ended? And what about the other inhabitants of Faerun? Dumbledore had referred to them as creatures several times and Harry got the impression they weren't human, but did that mean Gazten wasn't human as well?
Then there was the mystery of where Hagrid had been for the last two years. He hadn't spent the entire time in Faerun, but then where else did he go? Did he meet anyone else besides Gazten? It was hard to believe he wouldn't have, but very plausible to think that those he did encounter wanted nothing to do with helping him. How could they expect people to willingly volunteer to go up against Voldemort? Especially knowing how few people did last time.
His thoughts drifted back to Gazten, and to Percy as they came into view of the hospital wing. If Gazten was telling the truth, they had to find out who was controlling Percy. She had said the person must be close to have had such a hold over him and quite possibly, they were inside the school. He wondered if the person was someone he knew, and if they were still inside, or had left after last night.
Then there were the questions about Neville, which was another matter entirely. His behavior was strange enough, now add to the fact that he seemed to be very well acquainted with Gazten, it was all very confusing. Harry had had no idea the two were so close, or if they hadn't been he didn't see how they could've become so in just two months. What was bothering him more than anything though, was how obvious it was that whatever Neville and Gazten were doing, it involved Harry. And as was usual, he wasn't being told nearly as much as he would like to know. The difference with this, however, was now he was keeping information from Dumbledore and Sirius that he, in truth, felt he should be telling them. It was enough to make him feel ill.
Lastly, his thoughts drifted to Wormtail. He hadn't seen nor heard from him in a long while. This was, in truth, quite fine with him, but he did want to know how both Malfoy and Neville knew he was there. Did they overhear him talking about it, or could they see him as well?
They reached the double doors of the hospital wing at last and pushed through them. Dumbledore brought them to the area where Percy was being looked after, before excusing himself. He wanted to contact Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to inform them of what had happened.
Harry watched the headmaster go, fighting the urge to go after him, to get as many answers as possible. But knew Dumbledore had answered all the questions he was going to for now, so he stayed where he was until the headmaster was out of sight, before turning back to his friends and to Percy.
The visit with Percy was a short one, as Madam Pomfrey didn't feel comfortable leaving them alone with him. She also didn't have time to spend waiting while they visited, as she was busy. So, after about an hour of Ron and Ginny talking to their brother and getting no response, Madam Pomfrey gently ushered them out of the hospital wing.
"He looked sad," Ginny said as they walked back to the common room together, her brow furrowed in concern.
"We have to find out who's doing this to him," Ron said evenly.
"Dumbledore is working on that," Hermione began, placing a hand softly on Ron's tense arm. His hands were clenched into fists.
"But he's also working on about a dozen other matters!" Ron said loudly. He looked at Hermione, realizing he'd just yelled at her, and hung his head in guilt.
"I'm sorry," he began, "I just don't want to wait."
"I'm sorry too," Hermione replied. "I can't say I know what you're going through but I can see how upset you are, both of you," she added, looking at Ginny.
Ginny smiled weakly at Hermione, and nodded her thanks.
"Well we're just going to have to look as well then, won't we?" Harry spoke up. The other three turned to look at him, Ron and Ginny were smiling, but Hermione looked uncertain.
"Harry, do you really think." she began.
"Hermione, I wouldn't have said it if I didn't want to do it," Harry cut her off. "Besides, I may not be related to Percy by blood, but I'm just as angry that anyone would do this just to.just." he trailed off, not wanting to say it.
"It's not your fault Harry," Ginny spoke up. "You blame yourself for everything, and none of it is under your control."
Harry nodded, unconvincingly.
"We'll find them, whoever they are," he said at last.
They finished the rest of the walk in silence and didn't bring up the subject again for the rest of the day. Having barely gotten any homework done over the weekend, due to events beyond their control, they spent the afternoon and most of the evening getting it all finished. As it was only the beginning of November, they didn't have too much work yet. But that was sure to change, as it always did.
The week passed by slower than any so far, and Harry found himself increasingly concerned about Sirius, Marzia and Cho. He checked in with Dumbledore two and three times a day to see if there was any word. Most of the time, however, there was nothing, and when there was an owl, it was to let them know they were still looking. Harry was glad for those at least; the thought of losing any of them was unbearable.
The end of the week came at last and Harry was on his way back from Dumbledore's office. It was early evening on Saturday and they hadn't received any word yet, he was almost sick with worry. He was pacing the halls trying to keep his mind occupied with anything else, when he heard someone behind him.
Harry spun around to see Mel walking up behind him, though she still hadn't noticed him yet. She was reading over a paper in her hands and seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.
"Where you heading?" he asked as she neared him.
Mel, startled from not expecting to hear anyone around her, screamed and jumped nearly a foot in the air, dropping the paper she'd been holding.
"Trying to kill me?" she asked, her hand over her heart. She was breathing fast, but grinning.
Harry just laughed at her, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide, but she looked quite lovely just the same.
"So," he began, bending down to pick up what she had dropped. He held it out to her. "Where were you going?"
"Owlery," she answered, holding up the paper, which Harry could now see, was a letter. "Walk with me?"
Harry nodded, smiling, and the two of them started off, side by side.
"So what were you doing in this part of the school?" Mel asked. "It doesn't look like you're sending an owl."
"Just walking, trying to think.or not think rather.about certain things," Harry answered. "I honestly didn't even realize I was near the owlery, guess I wasn't really paying attention."
"Yeah well, I could say the same thing.you really gave me a scare you know," she said swatting him playfully on the arm.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," he replied, grinning.
"Well sure you didn't, but you enjoyed it," she said. He looked at her ready to protest but she continued quickly. "Come on, admit it. You were amused by my terror, don't deny it.I saw you laughing."
"I wouldn't say terror.shock maybe?" he suggested, stroking his chin, stifling another bout of laughter.
"And then you downplay my fear, how charming," Mel said, throwing her arms up.
"Oh you're right, poor thing, here let me help you," he said moving closer to her. He took one of her arms in his as he continued, "Are you too weak? Should I carry you? I can't imagine what it must've been like!"
"Cut it out!" she yelled cheerfully, elbowing him with the arm he was holding. She began giggling at the hurt expression he gave her.
"But.but I was only trying to help."
"You're mental.you know that, don't you?" she asked trying to keep her laughter under control.
"Laughing at my pain.I see the tables have turned." he said dejectedly.
"Stop!" Mel cried, pulling her arm away and clutching her stomach. She was laughing so hard it was hurting and Harry looked down at her grinning.
"Maybe you do need to be carried," he joked.
"Not a chance, especially not by you," she replied jovially.
"What did I do to deserve that?" Harry asked, in mock surprise.
"You're mental, remember? Never let a mental person carry you.um.because."
Harry shook his head, smiling and the two continued walking.
"So, do you need to talk about anything?" she asked, meeting his eyes. "Like what was bothering you earlier?"
Harry dropped her gaze and looked away.
"Not especially, I was trying not to think about it."
He had actually succeeded in forgetting, even though just for a short while, for which he was quite glad.
"Who are you sending the letter to?" he asked, changing the subject.
Before Mel could reply, they both heard a voice call out from behind them and turned to see who was there.
"There you are!" Hermione yelled running up to them from down the hall. "I've been looking everywhere! They're back and they found her Harry, they found Cho!"
"Is she alright?" Harry asked immediately his heart leaping into his throat. "Where is she?"
"She's in the hospital wing." Hermione began, catching her breath.
"What?" Harry exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Why, what happened.?"
"Harry," Hermione said firmly, interrupting him. "She's alive and I don't know what happened yet. They've just returned and the first thing I did was come to find you."
Harry looked at her for just a second before nodding impatiently.
"I have to go then, to see her," he said beginning to move past Hermione. He took only one step before remembering Mel, and spun around quickly.
"I'm sorry for cutting this short," he said, "but."
"You don't have to explain anything," Mel interrupted. "Go, don't worry about it, I guess I know what was bothering you now." She smiled at him reassuringly.
"Thank you," he said, nodding before turning and heading back down the hall, Hermione at his heels. The two of them ran all the way to the hospital wing, mostly because Harry refused to slow down. They pushed through the double doors together and Hermione led him to where Cho was sleeping.
"She's so pale." Harry remarked looking at Cho's still form.
"But her breathing is steady," Hermione said.
Harry didn't reply, but nodded once. He moved closer to the bed and knelt down next to his girlfriend. She was in fact breathing evenly and strong, which was a great relief. Though he didn't like the pale color of her skin. He pulled one of her hands out from under the sheets, holding it in his own before noticing something that made his stomach lurch. Her wrist was burned, in much the same way that Ron's neck had been after Percy's attack.
He stood up quickly and moved around to the other side of the bed.
"What are you.?" Hermione began from where she was standing a few feet from the foot of the bed. Harry didn't answer, but instead pulled her other hand out from under the sheet, to see an identical marking. He gently raised Cho's wrist to show Hermione.
"Oh no." she gasped. "Do you think it was the same person who." she began but was cut off by the sound of the doors to the room swinging open.
Ron and Ginny entered the room, quickly, but stopped abruptly when they noticed the other two were there.
"Nice of you to tell us you found him." Ron muttered, looking at Hermione.
"Well I didn't know where you were, and besides I knew you'd check back here," she replied.
Ginny had stepped up next to Harry and put a hand on his arm, about to say something when she noticed the burn on Cho's wrist and inhaled sharply.
"That's exactly like." she began looking from Cho to Ron and back again.
"It is, the same type of burn," Harry said.
"Is that what my neck looked like?" Ron asked in disgust, earning him a jab in the ribs from Hermione.
"What.?" he asked, but she just shook her head at him. The four of them looked up as they heard the doors open again, this time Dumbledore entered the room with Sirius and Marzia.
"Sirius," Harry said as his godfather came up to him. "Are you alright? Will Cho be okay? Where's Madam Pomfrey, shouldn't someone be here, doing something.anything.her wrists, they're burnt.what happened?"
"Harry, it's alright, Cho will be fine," Sirius replied.
"But." Harry began.
"I promise you," Sirius cut him off. "She will be alright."
Harry looked into his godfather's eyes for a long moment, before nodding slowly and sinking into a nearby chair.
"Allison will be here shortly," Dumbledore began, "to see that is indeed the case."
