Harry Potter and Dumbledore's Secret

by chadsgirl824

YEAR SEVEN Harry's 7th year at Hogwart's, and the hardest he's yet to face. New enemies and tough challenges await him, as well as the discovery of incredible new powers. Written PRIOR to OoTP

13. Chapter 13

The shapeshifter released Harry, pushing him halfway across the room, before slamming the door behind it. Harry shoved his hands into his robes, only to discover his wand was missing. Looking back up he felt his stomach twist as he saw the shapeshifter holding it, smiling evilly.

"Is pick-pocketing one of the many skills of a shapeshifter too?" Harry asked icily.

Transforming back to its normal form, the shapeshifter ignored the question. Raising the wand at Harry, it growled in a low voice.

"Sit."

Harry stood defiantly for a moment, wanting to do something while there was only one of them. He knew if he could get his wand back, he'd be out of there. A shapeshifter's magic ability was nowhere near that of a normal wizard when it came to using a wand. However they weren't completely unpracticed at it, and he didn't know exactly how strong this one was.

Turning slowly, he started towards the couch behind him, and gasped in shock. He raced over to where Cho was lying half on and half off the seat, pulling her to him as he sat down. Her head rolled limply on her neck, and he began to feel dread creep up inside him. Forcing it away, he lowered his head to her chest, and was quite relieved to hear a heartbeat.

Stop panicking, he thought fiercely to himself. He knew shapeshifters couldn't take the form of a dead person, and the only chance they had of getting out of there, it seemed, was for him not to jump to conclusions as he just had.

Looking down at Cho's unconscious form, his determination hardened. He would not let anything happen to her.

The door opened again and now three more shapeshifters walked in silently. The four of them stood together, huddled in discussion. Harry strained to hear anything they were saying, but could make nothing out.

After about fifteen minutes, they broke apart at last, turning to face the two students. Harry waited tensely, holding Cho protectively in his arms. Suddenly she stirred and he looked down at her anxiously.

"Cho, are you alright?" he asked, propping her up slightly. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked right into Harry's. He was horrified to see no emotion in them, no feeling whatsoever. Pushing herself away from him, she stood up and walked over to the shapeshifters.

"Let her go," Harry said, standing up as well. He knew they were controlling her, just as they'd done with his friends at the end of his fifth year. "You don't need her, just leave her alone."

"Shut up!" one of them spat at him. "We will take who we need, and our Lord was quite clear on getting both of you."

"But.why?" Harry asked, needing to know what Voldemort wanted with her. He looked at Cho, who didn't even seem to recognize him at this moment, and didn't realize until it was too late that the shapeshifters had arranged themselves loosely around him. Glancing around quickly, he took a step back from the one directly in front of him, only to lunge forward, wanting to break through.

He caught one off guard, knocking him to the floor, but another that was standing to his right was ready, and grabbed his arm before he could get completely past. Harry yanked on his arm, and would have freed himself, if the other two hadn't come over so quickly. In a flash he was being held by all three shapeshifters, struggling in vain, as the one he'd gotten past, brushed himself off.

Harry tried with all of his strength to pull away as the lead shapeshifter stretched out his dark hand to him, to no avail. He felt the cold touch as the hand brushed his shoulder and the feeling that his energy was being completely drained from him was overcoming him for the second time in his life.

As the shapeshifter released the hold after what felt like hours, Harry slumped in the grasp of the others. He watched with blurred vision, as the one in front of him slowly became him, while he was powerless to stop it. His eyelids were growing heavy and his arms and legs felt like led, but he forced himself to stay conscious.

The other him reached into his cloak, pulling out a long, folded sheet of thick red fabric, holding it out to the nearest shapeshifter, Harry heard his own voice.

"Put him in this, then we leave immediately."

Harry watched in a daze, as two of the shapeshifters knelt down beside him, one of them pushed his legs together, while the other began wrapping the fabric around him. He did a double take, sure he was imagining things, but realized with horror, that he was becoming invisible. Trying to kick out of the fabric was useless, it was already up past his knees and he could no longer move his legs. The third shapeshifter held his arms at his sides as the first one kept winding the cloth around him.