Sirius' gaze darkened for a moment but he didn't say anything. He and Marzia took seats on the opposite side of the bed from Harry.
"While we are waiting, however, it would be most helpful if you would tell us what happened."
~SIRIUS AND MARZIA'S POV - ONE WEEK AGO~
"Where do you want to start?" Marzia asked. Both she and Sirius were heading away from Hogwart's, moving as quickly as possible on brooms, to the Hogsmeade station. Once there, they would be able to apparate to their destination.
"The best place would be Cho's office at the ministry, if you think you can get us in," Sirius replied as they sped along.
Marzia laughed, knowingly.
"You do remember who you're talking to, right?" she asked with a wink. "We're as good as there."
Sirius smiled widely.
"That's what I thought you'd say."
When they reached Hogsmeade at last, the two of them dismounted and walked quickly to the nearest shop, Sirius did his best to ignore any strange looks from the shoppers milling around. It was more widely known that his name had been cleared, but some people still looked upon him, quite obviously, as a criminal.
"Just ignore them," Marzia whispered taking one of his hands in her own and squeezing it reassuringly.
"I know," he replied, smiling back at her. They went into the shop and asked the clerk to look after the brooms for them until they returned, before exiting the store.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Let's go," she answered.
The two of them stood facing each other one minute and the next they had disappeared from everyone's view. They apparated just outside the ministry and exchanged glances, before heading up the stairs to the front door together.
"Good afternoon," the receptionist said automatically when she heard the door open, but when she looked up to see who had entered, her expression changed. She had shoulder length light brown hair and couldn't have been older then 25. Her skin was very tan and Sirius suspected she must be one of the minister's daughters, as her attitude had seemed quite nonchalant. "What are you doing here?" she asked, standing up and Sirius honestly couldn't tell if she was referring to Marzia or himself. She kept looking from one to the other, a mix of anger and fear on her face.
"We need to get into Miss Chang's office," Marzia said in a demanding tone.
"W-what for?" the receptionist, who Sirius saw by the nameplate on her desk was called Jessica Taylor, asked defiantly.
"I'm afraid that's none of your business," Marzia replied crisply.
"You think so?" Jessica asked. "Well I'll just make a quick call." she began reaching for the phone. Marzia was quicker though; she reached her arm out quickly and slammed the phone back into its cradle as Jessica had just begun to lift it. With her free hand, she reached into her robes and pulled out what appeared to be an I.D. card.
"This is all you need to let us past," Marzia said evenly. "Now, do we still have a problem here?"
Jessica looked at the card carefully before meeting Marzia's gaze. No, no problem at all," she replied briskly.
"Good," Marzia said. She stepped past the desk and motioned for Sirius to follow her, Jessica not taking her eyes off of them as they went.
"She's going to call the second we're out of earshot you know." Sirius said as they headed down the first hallway.
"No she isn't, her phone won't work anymore," Marzia said throwing him a sly grin. Sirius shook his head, a bemused expression on his face.
"I didn't realize you were so unwelcome here," he said as they turned the corner and began up a set of stairs.
"I am and I'm not," Marzia replied. "Depends on who you ask."
"Well don't refer anyone to Jessica Taylor." Sirius commented.
"Don't worry, I won't," Marzia said laughing. "There it is," she continued pointing. "Cho's office."
They neared the door and Marzia glanced around quickly before grasping the handle, though she didn't need to even turn it, as the door was already ajar. The two exchanged curious glances before Sirius stepped slightly in front of Marzia.
"Be ready," he said quietly, pulling his wand out. He hesitated for only a second, before pushing the door open quickly, and stepping in.
Sirius looked around, not sure what to expect, but lowered his wand soon enough.
"We're not the only ones looking for Cho, it would seem," Marzia commented as she stepped up beside him.
The office was in complete disarray. Someone had been through every square inch of it without bothering to put anything back in its place. The two of them exchanged glances before beginning to sift through all the papers strewn about. The oversized desk that was in the middle of the room had been flipped onto its side.
"Did they think she'd be hiding underneath it?" Sirius asked, surveying the desk skeptically.
"Who knows," Marzia replied kneeling down to look through the drawers of a file cabinet that didn't have much left in it. "We don't know how long ago this happened, or even.if she was here, when it did."
If she was or not, I doubt very much we're going to find anything to help us here," Sirius said. "Whoever did this most likely found what they were looking for and took it, and if they didn't it probably means it wasn't here to begin with. Either way, I don't think we should waste time going through this mess when it most likely won't help."
"If not here, then where?" Marzia asked, looking over her shoulder at him.
"Well if she took the time to let Harry know she was in trouble, I'd bet she did the same for her parents, and possibly even told them where she was going."
"Of course," Marzia said as she stood up, "And if she didn't tell them they'd still have a better idea of where she'd be, or at least be able to point us in the right direction."
She started for the door again.
"Let's go pull her file, it'll have their address on it."
"Right," Sirius nodded, following her back into the hall.
They walked through the halls quickly as Marzia led the way to the employee files and almost crashed head on with someone who was just exiting the room, holding a small packet of papers. Marzia quickly stepped back, bumping into Sirius as the person in front of them regained their balance. It was a man about the same height as Sirius who was wearing a dark black cloak. The hood that was over his head slid off slightly when he jumped back and that was enough for Sirius to recognize him.
"You." Sirius spat bringing up his wand.
The cloaked man didn't waste any time, he pulled the hood over his face and lunged back into the file room, slamming the door into Sirius as he tried to follow, and causing him to almost knock Marzia over as he stepped back.
"Are you alright?" she asked as he pulled himself up straight.
"Bet you anything that was Cho's file," he snarled pushing the door open again. The two of them barged into the room, only to find there was an exit on the opposite end. With a quick glance at one another, they ran through the door in front of them, and down the hall after the cloaked man.
They ran through the halls blindly, stopping only to listen for the sound of the cloaked man's footfalls so they could catch up to him.
"Who is he?" Marzia whispered at one point when they took off up a flight of stairs as Sirius thought he caught sight of him.
"Why is this place deserted?" Sirius asked in exasperation, ignoring the question. "You'd think by now we'd have run into someone else." He looked around anxiously, hoping to catch sight of anyone as the two of them burst through the doors at the top of the stairs.
"I was wondering that myself," Marzia replied. They walked around as quickly and quietly as possible through the deserted corridors.
"So, are you gonna answer my question?" Marzia asked again, pointing her lit wand down a dark hallway.
"I'm sorry," Sirius replied glancing over his shoulder at her. "What did you ask again?"
"You recognized the man we're after, who is he? Is he a death eater?" she asked.
Sirius' expression changed to one of disgust and hatred; he began grinding his teeth.
"His name is Gridman, he's the one who tried to kill Harry the night of the opening feast."
"But I heard he was caught, before he could even get out of the school," Marzia said, confused.
"He was," Sirius replied, "though it was the ministry who O.K.'d his presence at the school in the first place, when we believed we were getting a student teacher. So when we turned him over to the ministry upon being caught.well, let's just say this doesn't come as too much of a surprise to me right now. After all the times the ministry has denied their involvement and lied about things."
"Shh!" Marzia hissed, cutting him off and holding up her hand. "I heard something," she whispered.
They stood silently looking around for any sign of movement and straining to hear even the slightest of movements.
"There's nothing past this hallway," Marzia said quietly as she began walking. "He has nowhere to go."
"Marvelous," Sirius replied as he followed her, wand outstretched. There were three doors at the end of the hall, all closed. The two of them exchanged glances, before Sirius reached out his hand for the first door, ever so slowly.
He thrust the door open quickly, scanning the room with the light from the tip of his wand, but it was empty. There wasn't so much as a chair or file cabinet; just a baron room with a window on the right wall.
"Stay here," he motioned with his hand to Marzia and she nodded her reply. He stepped carefully into the room, immediately turning to look behind the door, only to find cobwebs and dust. Walking over to the window, he peered out carefully, prepared for anything, but again came up empty. There was a narrow alley but there was no one in it.
"Nothing," he said, reemerging from the room.
"Two more," Marzia said. "One each?"
Sirius considered for a moment before replying.
"Alright, but be careful."
Marzia flashed him a wide smile.
"Am I ever not?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" he asked, wide eyed.
"Not right now, no," she replied with a grin. "I'll take the middle door."
"Alright, scream if you need anything, even if you aren't sure, got it?"
"Yes dad." she muttered, opening the door. He watched her disappear into the darkness before turning to the last one and pushing it open. Once again, he was greeted by nothing. Dust and dirt, but the only sign of life were the spiders in the far corner of the ceiling. This room didn't even have a window. He walked around it once, quickly, before heading back out to the hall, where Marzia stood waiting for him.
"Not there?" she asked incredulously, Sirius shook his head.
"Not a trace."
"Well.how?" There's no way out down here and I'm sure he's the one we were following all this way.
"Well either we lost him somewhere before this floor, or there is another way out from here. In any case we better head back the way we came, if there's any chance he's still in the building." he trailed off, sighing, "well I suppose we should warn someone, even if they most likely do already know."
They set off at a run and headed back down the stairs, when they reached the file room again, Sirius decided to check, just in case Cho's file wasn't the one Gridman had taken.
"Nope," he said, finishing his search. "It's gone. This doesn't make any sense. Harry's letter was dated back from September and they're only now looking for her file? It sounded like they were already after her by the way she wrote it."
"Well the only way we're gonna find out is to find Gridman, so let's get going," Marzia said. "Let's split here and meet in the lobby, if there's any chance he's still in here, we'll at least cover more ground that way."
"I don't know." Sirius began.
"I'm not a helpless child Sirius," Marzia said evenly, "I am quite capable of handling one death eater."
"I wasn't saying." he began, then stopped, shaking his head. "Look, I realize you are very able to take care of yourself, this guy just gives me a bad feeling."
"After what happened to Harry I can understand that completely," she interrupted. "But what we're doing now is wasting time, so, if you don't mind."
"Alright, I'll take the way we came in from the lobby," Sirius said, giving in.
"Fine with me," Marzia agreed. "Meet you there." She left the file room and turned right, and Sirius waited just a moment before turning in the opposite direction and setting off down the hall.
Sirius made it back to the lobby without running into a single person. Where is everyone? How is it possible to have been here for so long and not meet anyone except the receptionist and a death eater? You'd think at least one minister might be futzing around or something.
As he entered the lobby, he saw Jessica was still at her station, and she looked up as he entered.
"You've been gone for quite a while, what took so long?" she asked and Sirius was a bit taken back. He'd expected her to react similar to the way she treated Marzia, but there wasn't even a hint of coldness in her tone.
"We had a problem," he began, "Do you know of a man named Gridman? He would've been taken into custody by the ministry at the beginning of September."
"You mean Gus?" she asked incredulously.
"Er.who?"
"Gus. Jason Gridman. He was the one they arrested for attempted murder right around then."
"Sounds like him," Sirius said anxiously.
"He worked here, for a little over a year, I knew him pretty well. I was shocked when I found out." she trailed off.
"Umm, I don't mean to interrupt.but.I really need to find him and if you didn't see him then I should get going."
"Well, I did see a man leave here about five minutes ago," Jessica said. "But I didn't get a close look at him, he had his face covered by a black hood."
"That's probably him!" Sirius exclaimed. "Where did he go?"
"He went outside, but after that I don't know, wasn't paying much attention.
"And you didn't get even a small glimpse of him, when he came in maybe?"
"I don't remember seeing him come in, and it's not my job to I.D. people as they leave so no, I'm sorry," she replied flatly.
"Alright, I know, sorry," he said quickly. He glanced around impatiently, wondering what could be taking Marzia so long, now that he was quite sure Gridman was no longer inside he wasn't too worried about her. Finally, he turned to Jessica again.
"Remember the woman I came in with?" he began.
"Yes," Jessica spat. "She broke my phone and I can't leave my desk until."
"I'm sorry for that," Sirius interrupted, "and I'm sure she'll be glad to fix it when she comes down. Will you just tell her I went to look around town, for Gridman, and I'll meet her back here shortly?"
Jessica sighed heavily, as if this was a very unwanted task.
"Fine," she whined. "I'll tell her."
"Thank you," Sirius said, before turning and heading through the door. Definitely a minister's daughter, he thought as he looked around through the crowd. No way they would hire someone so unprofessional otherwise, but what did she have against Marzia?
He shook these thoughts from his head as he focused on finding Gridman. If all he had was a five-minute head start, there was a very good chance he was still in the town, but where Sirius had no idea. There were too many shops and small businesses that would be very easy to hide in, and even out on the streets you had a very large crowd for cover. So, when he spotted a tall man in a dark cloak, Sirius couldn't believe his luck, but he had to be sure.
"Gus!" he cried out in the direction of the man, who flinched and looked over his shoulder upon hearing the name.
Gotcha, Sirius thought as he saw Gridman spot him, and both men took off at a run.
Sirius followed Gridman up the main street of the town, hoping that the crowd would thin out. He was afraid to use his wand for fear he might hit one of them, and that would be all he needed. Thurston would jump at the chance to have him thrown in jail, he was sure of it.
He put on a burst of speed as he realized Gridman was lengthening the gap between them considerably, he was quite fast. But was forced to an abrupt halt when a carriage that was crossing in front of him stopped in his path. He skidded to a stop just short of slamming into it and barely managed to regain his balance before toppling over backwards. The passengers in the carriage stared out at him in surprise and fear, but he paid no attention, instead he ran to the end of it and back into the street, just in time to see Gridman mounting the steps to an ominous looking stone building at the very end of the street.
At least it'll get us off the main drag, Sirius thought as he headed after him. When he reached the structure, he was a bit surprised to see the word 'Library' chiseled above the large double doors.
Sirius took the steps two at a time and hesitated just a moment, before pushing one of the doors open cautiously, wand ready.
His heart began to beat faster as he realized the library was not only enormous, but completely deserted.
"Lumos," he whispered, lighting the tip of his wand. He aimed the beam slowly across the room, alert for any signs of movement, all the while keeping his ears pricked for any sound.
After illuminating every inch of space he could reach, he took a few careful steps forward, not having the slightest idea where to start. He looked up at the cathedral ceiling, which had to be at least thirty feet tall. It would take the entire day to search this place, and doing it alone was most likely going to accomplish nothing. If he were a few floors up and Gridman was far enough away, he'd never hear his movements, and he could easily escape.
Suddenly, the he heard a noise behind him, and spun around to find Marzia coming through the doorway, as quietly as possible.
"What are you doing here?" he whispered, "I asked that girl to tell you I'd meet you back at."
"Number one," she cut him off, holding up her hand. "I don't listen to anything Jessica has to say. Number two, did you really, truly believe I'd sit there twiddling my thumbs while you were off having all this fun?" She smirked at him playfully as he shook his head.
"What am I going to do with you?" he asked, grinning.
"Hmm.I'll have to get back to you on that," she replied before taking on a serious tone. "But right now, we have a thief to catch. Any idea where he might be?"
"No, just that he's in here.hey, wait a minute. How did you know I was in here?" he asked, confused.
"Are you kidding?" she asked, incredulously. "Every person out there watched the two of you tearing up the street like madmen, all I had to do was ask which way you went."
"Well if I hadn't been cut off at one point, I might've been a bit closer to our friend Gus here, and seen where."
A tremendous bang drowned out the rest of his sentence and the two of them looked above to see a bright purple light coming out of one of the aisles of books on the third floor.
"Bingo," Marzia said as she and Sirius exchanged a quick glance, before they both took off for the stairs.
They reached the third floor in a matter of seconds and headed straight for the strange glow. Turning into the aisle, they both came to a sudden stop at the sight in front of them.
Gridman was standing, eyes closed, in the center of a large violet sphere that was flowing with what looked like electric currents, but they were black.
"What is that?" Sirius asked in awe.
"He's getting away," Marzia replied through clenched teeth.
"No he's not!" Sirius hissed, charging forward.
"Wait!" Marzia cried, reaching out to stop him, but it was too late, Sirius had moved too quickly and unexpectedly. His hands came in contact with the sphere and Gridman's eyes flew open. They were as black as the currents coursing the surface of the glowing orb.
"Let go," Marzia said with undisguised worry, coming up next to Sirius.
"I can't," he replied, trying to pry his hands away, but they were caught, as if the sphere was made of glue. They watched as Gridman stepped forward from the center of the circle, moving slowly towards Sirius.
Marzia tore her eyes away and took hold of Sirius' arm, she began pulling with all her strength, but it wouldn't budge.
"C'mon, you have to try harder, move!" she yelled and Sirius didn't argue. He heard fear in her voice and believed she knew what was coming, and it was something he didn't care to find out about. The more he struggled, however, the deeper his hands became entangled, until they were submerged up to his wrists, and Gridman was standing directly opposite him. He lifted a hand slowly towards Sirius' and extended his finger, smiling all the while.
"Don't." Marzia whispered fiercely and Gridman hesitated, meeting her gaze. He looked at her indignantly for a moment, before the smile returned to his face. Giving the smallest of shrugs, he plunged his hand, finger outstretched, into the gooey substance. He seemed to be able to move through it with greater ease than Sirius, who was watching in horror and fascination.
Less then ten seconds passed, but it felt like an eternity, watching Gridman weave his hand through the muck, until at last his finger brushed Sirius' left hand.
For a moment, Sirius felt nothing, literally; his hand went completely numb. The feeling began to creep up his arm and soon was quickly spreading throughout his entire body. He tried to talk, but found he couldn't, everything had stopped moving and he felt his knees begin to buckle and it was getting hard to breathe.
As Gridman pulled his hand back inside the sphere, Sirius felt the pressure that had been holding him there release and his strength left him. He crumpled to the floor, shaking, his head throbbing, trying desperately to get his breathing under control, but nothing was working.
He could vaguely see Marzia's concerned face floating in and out of view as his vision blurred. She was talking to him, asking him something, but he couldn't make it out. It began to get very bright and his head was bursting with pain, when at last he could hold out no longer, and slipped mercifully into darkness.
"A bit late getting back tonight?" Harry asked, recognizing the person immediately and stepping out into full view.
Neville jumped a foot in the air, visibly paling at the surprise of being caught sneaking in, before he met Harry's gaze.
"You scared me," he said quietly, breathing fast.
"We're even then, you scared me coming in so late, I didn't think you were a student," he stopped for a moment, looking into Neville's eyes, which were unreadable, before continuing. "What happened tonight Neville?"
Neville took a few hesitant steps forward and Harry noticed his leg immediately, he was no longer limping.
"Feeling better?" he asked, gesturing towards his leg.
Neville looked down, then back at Harry.
"Much," he answered shortly.
"What did Madam Pomfrey say?"
"Huh?" Neville replied, then it dawned on him. "Oh.no, I didn't go to her."
Harry sighed, seeing that this was going to be like pulling teeth.
"Neville will you just be straight with me?" he asked, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. "There are some very strange things going on and a great deal of them have to do with you. Where did you learn the magic you used tonight? How did you know Ron and I were even there? Why didn't you want anyone to know about it? How did Gazten get Percy's wand?"
Harry stopped for air, and looked at Neville stubbornly. He wanted answers to at least some of these questions.
"Alright," Neville began, "I can't explain anything about the magic, or how I knew you were there. I didn't want anyone to know because I can't tell them anything either and I gave the wand to Allison."
Harry looked carefully at Neville, as if weighing him, before replying.
"So what, you two are good friends now?" he asked. "Is she the one who healed your leg?"
Neville just nodded once.
"So why can't you tell me anything then? I know she helped you and you both helped me.what's the problem with Dumbledore knowing?"
"We're not going to keep it from him forever, Allison said when the time is right."
"Right? For what?" Harry asked and Neville just shook his head. "If you're not going to tell me anything I don't see why I should keep your secret," Harry stated evenly. He fixed Neville with an obstinate glare, waiting for his response.
"You do whatever you feel you need to," Neville replied quickly. "Though it won't help you find out any faster. If they make Allison leave you'll only be making things worse."
Harry turned away, considering what Neville just said. He hated keeping this from Dumbledore, but at the same time, felt what he'd just been told was the truth.
"Do you swear to me that Gazten is on our side? Do you know this for a fact?" Harry asked at last.
"Yes," Neville replied without hesitation. "Yes she is Harry. And I promise you will be told everything.but I can't be the one to tell you.not until more is known."