Hearing the door open, Harry looked over to see the other him checking the hallway for any unwanted visitors.

"Hurry," he said to the others, "we need to move now!"

Harry was barely holding onto consciousness as it was, but didn't take his eyes away from the door, and the fake him. Just as he felt the fabric on his neck, he spotted something that made his heart leap. Dobby! Dobby had come to watch Cho as he did every night!

He opened his mouth to call to the small house elf, as Dobby had only just spotted the other him, when something was shoved roughly into his mouth. Before he could do anything, the fabric was wound across his face, and up over his head, and he felt someone lay him down on the floor. He couldn't see, move or talk, and no one besides the shapeshifters knew he was there.

Trying desperately to make noise, he began to struggle against the fabric, but all he was doing was making it harder to breathe as it tightened around him. He was fading fast, barely hearing anything going on around him any longer, but what he could hear didn't sound pleasant. Please just let Cho be alright, he thought. It was the last thing that crossed his mind, as he felt someone lifting him up off the floor, and faded into the blackness.

When he awoke sometime later, everything was still black. For a moment, he was afraid he was still bound in the fabric, but realized he couldn't feel it. He was breathing normally and the gag was gone. Moving slowly as his head still ached fiercely; he sat up, knowing he was in a bed, but not yet recognizing where. He heard a soft click and a warm yellow light splayed over the room, making him squint.

"Sorry," Sirius whispered, coming over to him and sitting on the edge of the bed. "I heard you moving and turned on the light," he paused for a moment taking a close look at his godson. "How are you?"

"I have a terrible headache, but other than that." Harry trailed off, suddenly looking around frantically. "Where's Cho? Did the shapeshifters take her? What happened to Dobby? How did I."

"Harry, calm down," Sirius interrupted in a firm tone. "Cho is alright, she's just in the next room, sleeping."

"Where is here?" Harry asked looking around at the small room.

"We're behind Dumbledore's office, but much further back than last time," Sirius explained. "You'd be surprised just how far back this really goes," he smiled, glancing around once before looking back at Harry.

"How did I get here though?" Harry asked. They had this red fabric.it made me invisible," he said, looking down at his hands. "I couldn't move."

"Dobby brought you and Cho here," Sirius said, gently.

"What about the shapeshifters?" Harry asked.

Sirius paused for a moment, before responding, quietly.

"They're dead."

Harry's eyes widened.

"Dobby.he.he actually killed them?" he asked in shock, not able to even think about Dobby as being able to take a life.

Sirius nodded.

"They were going to take you, and you know how protective he is of you. There was no way he was letting that happen."

"How did he know the shapeshifter wasn't the real me though?" Harry asked.

"You'll have to ask him," Sirius replied. "But I've never seen him so angry as he was when he brought you and Cho here yesterday. You could almost see smoke coming out of his ears." Sirius trailed off, not sounding in the least as if he were joking.

Harry leaned back against the headboard, thinking.

"So we've been here since yesterday?" he said quietly, looking up only with his eyes. "I'm never going to go through a year here without missing school time. Always out for one reason or another." he trailed off, considering. "Hey, wait a minute. Why aren't I in the hospital wing?"

"After what happened Dumbledore and I agreed the closer you were to us, the better," Sirius explained. "The school is getting more dangerous by the day Harry, and as much as we try to keep this from the students, you need to realize it. We don't want everyone in a panic, but you must be careful."

"How do they keep getting in?" Harry asked. Sirius shook his head.

"We don't know." he began. "There are many things about the school that even Dumbledore doesn't know. It's enormous, and that's why we keep up nightly patrols. If we can't stop them from getting in, we're going to catch them while they're here."

Harry nodded, trying not to feel afraid, but unable not to. He wasn't afraid for himself so much as for his friends. It was obvious Voldemort wanted Cho at least, and he would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

"Can I see Cho?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling he needed to see with his own eyes that she was alright.

"She's still asleep." Sirius began.

"That's fine," Harry cut in, quickly. "I won't wake her, just want to make sure."