"Neville, if you tell me even just a little, maybe I can help you find whatever else it is you need to know." Harry started.
"Not my decision," Neville said firmly.
"Neville.I don't like this. Not one bit."
"Like I said, you do whatever you feel you need to. I can't tell you anymore than I already have." The two men stood, staring at each other for a long moment in silence, until Neville finally stepped forward.
"Good night, Harry," he said, moving towards the door. Harry didn't try to stop him, just watched him pass by and listened to his footsteps as they ascended the stairs. A few moments went by, before he went up the stairs himself, thinking it would be better to make his decision in the morning.
Harry felt as if his head had barely touched the pillow, before he was shaken awake, roughly. He opened his eyes slowly and found the sun blaring through the window was too much, so he shut them immediately and tried to roll over.
"Harry, c'mon!" he heard Ron's voice say, "We've got some things to do today, the girls are already waiting for us in the great hall, let's go!"
Harry sat up groggily and looked around. He wanted only to go back to sleep and stay that way for several hours. But when he felt his glasses being put on roughly by Ron, he began to move.
"Alright, alright.I'm comin!" he said irritably, shooing his friend's hand away, pushing off the covers and heading for his closet.
When he was dressed, although still not fully awake, he followed Ron downstairs and through the portrait hole. They entered the great hall together and headed straight for where Hermione and Ginny were sitting.
"You stayed too long, didn't you?" Hermione asked playfully, giving Harry a knowing look.
He tried to glare back at her, but couldn't. He began to chuckle to himself from overtiredness, and his friends just stared at him in confusion.
"Did I miss something?" Ginny asked. "What's so funny?"
Ron and Hermione just shrugged, and waited for Harry to finish.
"It's nothing," Harry said finally, putting his elbow up on the table and resting his chin in his hand. "I'm just tired, don't mind me."
"How late did you stay up exactly?" Ron asked.
Harry shook his head.
"I don't know.long enough to see Neville trying to sneak in."
"What?" The other three cried in unison, cutting Harry off.
"What do you mean sneaking in?" Hermione asked.
"Just what I said," Harry replied. "He was trying to be very quiet and I startled him when I asked him why he was so late."
"What did he say?" Ron asked.
"Not much, actually," Harry replied and began to tell them everything he could remember from the conversation the night before.
"You are telling Dumbledore, right?" Hermione asked when Harry had finished his story. He remained silent, not meeting anyone's eyes, before slowly turning to look at Ginny.
She still wanted to go to the headmaster with everything, it was very apparent in her eyes, but Harry shook his head.
"Not yet.I want to hear what they found out from Percy, if anything. And what Gazten told them about her powers. Neville swears she's on our side."
"What if she's controlling him, huh? Ever think about that?" Ginny interrupted him, speaking harshly. "She could be using him to get to anyone, most likely you." She fixed Harry with a pointed glare and folded her arms across her chest.
"I believe," Harry began, meeting Ginny's gaze, "that would be even more of a reason to keep the secret. Suppose she is controlling him, and thinks we know it, then we won't have time to figure out why if she decides to accelerate whatever her plan is. If she isn't, then we have nothing to worry about. Either way we're better off staying quiet, at least until we know more."
"How exactly do you propose we find out more then?" Ginny asked, stubbornly.
"By doing what we had planned on yesterday. We talk to Dumbledore, find out about Percy and Gazten, whatever he knows."
"We have to tell him about Cho's letter too," Hermione said.
"Believe me I haven't forgotten," Harry replied. "This way he'll know about the ministry as well, and Thurston lying to him," he added looking again at Ginny. "He probably won't send Percy back there, and so he'll be under Dumbledore's care, he'll be safe."
Ginny still looked far from convinced, but grudgingly nodded.
"I won't say anything.for now." she said quietly.
"Thank you," Harry replied.
The four of them ate breakfast in silence, and as soon as they finished, decided to head straight for the headmaster's office.
"No sense in putting it off," Hermione said as they got up from the table and headed out to the hallway.
"I hope he's talked to Gazten already," Ron said as they walked. "I mean, we don't know what time they were planning on meeting and if it isn't until this afternoon or something."
"We can at least find out what he knows about Percy," Harry cut him off. "If we have to come back later for Gazten, then we do."
They reached the statue and Harry said the password. It swung open slowly and the four of them started up the stairs, Harry first. They could hear voices that got progressively louder as they got closer, and Harry realized they were arguing. He motioned for everyone to be quiet as they reached the top and he recognized the voices immediately.
Sirius and Snape.
Harry pushed the door open slightly, and the four of them didn't move a muscle as they listened to the argument taking place.
"I don't trust her, she should never have been allowed here in the first place. I think it's time we ask her to leave," Sirius was saying in a strained voice. He and Snape were standing a few feet from each other, both standing. Dumbledore and Remus were in the room as well, watching the other two men.
"You don't have any idea what you're talking about!" Snape replied fiercely. "I've spent a great deal of time with Allison and I believe her intentions are all good." He paused for a moment, eyeing Sirius before continuing.
"You should be paying more attention to your fiancé, I think. Only the darkest witches and wizards know how to control the power required to kill a dementor."
Sirius took a step towards the potions master, who Harry noticed still looked quite ill.
"I'm sure you'd know all about that, wouldn't you Snape?" Sirius practically spat at him. "And I believe the important thing to remember is that she was in fact using her powers to destroy them, not aid them in any way. Marzia acquired the knowledge for many different types of magic on various ministry assignments."
"Take what you're saying about Allison and apply it to Marzia," Snape said quietly. "She too could have been doing something to make it appear as if she were on your side, only to ensure you trust her until she decides to reveal her true intentions, and then it will be too late."
Sirius could not have looked angrier. His eyes flashed dangerously at the potions master and he took another step towards him.
"You've known Gazten for a few months, I've known Marzia for years!" he shouted. "You couldn't possibly know as much about that stranger as I do about my fiancé! She would never."
"Yes you have known her for years.but how well?" Snape interrupted. "Because for the last sixteen of those years you've known her you haven't so much as seen her. How can you possibly know everything she's been up to.?"
"She's told me all about what's happened in her life.that's what people who care about each other do, not that I'd expect you to know anything about that," Sirius replied, glaring at Snape.
"You assume too much," Snape hissed. "People can change a great deal in that span of time and if she were here as a spy do you really think she'd just tell you? But you're letting your feelings get in the way and you haven't even considered the possibility."
Sirius was clearly done with talking and was ready to lunge at Snape, when Remus stepped up beside him, placing a firm hand on his arm.
"I think this discussion has gone a bit off topic," he said cautiously, looking back and forth from Sirius to Snape before turning to Dumbledore.
The headmaster had been watching the 'discussion' with interest, listening to both sides intently.
"I understand your concerns, both of you. However I am not prepared to ask either Allison or Marzia to leave, as quite frankly, I don't see a reason for it. Neither of them has done anything that suggests they want to harm any of the students and at this time, we need each and every ally we come by."
Sirius and Snape were still staring hatefully at one another, but neither of them argued with the headmaster.
Harry decided at once to take advantage of the silence that was sure to be short-lived. He rapped softly on the door and pushed it open, to see everyone looking back at him.
"Good morning Harry," Dumbledore said with the familiar twinkle in his eye. "I expected you'd be visiting me today, please come in," he said, gesturing for him to enter.
"Good morning Professor Dumbledore," Harry replied as he stepped into the room revealing the others behind him.
"I see everyone is present and accounted for," Dumbledore said, smiling. "Wonderful, I needed to speak with all of you today."
The four of them made their was quietly into the room, no one sure what to say after what they had just heard. As they seated themselves, Snape eyed them suspiciously before addressing Harry.
"Exactly how long were you eavesdropping Mr. Potter?"
"Severus!" Remus said, sounding shocked. "You can't just go around accusing."
"I wasn't eavesdropping," Harry replied, cutting him off. "We were coming here to speak with Professor Dumbledore and happened to overhear the end of your.discussion."
Snape's eyes narrowed and Harry continued.
"I didn't realize you had so much dislike for Marzia.but I can't understand why." Harry looked at the potions master, waiting for his response and noticed how anxious Ron appeared to hear it as well.
"Yes I'd like to know that too," Sirius spoke up drawing Snape's attention back to him. "What happened? Did she save your life in school? We all know how much you hate being in debt to people."
Snape's face flushed and his eyes flashed dangerously at Sirius. If it weren't for his weakened state, Harry would've bet anything he'd have taken a swing at Sirius.
"That is quite enough from both of you," Dumbledore spoke up in a demanding voice. "Severus, I appreciate you coming here today, you've been a wonderful help. But now it is time you get your rest." He turned to Lupin before going on. "Remus, would you be good enough to see that Severus gets back to his quarters?"
Remus nodded.
"Certainly Albus," he replied. "Severus, are you ready?" he asked.
Snape was still glaring at Sirius, angrier than even Harry could remember seeing him. He wondered if Sirius really had been joking when he asked about Marzia saving him, or if there were something else.
Remus went up to Snape after a moment, tapping him gently on the arm to get his attention. The potions master turned to him sharply, but Remus didn't flinch.
"Come on then Severus, we best be on our way," he said gently.
"Get your rest Severus, you need it," Dumbledore said to him.
Snape nodded at him, obviously not wanting to leave, but too weak to argue any more. He followed Lupin across the room, not allowing himself to be helped in any way. He didn't hide the fact that he didn't want an escort to his room, but still remained silent.
As soon as the door was closed, Harry turned to Dumbledore.
"Has anyone found out what's wrong with him yet? Why is he still sick?"
"Professor Snape is being cared for by Professor Gazten, he has shown great improvement over the last few weeks, however we still have been unable to determine the cause of his illness," Professor Dumbledore said.
"Is he going to be okay?" Harry asked, concerned. "I mean, this is something that can be cured, right?"
Dumbledore met his gaze evenly, pausing a moment before replying.
"I hope so."
Harry felt the knot in his stomach tighten. Another worry to add to his growing list.
"Shouldn't we at least consider the possibility," Sirius spoke up, "that the reason he isn't getting well is because of Gazten? She seems to be the only person here that has any clue as to how to treat him, do we know for a fact that's what she's doing?" He was looking at Dumbledore, a determined expression on his face.
The headmaster sighed inaudibly before turning to Sirius.
"After speaking with Allison and Hagrid I feel there is no reason to doubt her intentions, I've explained this to you and I stand by my decision. You are entitled to your opinions, but I will not argue about this any longer."
Sirius appeared very much ready to continue the argument, but held whatever he had to say in, with obvious effort.
"So you did talk with Professor Gazten then?" Ron asked.
"Yes Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore replied. "Professor Gazten was quite eager to answer a few of my questions earlier this morning."
"Were any of them about Percy?" Ron asked immediately. "From what I saw yesterday it seemed like she knew a lot more than we did."
"Oh you got that impression too?" Sirius asked pointedly before the headmaster could reply.
Harry threw his godfather a questioning look. Why did he seem so very distrustful towards Gazten when Dumbledore obviously felt the complete opposite?
"Yes, she did in fact recognize what happened to Percy, and why he was acting so strangely," Dumbledore replied to Ron, ignoring Sirius' comment.
Ron and Ginny looked anxiously at the headmaster, waiting for him to continue.
"What we do know at this time," Dumbledore began, "is that Percy was not acting of his own free will, someone was manipulating him, using him to get to you." He looked at Harry as he finished speaking.
"Why?" Harry asked, feeling both nervous and relieved that his suspicions were correct. He had hated thinking Percy actually harbored those feeling towards him. "I didn't understand his questions at all."
"Whomever he was referring to, unfortunately, is still a mystery to us," Dumbledore replied. "We are doing everything we can to find out."
"Well why can't we just ask him?" Ron asked, confused. "I mean, we know he was being controlled, but not anymore, right? Once you found out.I mean.he's back to being.himself again, isn't he?" He looked at the headmaster, earnestly.
Dumbledore's expression became very grim before he spoke again.
"Your brother has not spoken a word since we found him, and it doesn't seem he will be doing so any time soon."
"What?" Ginny asked, weakly.
"Why not?" Ron asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
Harry felt his heart aching looking at his two friends, and one glance at Hermione showed she felt the same. He felt terribly guilty that they were being put through this, and it was all because of him.
"The person that is controlling your brother still has a hold over him, which they are only using to keep him silent. For the moment, it appears they have abandoned using him to get the information they want," Dumbledore said. "By making sure he doesn't speak, their identity will remain a mystery to us."
"Isn't there anything we can do to break it?" Hermione asked. "There are so many counter spells that could be used."
"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Sirius interrupted her. "But this magic is not from our realm, apparently, or so the great Gazten tells us."
"Sirius, please." Dumbledore began.
"No Albus," Sirius interrupted again. "I can't let this go, not where Harry is involved, and in such a dangerous situation."
The two men looked at each other evenly, while the four students watched, fascinated and uneasy. Dumbledore and Sirius had had their disagreements, but this felt different to them. Finally Harry couldn't take the silence any longer.
"Sirius, what are you so worried about?" he asked, looking from his godfather, to Dumbledore and back again. "Can someone please tell us what's going on?"
"She's not like us, is she?" Hermione asked and Sirius looked up sharply at her question before looking back to the headmaster.
"Please," he began, "we need to tell them what she is."
Dumbledore seemed to consider this for a moment, before nodding once.
"Yes, it is probably best that they are aware," he said to Sirius before turning to the students. "This is to stay between us, so please be careful to think before you repeat anything said here today."
He waited for the four of them to nod their agreement, before continuing.
"You are correct Miss. Granger, Professor Gazten is not the same kind of witch as you are Miss. Weasley here is. She comes from a place called Faerun."
"Faerun? Where is that?" Hermione asked, to Harry's surprise. If any of them would've known about something like this it would've been her.
"Faerun is farther away than most wizards will ever dare travel," Dumbledore began. "It is a land few of us have seen, and of those few only a handful have returned to tell of their experiences. Even the most skilled wizards would be entering Faerun at great risk to their lives. There are creatures that are far more dangerous than any you will ever encounter here."
Why would anyone stay there then?" Ginny asked, shocked. "It sounds positively horrid."
"Those that are born in Faerun, have powers that differ greatly from those we were born with here. They are taught differently as well. While we try to show you the full scope of your abilities here, they like to find what they are strongest in, and focus on that. So for example if you were particularly gifted with fire, you would be taught to hone those skills above all others. The advantage being your ability to handle fire would most likely be greater than any other magic user you might come across, but your other natural abilities would be diminished and you would have little control over them."
"So, if Professor Gazten is from there, that means she must have been taught like that, right?" Harry asked.
"Yes, indeed she has," Dumbledore replied.
"What was she strongest in?" Hermione asked.
"In Faerun, Allison is what is known as a Paladin. She has the ability to heal almost any ailment, and no disease will ever have an affect on her as she was born with the ability to heal herself."
"That's why she's caring for Snape," Hermione said, appearing deep in thought.
"Quite right, Miss. Granger," Dumbledore replied.
"Then why isn't he well again?" Sirius asked. "If she has these divine healing powers, why is it so hard to heal him? Unless, she really isn't doing that at all, don't you see? Something about this situation doesn't feel right."
"I will agree with that, something does not feel right at all," Dumbledore said. "But I don't believe it has anything to do with Allison. Severus' condition has improved considerably since she has begun to treat him."
"I have a question," Harry spoke up before his godfather had a chance to continue the argument. The both of them turned their attention to him and Dumbledore nodded for Harry to go on.
"Why is it so important to keep this a secret?"
Dumbledore was silent for a few moments before replying.
"Sixteen years ago, Voldemort had managed to ally himself with a great many dangerous creatures of Faerun. Not all of the inhabitants are evil, but those that are were quite willing to side with Voldemort. They wanted nothing from him, as all they cared about was being given the chance to cause terror and pain to the people in our realm."
"How many of them were there?" Ron asked. "Helping him, I mean."
"They greatly outnumbered us, that is certain. The only reason we are not living under Voldemort's rule right now, is because the creatures of Faerun are unable to get out without a struggle."
"You mean they have to fight their way out?" Harry asked.
"In a way, yes," Dumbledore replied. "Those that are born there must use a great deal of power to travel through the barrier into our dominion and even if they are very strong they still would require an escort. Someone here would need to see them through safely."
"Then why did so many of them join with Voldemort?" Hermione asked. "It sounds like it would be too much trouble to escort all of them through."
"Exactly, Miss Granger. It would be more time and energy than Voldemort was willing to put forth. From what we know, he had been working on a way to open their barrier. It only affects them, as we can enter and exit as we choose. The thought of being able to run free in our realm was too tempting for many of these creatures to refuse, and so they gladly sided with Voldemort."
"Did he ever figure it out then?" Harry asked. "Does he know how to let them through?"
"I don't believe he does, not yet at least," Dumbledore replied. "He had some of his death eaters escort a few of the stronger ones through, but still had not destroyed the barrier by the time he was beaten, by you."
Harry averted his eyes, slightly embarrassed. In all honesty, he felt he had little to do with the fact that Voldemort was stopped that night. Now that he knew about Lunis, he believed even more it was just a lucky coincidence he survived.
"When he returned," the headmaster continued. "I'm sure he was eager to continue with his search for a way through. Since he hasn't yet broken the barrier, we believe he still hasn't found how."
"And.you said Professor Gazten is from Faerun too?" Ron asked.
"Yes Mr. Weasley, and that is the reason for the secrecy. While many students here would not recognize the name Faerun, their parents would indeed. If any of them were to discover where she was from, it would cause unnecessary panic, which we want to avoid especially now. Too many other things require our attention."
"That's also the reason," Sirius spoke up. "That we can't trust her."
"Gazten is from the one place we know for certain is full of Voldemort's supporters, she could easily be one of them," Sirius explained.
"We can't be sure of that Sirius," Dumbledore replied.
"So we're going to just let her roam the halls freely until she does something to prove you wrong? Is that what it's gonna come to?" Sirius asked angrily.
Dumbledore lowered his gaze before answering.
"I strongly believe it will not come to that at all. From what we know of the Faerunians that allied themselves with Voldemort, Paladins did not make up a large number of them."
"How did Professor Gazten get here?" Hermione asked, interrupting the argument. "You said that anyone born there would need an escort, right?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"Yes that is correct and that is exactly what happened. It was Hagrid who brought her across."
"So is that where Hagrid has been for all this time?" Harry asked. "In Faerun?"
"He spent a short time in Faerun, but not for his entire journey," Dumbledore replied shortly. The way he said it made Harry not ask about Hagrid's trip any further, for he could tell the headmaster wasn't going to be answering those questions.
"Um.not to change the subject, but about my brother." Ron began. "Since Professor Gazten knows what's wrong with him, can she do anything to help?"
Sirius snickered loudly, but didn't say anything after a warning look from Dumbledore.
"When we find who is doing this to your brother, than she will be able to help him, yes."
"Can we see him?" Ginny asked, hopefully.
Dumbledore nodded gently.
"Yes you may see him, he is currently in the hospital wing. Please remember he will not answer you, and it is very likely he won't even know you're there. The spell over him is very powerful."
"Only because the person that is controlling him is very close," Sirius said quickly. "We know that Gazten is capable of doing this."
"We certainly do not," Dumbledore interrupted sternly. "Being from Faerun does not make her evil, nor does the fact that she has access to different magic than we do. There are certain things we are capable of that she would be weak in, and there is our balance."
He turned back to the students before continuing.
"If you would like I will accompany you down to the hospital wing," he began. "But I will not be able to stay, as I have put off contacting the ministry long enough. They must be notified of Percy's condition."
The headmaster's last statement caused Harry to remember his letter from Cho and he stood up abruptly.
"Wait, you can't tell them anything!" he said speaking quickly. "We can't trust them either!"
Dumbledore and Sirius regarded Harry with uncertainty, waiting for him to continue.
"I got a letter yesterday," Harry began, "from Cho. She's in trouble." He pulled the letter out of his pocket and held it out to the headmaster. Dumbledore and Sirius leaned over it and read it together.
"This complicates matters," Dumbledore said as he finished reading. He looked up, a grim expression on his face.
"We have to find Cho immediately," Sirius said, looking from the letter to Dumbledore and back again.
"Yes I agree," Dumbledore replied. "But I will still need to contact the ministry."
"But why?" Harry asked, shocked. "This proves Thurston lied to you!"