Sirius looked like he wanted to say no, but sighed reluctantly and nodded.

"C'mon, she's just back through here," he said, standing up.

Harry got out of the bed, fighting a wave of dizziness as he did so, and followed Sirius through a door at the back of the room. Once the light was on, he could see Cho, sleeping soundly, on a bed in the corner.

He tiptoed over to her, and knelt down, crossing his arms on the bed in front of him. Laying his head on his hands, he just stared at her, watching her sleep, watching her breathe. She looked so peaceful, and he wanted her to be this way always. He didn't know how long he stayed like this, but he felt Sirius' hand on his shoulder all too soon.

"You can see her when you've had more rest," he said quietly, and Harry stood up. He brushed a stray lock of hair away from Cho's face, before turning with his godfather and heading back to the next room.

Later that night, Dumbledore asked that Harry and Cho come speak with him to tell what had happened. Harry asked that Ron, Hermione and Ginny be allowed to come too, as they were going to be told eventually, and he'd rather tell everyone at once.

Soon enough, the usual crowd was settled into chairs in the office. Harry wasn't too surprised to see Dobby had been brought there as well, though he looked frightened. He glanced around, thinking about how much their little group had grown over the years. There was Ron, Hermione and himself, along with Ginny and Cho. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Remus and Sirius were there, as were Marzia and Gazten. Harry knew Snape would've been there as well, if he were feeling better.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Chang," Dumbledore said at last, looking at the two of them. "I'm quite relieved to have you both here with us today. And as much as I know you don't like it, it is very important for you both to explain exactly what happened last night."

Harry and Cho exchanged glances briefly.

"I'll start," Cho whispered, "I ran into them before you did."

Harry nodded slightly and listened as Cho told of what had happened.

They'd been waiting for her in her room when she returned. After stunning two of them, the other two got a hold of her before she could do any more. They took her wand away and held her in place, while one of the others, who revived much faster than a wizard who'd been stunned would have, touched her. The shapeshifter took her form and she could no longer stay conscious, so she blacked out.

Harry placed a protective arm around Cho as she finished, wanting her to feel safe. He could tell by her eyes how very afraid she actually was. She moved a little closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Looking over at Ron, Hermione and Ginny, Harry thought of a question.

"How long was 'Cho' with you guys before I came?" he asked.

The three of them exchanged glances.

"Well," Ron began, "she came back to the great hall about half an hour after you left.

"We were getting up to leave," Hermione added.

"She ran into us on our way out," Ron continued.

"And I asked her to come back with us," Ginny spoke up. "She sounded like she really wanted to talk with you," she said, looking at Harry.

"I'll bet she did," Sirius said through clenched teeth. Harry looked from his godfather to his friends, before starting on his part of the story. He explained everything from leaving the common room with the other Cho, and how he began to feel something was wrong during their walk. How she'd been very anxious to just get into the guest room and finally forced him inside. He explained how it transformed back to normal and had managed to get his wand from him, and then told of the others showing up, taking control of Cho, and cornering him so the lead shapeshifter could now assume his form. He finished by explaining about the red fabric that they wrapped him in, and seeing Dobby just before his eyes were covered, then passed out.

He looked towards Dobby then, to see the small house elf just shaking in fear.

"Thank you Dobby," he said, sincerely. "You saved our lives."

"Dobby only did what he had to.to save Harry Potter." Dobby almost whispered. "Did not mean to."

"Dobby," Dumbledore cut him off, firmly but with a gentle twinkle in his eyes. "We all understand why you did what you did, and you are not in trouble for it."

Dobby looked tearfully up at the headmaster, not looking relieved in the least.

"Dobby," Harry began, needing to know, "How did you know that the shapeshifter wasn't me?"

"Harry Potter doesn't smell bad," Dobby replied, meekly. "The bad Harry Potter smelled like.like.bad food."

"Ew," Ron muttered, his nose crinkled. "I didn't think Cho smelled bad.the fake Cho, that is."

"You wouldn't be able to," Hermione spoke up. "A house elf's sense of smell is a lot better than ours."

"That's correct," Dumbledore smiled at Hermione. "Is that how you ended up finding Harry, Dobby?" he asked.