"We don't know that yet, though I would have to say I agree with you. However, we still need to inform them of Percy's condition, as they will become suspicious when he is no longer reporting to them. Mr. Weasley will also need to be notified."
"Can't we just tell Arthur?" Sirius asked. "At least for the time being? Let's wait until Thurston calls on us and asks about Percy. If we can get more information before that happens, then it'll work to our advantage."
Dumbledore seemed to consider this for a moment before replying.
"That may work, for at least a few days," he began. "But if we can find no answers in that time I will have to tell them about Percy. If we let it go too long he may try to send someone else here, which is another unnecessary obstacle that I would rather avoid."
He looked again at the letter, carefully reading it over, before turning back to Harry.
"Do you have any idea where Miss. Chang may have gone Harry? Someplace she might've mentioned to you?"
Harry shook his head in dismay.
"I can't think of anyplace," he said slowly.
Dumbledore nodded gravely.
"Very well."
"I'll find her," Sirius spoke up almost immediately. Harry looked at his godfather, beginning to feel hopeful again. Dumbledore turned to him as well.
"You understand there isn't much time?"
Sirius nodded firmly.
"Completely, Marzia and I will go together, we'll find her before the week is out."
He turned to his godson and smiled reassuringly.
"Will Marzia be okay though?" Harry asked. "She looked like she would be in bed for a month last time I saw her."
Sirius grinned, proudly.
"When I get back, the three of us can have a talk, but trust me, she'll be fine."
He looked once more to the headmaster, waiting.
"Then please, make haste Sirius. Send an owl for anything you might need, and keep in contact as often as possible."
Sirius nodded curtly, before heading for the door, but Harry moved to block him. He stood looking at his godfather, seeming uncertain, before finally speaking.
"Bring her back Sirius.please."
"I promise you Harry. She'll be alright." He put a hand on Harry's shoulder, and pulled his godson into a hug. As they separated, he nodded good-bye to the others and swiftly went through the door.
Harry turned to his friends again, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. He knew Sirius would pull through, he had to.
"Let's go see Percy."
The four students and the headmaster walked to the hospital wing in silence, each of them deep in thought.
Harry was concerned for Cho, more than he could say, and fervently hoped Sirius and Marzia would find her quickly. But there were so many other questions he still had, and probably would have asked Dumbledore about, if he'd had more time.
What he wanted to know above all else, was what exactly Gazten was capable of. She obviously had amazing healing abilities, but was that where it ended? And what about the other inhabitants of Faerun? Dumbledore had referred to them as creatures several times and Harry got the impression they weren't human, but did that mean Gazten wasn't human as well?
Then there was the mystery of where Hagrid had been for the last two years. He hadn't spent the entire time in Faerun, but then where else did he go? Did he meet anyone else besides Gazten? It was hard to believe he wouldn't have, but very plausible to think that those he did encounter wanted nothing to do with helping him. How could they expect people to willingly volunteer to go up against Voldemort? Especially knowing how few people did last time.
His thoughts drifted back to Gazten, and to Percy as they came into view of the hospital wing. If Gazten was telling the truth, they had to find out who was controlling Percy. She had said the person must be close to have had such a hold over him and quite possibly, they were inside the school. He wondered if the person was someone he knew, and if they were still inside, or had left after last night.
Then there were the questions about Neville, which was another matter entirely. His behavior was strange enough, now add to the fact that he seemed to be very well acquainted with Gazten, it was all very confusing. Harry had had no idea the two were so close, or if they hadn't been he didn't see how they could've become so in just two months. What was bothering him more than anything though, was how obvious it was that whatever Neville and Gazten were doing, it involved Harry. And as was usual, he wasn't being told nearly as much as he would like to know. The difference with this, however, was now he was keeping information from Dumbledore and Sirius that he, in truth, felt he should be telling them. It was enough to make him feel ill.
Lastly, his thoughts drifted to Wormtail. He hadn't seen nor heard from him in a long while. This was, in truth, quite fine with him, but he did want to know how both Malfoy and Neville knew he was there. Did they overhear him talking about it, or could they see him as well?
They reached the double doors of the hospital wing at last and pushed through them. Dumbledore brought them to the area where Percy was being looked after, before excusing himself. He wanted to contact Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to inform them of what had happened.
Harry watched the headmaster go, fighting the urge to go after him, to get as many answers as possible. But knew Dumbledore had answered all the questions he was going to for now, so he stayed where he was until the headmaster was out of sight, before turning back to his friends and to Percy.
The visit with Percy was a short one, as Madam Pomfrey didn't feel comfortable leaving them alone with him. She also didn't have time to spend waiting while they visited, as she was busy. So, after about an hour of Ron and Ginny talking to their brother and getting no response, Madam Pomfrey gently ushered them out of the hospital wing.
"He looked sad," Ginny said as they walked back to the common room together, her brow furrowed in concern.
"We have to find out who's doing this to him," Ron said evenly.
"Dumbledore is working on that," Hermione began, placing a hand softly on Ron's tense arm. His hands were clenched into fists.
"But he's also working on about a dozen other matters!" Ron said loudly. He looked at Hermione, realizing he'd just yelled at her, and hung his head in guilt.
"I'm sorry," he began, "I just don't want to wait."
"I'm sorry too," Hermione replied. "I can't say I know what you're going through but I can see how upset you are, both of you," she added, looking at Ginny.
Ginny smiled weakly at Hermione, and nodded her thanks.
"Well we're just going to have to look as well then, won't we?" Harry spoke up. The other three turned to look at him, Ron and Ginny were smiling, but Hermione looked uncertain.
"Harry, do you really think." she began.
"Hermione, I wouldn't have said it if I didn't want to do it," Harry cut her off. "Besides, I may not be related to Percy by blood, but I'm just as angry that anyone would do this just to.just." he trailed off, not wanting to say it.
"It's not your fault Harry," Ginny spoke up. "You blame yourself for everything, and none of it is under your control."
Harry nodded, unconvincingly.
"We'll find them, whoever they are," he said at last.
They finished the rest of the walk in silence and didn't bring up the subject again for the rest of the day. Having barely gotten any homework done over the weekend, due to events beyond their control, they spent the afternoon and most of the evening getting it all finished. As it was only the beginning of November, they didn't have too much work yet. But that was sure to change, as it always did.
The week passed by slower than any so far, and Harry found himself increasingly concerned about Sirius, Marzia and Cho. He checked in with Dumbledore two and three times a day to see if there was any word. Most of the time, however, there was nothing, and when there was an owl, it was to let them know they were still looking. Harry was glad for those at least; the thought of losing any of them was unbearable.
The end of the week came at last and Harry was on his way back from Dumbledore's office. It was early evening on Saturday and they hadn't received any word yet, he was almost sick with worry. He was pacing the halls trying to keep his mind occupied with anything else, when he heard someone behind him.
Harry spun around to see Mel walking up behind him, though she still hadn't noticed him yet. She was reading over a paper in her hands and seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.
"Where you heading?" he asked as she neared him.
Mel, startled from not expecting to hear anyone around her, screamed and jumped nearly a foot in the air, dropping the paper she'd been holding.
"Trying to kill me?" she asked, her hand over her heart. She was breathing fast, but grinning.
Harry just laughed at her, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide, but she looked quite lovely just the same.
"So," he began, bending down to pick up what she had dropped. He held it out to her. "Where were you going?"
"Owlery," she answered, holding up the paper, which Harry could now see, was a letter. "Walk with me?"
Harry nodded, smiling, and the two of them started off, side by side.
"So what were you doing in this part of the school?" Mel asked. "It doesn't look like you're sending an owl."
"Just walking, trying to think.or not think rather.about certain things," Harry answered. "I honestly didn't even realize I was near the owlery, guess I wasn't really paying attention."
"Yeah well, I could say the same thing.you really gave me a scare you know," she said swatting him playfully on the arm.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," he replied, grinning.
"Well sure you didn't, but you enjoyed it," she said. He looked at her ready to protest but she continued quickly. "Come on, admit it. You were amused by my terror, don't deny it.I saw you laughing."
"I wouldn't say terror.shock maybe?" he suggested, stroking his chin, stifling another bout of laughter.
"And then you downplay my fear, how charming," Mel said, throwing her arms up.
"Oh you're right, poor thing, here let me help you," he said moving closer to her. He took one of her arms in his as he continued, "Are you too weak? Should I carry you? I can't imagine what it must've been like!"
"Cut it out!" she yelled cheerfully, elbowing him with the arm he was holding. She began giggling at the hurt expression he gave her.
"But.but I was only trying to help."
"You're mental.you know that, don't you?" she asked trying to keep her laughter under control.
"Laughing at my pain.I see the tables have turned." he said dejectedly.
"Stop!" Mel cried, pulling her arm away and clutching her stomach. She was laughing so hard it was hurting and Harry looked down at her grinning.
"Maybe you do need to be carried," he joked.
"Not a chance, especially not by you," she replied jovially.
"What did I do to deserve that?" Harry asked, in mock surprise.
"You're mental, remember? Never let a mental person carry you.um.because."
Harry shook his head, smiling and the two continued walking.
"So, do you need to talk about anything?" she asked, meeting his eyes. "Like what was bothering you earlier?"
Harry dropped her gaze and looked away.
"Not especially, I was trying not to think about it."
He had actually succeeded in forgetting, even though just for a short while, for which he was quite glad.
"Who are you sending the letter to?" he asked, changing the subject.
Before Mel could reply, they both heard a voice call out from behind them and turned to see who was there.
"There you are!" Hermione yelled running up to them from down the hall. "I've been looking everywhere! They're back and they found her Harry, they found Cho!"
"Is she alright?" Harry asked immediately his heart leaping into his throat. "Where is she?"
"She's in the hospital wing." Hermione began, catching her breath.
"What?" Harry exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Why, what happened.?"
"Harry," Hermione said firmly, interrupting him. "She's alive and I don't know what happened yet. They've just returned and the first thing I did was come to find you."
Harry looked at her for just a second before nodding impatiently.
"I have to go then, to see her," he said beginning to move past Hermione. He took only one step before remembering Mel, and spun around quickly.
"I'm sorry for cutting this short," he said, "but."
"You don't have to explain anything," Mel interrupted. "Go, don't worry about it, I guess I know what was bothering you now." She smiled at him reassuringly.
"Thank you," he said, nodding before turning and heading back down the hall, Hermione at his heels. The two of them ran all the way to the hospital wing, mostly because Harry refused to slow down. They pushed through the double doors together and Hermione led him to where Cho was sleeping.
"She's so pale." Harry remarked looking at Cho's still form.
"But her breathing is steady," Hermione said.
Harry didn't reply, but nodded once. He moved closer to the bed and knelt down next to his girlfriend. She was in fact breathing evenly and strong, which was a great relief. Though he didn't like the pale color of her skin. He pulled one of her hands out from under the sheets, holding it in his own before noticing something that made his stomach lurch. Her wrist was burned, in much the same way that Ron's neck had been after Percy's attack.
He stood up quickly and moved around to the other side of the bed.
"What are you.?" Hermione began from where she was standing a few feet from the foot of the bed. Harry didn't answer, but instead pulled her other hand out from under the sheet, to see an identical marking. He gently raised Cho's wrist to show Hermione.
"Oh no." she gasped. "Do you think it was the same person who." she began but was cut off by the sound of the doors to the room swinging open.
Ron and Ginny entered the room, quickly, but stopped abruptly when they noticed the other two were there.
"Nice of you to tell us you found him." Ron muttered, looking at Hermione.
"Well I didn't know where you were, and besides I knew you'd check back here," she replied.
Ginny had stepped up next to Harry and put a hand on his arm, about to say something when she noticed the burn on Cho's wrist and inhaled sharply.
"That's exactly like." she began looking from Cho to Ron and back again.
"It is, the same type of burn," Harry said.
"Is that what my neck looked like?" Ron asked in disgust, earning him a jab in the ribs from Hermione.
"What.?" he asked, but she just shook her head at him. The four of them looked up as they heard the doors open again, this time Dumbledore entered the room with Sirius and Marzia.
"Sirius," Harry said as his godfather came up to him. "Are you alright? Will Cho be okay? Where's Madam Pomfrey, shouldn't someone be here, doing something.anything.her wrists, they're burnt.what happened?"
"Harry, it's alright, Cho will be fine," Sirius replied.
"But." Harry began.
"I promise you," Sirius cut him off. "She will be alright."
Harry looked into his godfather's eyes for a long moment, before nodding slowly and sinking into a nearby chair.
"Allison will be here shortly," Dumbledore began, "to see that is indeed the case."
Sirius' gaze darkened for a moment but he didn't say anything. He and Marzia took seats on the opposite side of the bed from Harry.
"While we are waiting, however, it would be most helpful if you would tell us what happened."
~SIRIUS AND MARZIA'S POV - ONE WEEK AGO~
"Where do you want to start?" Marzia asked. Both she and Sirius were heading away from Hogwart's, moving as quickly as possible on brooms, to the Hogsmeade station. Once there, they would be able to apparate to their destination.
"The best place would be Cho's office at the ministry, if you think you can get us in," Sirius replied as they sped along.
Marzia laughed, knowingly.
"You do remember who you're talking to, right?" she asked with a wink. "We're as good as there."
Sirius smiled widely.
"That's what I thought you'd say."
When they reached Hogsmeade at last, the two of them dismounted and walked quickly to the nearest shop, Sirius did his best to ignore any strange looks from the shoppers milling around. It was more widely known that his name had been cleared, but some people still looked upon him, quite obviously, as a criminal.
"Just ignore them," Marzia whispered taking one of his hands in her own and squeezing it reassuringly.
"I know," he replied, smiling back at her. They went into the shop and asked the clerk to look after the brooms for them until they returned, before exiting the store.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Let's go," she answered.
The two of them stood facing each other one minute and the next they had disappeared from everyone's view. They apparated just outside the ministry and exchanged glances, before heading up the stairs to the front door together.
"Good afternoon," the receptionist said automatically when she heard the door open, but when she looked up to see who had entered, her expression changed. She had shoulder length light brown hair and couldn't have been older then 25. Her skin was very tan and Sirius suspected she must be one of the minister's daughters, as her attitude had seemed quite nonchalant. "What are you doing here?" she asked, standing up and Sirius honestly couldn't tell if she was referring to Marzia or himself. She kept looking from one to the other, a mix of anger and fear on her face.
"We need to get into Miss Chang's office," Marzia said in a demanding tone.
"W-what for?" the receptionist, who Sirius saw by the nameplate on her desk was called Jessica Taylor, asked defiantly.
"I'm afraid that's none of your business," Marzia replied crisply.
"You think so?" Jessica asked. "Well I'll just make a quick call." she began reaching for the phone. Marzia was quicker though; she reached her arm out quickly and slammed the phone back into its cradle as Jessica had just begun to lift it. With her free hand, she reached into her robes and pulled out what appeared to be an I.D. card.
"This is all you need to let us past," Marzia said evenly. "Now, do we still have a problem here?"
Jessica looked at the card carefully before meeting Marzia's gaze. No, no problem at all," she replied briskly.
"Good," Marzia said. She stepped past the desk and motioned for Sirius to follow her, Jessica not taking her eyes off of them as they went.
"She's going to call the second we're out of earshot you know." Sirius said as they headed down the first hallway.
"No she isn't, her phone won't work anymore," Marzia said throwing him a sly grin. Sirius shook his head, a bemused expression on his face.
"I didn't realize you were so unwelcome here," he said as they turned the corner and began up a set of stairs.
"I am and I'm not," Marzia replied. "Depends on who you ask."
"Well don't refer anyone to Jessica Taylor." Sirius commented.
"Don't worry, I won't," Marzia said laughing. "There it is," she continued pointing. "Cho's office."
They neared the door and Marzia glanced around quickly before grasping the handle, though she didn't need to even turn it, as the door was already ajar. The two exchanged curious glances before Sirius stepped slightly in front of Marzia.
"Be ready," he said quietly, pulling his wand out. He hesitated for only a second, before pushing the door open quickly, and stepping in.
Sirius looked around, not sure what to expect, but lowered his wand soon enough.
"We're not the only ones looking for Cho, it would seem," Marzia commented as she stepped up beside him.
The office was in complete disarray. Someone had been through every square inch of it without bothering to put anything back in its place. The two of them exchanged glances before beginning to sift through all the papers strewn about. The oversized desk that was in the middle of the room had been flipped onto its side.
"Did they think she'd be hiding underneath it?" Sirius asked, surveying the desk skeptically.
"Who knows," Marzia replied kneeling down to look through the drawers of a file cabinet that didn't have much left in it. "We don't know how long ago this happened, or even.if she was here, when it did."
If she was or not, I doubt very much we're going to find anything to help us here," Sirius said. "Whoever did this most likely found what they were looking for and took it, and if they didn't it probably means it wasn't here to begin with. Either way, I don't think we should waste time going through this mess when it most likely won't help."
"If not here, then where?" Marzia asked, looking over her shoulder at him.
"Well if she took the time to let Harry know she was in trouble, I'd bet she did the same for her parents, and possibly even told them where she was going."
"Of course," Marzia said as she stood up, "And if she didn't tell them they'd still have a better idea of where she'd be, or at least be able to point us in the right direction."
She started for the door again.
"Let's go pull her file, it'll have their address on it."
"Right," Sirius nodded, following her back into the hall.
They walked through the halls quickly as Marzia led the way to the employee files and almost crashed head on with someone who was just exiting the room, holding a small packet of papers. Marzia quickly stepped back, bumping into Sirius as the person in front of them regained their balance. It was a man about the same height as Sirius who was wearing a dark black cloak. The hood that was over his head slid off slightly when he jumped back and that was enough for Sirius to recognize him.
"You." Sirius spat bringing up his wand.
The cloaked man didn't waste any time, he pulled the hood over his face and lunged back into the file room, slamming the door into Sirius as he tried to follow, and causing him to almost knock Marzia over as he stepped back.
"Are you alright?" she asked as he pulled himself up straight.
"Bet you anything that was Cho's file," he snarled pushing the door open again. The two of them barged into the room, only to find there was an exit on the opposite end. With a quick glance at one another, they ran through the door in front of them, and down the hall after the cloaked man.
They ran through the halls blindly, stopping only to listen for the sound of the cloaked man's footfalls so they could catch up to him.
"Who is he?" Marzia whispered at one point when they took off up a flight of stairs as Sirius thought he caught sight of him.
"Why is this place deserted?" Sirius asked in exasperation, ignoring the question. "You'd think by now we'd have run into someone else." He looked around anxiously, hoping to catch sight of anyone as the two of them burst through the doors at the top of the stairs.
"I was wondering that myself," Marzia replied. They walked around as quickly and quietly as possible through the deserted corridors.
"So, are you gonna answer my question?" Marzia asked again, pointing her lit wand down a dark hallway.
"I'm sorry," Sirius replied glancing over his shoulder at her. "What did you ask again?"
"You recognized the man we're after, who is he? Is he a death eater?" she asked.
Sirius' expression changed to one of disgust and hatred; he began grinding his teeth.
"His name is Gridman, he's the one who tried to kill Harry the night of the opening feast."
"But I heard he was caught, before he could even get out of the school," Marzia said, confused.
"He was," Sirius replied, "though it was the ministry who O.K.'d his presence at the school in the first place, when we believed we were getting a student teacher. So when we turned him over to the ministry upon being caught.well, let's just say this doesn't come as too much of a surprise to me right now. After all the times the ministry has denied their involvement and lied about things."
"Shh!" Marzia hissed, cutting him off and holding up her hand. "I heard something," she whispered.
They stood silently looking around for any sign of movement and straining to hear even the slightest of movements.
"There's nothing past this hallway," Marzia said quietly as she began walking. "He has nowhere to go."
"Marvelous," Sirius replied as he followed her, wand outstretched. There were three doors at the end of the hall, all closed. The two of them exchanged glances, before Sirius reached out his hand for the first door, ever so slowly.
He thrust the door open quickly, scanning the room with the light from the tip of his wand, but it was empty. There wasn't so much as a chair or file cabinet; just a baron room with a window on the right wall.
"Stay here," he motioned with his hand to Marzia and she nodded her reply. He stepped carefully into the room, immediately turning to look behind the door, only to find cobwebs and dust. Walking over to the window, he peered out carefully, prepared for anything, but again came up empty. There was a narrow alley but there was no one in it.
"Nothing," he said, reemerging from the room.
"Two more," Marzia said. "One each?"
Sirius considered for a moment before replying.
"Alright, but be careful."
Marzia flashed him a wide smile.
"Am I ever not?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" he asked, wide eyed.
"Not right now, no," she replied with a grin. "I'll take the middle door."
"Alright, scream if you need anything, even if you aren't sure, got it?"
"Yes dad." she muttered, opening the door. He watched her disappear into the darkness before turning to the last one and pushing it open. Once again, he was greeted by nothing. Dust and dirt, but the only sign of life were the spiders in the far corner of the ceiling. This room didn't even have a window. He walked around it once, quickly, before heading back out to the hall, where Marzia stood waiting for him.
"Not there?" she asked incredulously, Sirius shook his head.
"Not a trace."
"Well.how?" There's no way out down here and I'm sure he's the one we were following all this way.
"Well either we lost him somewhere before this floor, or there is another way out from here. In any case we better head back the way we came, if there's any chance he's still in the building." he trailed off, sighing, "well I suppose we should warn someone, even if they most likely do already know."
They set off at a run and headed back down the stairs, when they reached the file room again, Sirius decided to check, just in case Cho's file wasn't the one Gridman had taken.
"Nope," he said, finishing his search. "It's gone. This doesn't make any sense. Harry's letter was dated back from September and they're only now looking for her file? It sounded like they were already after her by the way she wrote it."
"Well the only way we're gonna find out is to find Gridman, so let's get going," Marzia said. "Let's split here and meet in the lobby, if there's any chance he's still in here, we'll at least cover more ground that way."
"I don't know." Sirius began.
"I'm not a helpless child Sirius," Marzia said evenly, "I am quite capable of handling one death eater."
"I wasn't saying." he began, then stopped, shaking his head. "Look, I realize you are very able to take care of yourself, this guy just gives me a bad feeling."
"After what happened to Harry I can understand that completely," she interrupted. "But what we're doing now is wasting time, so, if you don't mind."
"Alright, I'll take the way we came in from the lobby," Sirius said, giving in.
"Fine with me," Marzia agreed. "Meet you there." She left the file room and turned right, and Sirius waited just a moment before turning in the opposite direction and setting off down the hall.
Sirius made it back to the lobby without running into a single person. Where is everyone? How is it possible to have been here for so long and not meet anyone except the receptionist and a death eater? You'd think at least one minister might be futzing around or something.
As he entered the lobby, he saw Jessica was still at her station, and she looked up as he entered.
"You've been gone for quite a while, what took so long?" she asked and Sirius was a bit taken back. He'd expected her to react similar to the way she treated Marzia, but there wasn't even a hint of coldness in her tone.
"We had a problem," he began, "Do you know of a man named Gridman? He would've been taken into custody by the ministry at the beginning of September."
"You mean Gus?" she asked incredulously.
"Er.who?"
"Gus. Jason Gridman. He was the one they arrested for attempted murder right around then."
"Sounds like him," Sirius said anxiously.
"He worked here, for a little over a year, I knew him pretty well. I was shocked when I found out." she trailed off.
"Umm, I don't mean to interrupt.but.I really need to find him and if you didn't see him then I should get going."
"Well, I did see a man leave here about five minutes ago," Jessica said. "But I didn't get a close look at him, he had his face covered by a black hood."
"That's probably him!" Sirius exclaimed. "Where did he go?"
"He went outside, but after that I don't know, wasn't paying much attention.
"And you didn't get even a small glimpse of him, when he came in maybe?"
"I don't remember seeing him come in, and it's not my job to I.D. people as they leave so no, I'm sorry," she replied flatly.
"Alright, I know, sorry," he said quickly. He glanced around impatiently, wondering what could be taking Marzia so long, now that he was quite sure Gridman was no longer inside he wasn't too worried about her. Finally, he turned to Jessica again.
"Remember the woman I came in with?" he began.
"Yes," Jessica spat. "She broke my phone and I can't leave my desk until."
"I'm sorry for that," Sirius interrupted, "and I'm sure she'll be glad to fix it when she comes down. Will you just tell her I went to look around town, for Gridman, and I'll meet her back here shortly?"
Jessica sighed heavily, as if this was a very unwanted task.
"Fine," she whined. "I'll tell her."
"Thank you," Sirius said, before turning and heading through the door. Definitely a minister's daughter, he thought as he looked around through the crowd. No way they would hire someone so unprofessional otherwise, but what did she have against Marzia?
He shook these thoughts from his head as he focused on finding Gridman. If all he had was a five-minute head start, there was a very good chance he was still in the town, but where Sirius had no idea. There were too many shops and small businesses that would be very easy to hide in, and even out on the streets you had a very large crowd for cover. So, when he spotted a tall man in a dark cloak, Sirius couldn't believe his luck, but he had to be sure.
"Gus!" he cried out in the direction of the man, who flinched and looked over his shoulder upon hearing the name.
Gotcha, Sirius thought as he saw Gridman spot him, and both men took off at a run.
Sirius followed Gridman up the main street of the town, hoping that the crowd would thin out. He was afraid to use his wand for fear he might hit one of them, and that would be all he needed. Thurston would jump at the chance to have him thrown in jail, he was sure of it.
He put on a burst of speed as he realized Gridman was lengthening the gap between them considerably, he was quite fast. But was forced to an abrupt halt when a carriage that was crossing in front of him stopped in his path. He skidded to a stop just short of slamming into it and barely managed to regain his balance before toppling over backwards. The passengers in the carriage stared out at him in surprise and fear, but he paid no attention, instead he ran to the end of it and back into the street, just in time to see Gridman mounting the steps to an ominous looking stone building at the very end of the street.
At least it'll get us off the main drag, Sirius thought as he headed after him. When he reached the structure, he was a bit surprised to see the word 'Library' chiseled above the large double doors.
Sirius took the steps two at a time and hesitated just a moment, before pushing one of the doors open cautiously, wand ready.
His heart began to beat faster as he realized the library was not only enormous, but completely deserted.
"Lumos," he whispered, lighting the tip of his wand. He aimed the beam slowly across the room, alert for any signs of movement, all the while keeping his ears pricked for any sound.
After illuminating every inch of space he could reach, he took a few careful steps forward, not having the slightest idea where to start. He looked up at the cathedral ceiling, which had to be at least thirty feet tall. It would take the entire day to search this place, and doing it alone was most likely going to accomplish nothing. If he were a few floors up and Gridman was far enough away, he'd never hear his movements, and he could easily escape.
Suddenly, the he heard a noise behind him, and spun around to find Marzia coming through the doorway, as quietly as possible.
"What are you doing here?" he whispered, "I asked that girl to tell you I'd meet you back at."
"Number one," she cut him off, holding up her hand. "I don't listen to anything Jessica has to say. Number two, did you really, truly believe I'd sit there twiddling my thumbs while you were off having all this fun?" She smirked at him playfully as he shook his head.
"What am I going to do with you?" he asked, grinning.
"Hmm.I'll have to get back to you on that," she replied before taking on a serious tone. "But right now, we have a thief to catch. Any idea where he might be?"
"No, just that he's in here.hey, wait a minute. How did you know I was in here?" he asked, confused.
"Are you kidding?" she asked, incredulously. "Every person out there watched the two of you tearing up the street like madmen, all I had to do was ask which way you went."
"Well if I hadn't been cut off at one point, I might've been a bit closer to our friend Gus here, and seen where."
A tremendous bang drowned out the rest of his sentence and the two of them looked above to see a bright purple light coming out of one of the aisles of books on the third floor.
"Bingo," Marzia said as she and Sirius exchanged a quick glance, before they both took off for the stairs.
They reached the third floor in a matter of seconds and headed straight for the strange glow. Turning into the aisle, they both came to a sudden stop at the sight in front of them.
Gridman was standing, eyes closed, in the center of a large violet sphere that was flowing with what looked like electric currents, but they were black.
"What is that?" Sirius asked in awe.
"He's getting away," Marzia replied through clenched teeth.
"No he's not!" Sirius hissed, charging forward.
"Wait!" Marzia cried, reaching out to stop him, but it was too late, Sirius had moved too quickly and unexpectedly. His hands came in contact with the sphere and Gridman's eyes flew open. They were as black as the currents coursing the surface of the glowing orb.
"Let go," Marzia said with undisguised worry, coming up next to Sirius.
"I can't," he replied, trying to pry his hands away, but they were caught, as if the sphere was made of glue. They watched as Gridman stepped forward from the center of the circle, moving slowly towards Sirius.
Marzia tore her eyes away and took hold of Sirius' arm, she began pulling with all her strength, but it wouldn't budge.
"C'mon, you have to try harder, move!" she yelled and Sirius didn't argue. He heard fear in her voice and believed she knew what was coming, and it was something he didn't care to find out about. The more he struggled, however, the deeper his hands became entangled, until they were submerged up to his wrists, and Gridman was standing directly opposite him. He lifted a hand slowly towards Sirius' and extended his finger, smiling all the while.
"Don't." Marzia whispered fiercely and Gridman hesitated, meeting her gaze. He looked at her indignantly for a moment, before the smile returned to his face. Giving the smallest of shrugs, he plunged his hand, finger outstretched, into the gooey substance. He seemed to be able to move through it with greater ease than Sirius, who was watching in horror and fascination.
Less then ten seconds passed, but it felt like an eternity, watching Gridman weave his hand through the muck, until at last his finger brushed Sirius' left hand.
For a moment, Sirius felt nothing, literally; his hand went completely numb. The feeling began to creep up his arm and soon was quickly spreading throughout his entire body. He tried to talk, but found he couldn't, everything had stopped moving and he felt his knees begin to buckle and it was getting hard to breathe.
As Gridman pulled his hand back inside the sphere, Sirius felt the pressure that had been holding him there release and his strength left him. He crumpled to the floor, shaking, his head throbbing, trying desperately to get his breathing under control, but nothing was working.
He could vaguely see Marzia's concerned face floating in and out of view as his vision blurred. She was talking to him, asking him something, but he couldn't make it out. It began to get very bright and his head was bursting with pain, when at last he could hold out no longer, and slipped mercifully into darkness.