The small elf nodded.

"Dobby could not see Harry Potter, he had to use his nose. Harry Potter was trapped.not awake." he said, getting all worked up. "Brought Harry Potter and his friend to the headmaster right away!"

"Then you did good Dobby," Sirius spoke up. "We are all grateful to you."

Dobby still looked very unconvinced that what he'd done was good, but didn't argue.

"I want you five to head straight back to your tower," Dumbledore said, standing up and looking at the students.

"What about me?" Cho asked, lifting her head.

"There's an empty bed in our dorm," Hermione said quickly. "You can stay there, if you like."

Cho looked to the headmaster, who nodded.

"The safest places to be right now, are in the house towers. I think it's a good idea to have you where there are many others around."

Cho nodded, seeming very relived that she wouldn't be alone tonight.

"Dobby," Harry called as he stood up. The house elf looked up at him slowly. "Will you walk with us? Please?"

"Yes," Dobby said nodding. "Dobby will do as Harry Potter wishes." The five of them said goodnight to the others in the room, before heading downstairs with Dobby.

The next day classes went on as usual. Harry barely paid attention in any of them with all that was on his mind, and after Defense Against the Dark Arts was let out, Remus called him over. Waving to his friends and telling them he'd see them at dinner, he made his way up to the front of the room.

"What is it Remus?" Harry asked, curiously.

Remus gave Harry a long pointed look before speaking.

"How are you doing, Harry? Don't just tell me 'fine,' I want an honest answer from you."

Harry sighed, inaudibly, becoming very interested in the floor.

"Ginny was almost killed because of me, Cho and I were both almost taken the other night.I just want them to leave my friends out of this," Harry said in exasperation, flinging his arms up.

"We all want this to be over Harry," Remus said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We're all doing everything we can to make sure you and your friends are safe until we can end this."

"If they'd just stop getting into the school that would be a lot easier," Harry said quietly.

"Believe me when I tell you we are searching for any way they might possibly be getting in."

"I know.Sirius told me," Harry cut him off.

Remus nodded, trying to smile reassuringly, before deciding to change the subject.

"So I see Dobby was quite upset last night," he began.

Harry nodded.

"He'd never killed anyone before." he trailed off.

"Did you talk to him about it?" Remus asked gently.

"We talked about it a little," Harry replied with a shrug. "He thought Dumbledore was going to make him leave, send him away. It's like even though he knows what he did wasn't for the wrong reasons.he.he still feels guilty."

Harry looked up into Remus' eyes.

"And I'm the reason he did it. He'd be his happy self again if it weren't for me."

"Don't say that, ever," Remus cut in firmly. "He would certainly not be his 'happy self,' no one here would, if you were taken. He'd feel even more guilt then he does now, thinking he should have been there to stop them."

"Yes but because of me."

"Because of you," Remus said pointedly, "he is a free house elf who no longer has to call anyone master. You saved him from the Malfoy's and he's found himself a job that pays him. You, in some way, saved his life first. He's forever grateful to you.I'm sure you must see that."

"I do." Harry began, looking down again. Sighing, he shook his head as if to rid himself of the thought.

"Do you know if anything's been discovered about the broom yet?" Harry asked.

Remus opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, considering. Finally he spoke.

"Dumbledore will be talking with you about that later tonight. Let's go down to dinner, he'll be making an announcement this evening. I'm sure he'll want to see you after."

Harry wanted to press him further, to find out more, but knew he could wait just a little bit longer. Grabbing his books from his desk, both he and Remus left the classroom, and started off for the great hall.

Harry walked into the great hall, which was already full with students, heading quickly for the Gryffindor table, and his friends. Remus kept moving, up to the professor's table, and took his seat next to McGonagall.

"Everything okay?" Ron asked as Harry took his seat across from him.

"I guess we'll find out soon," Harry replied, grabbing food from the trays in front of him. "Dumbledore is going to make an announcement tonight."

"About what?" Hermione asked with interest. Harry shrugged.

"I don't know yet.though Remus only brought it up after I asked about the Firebolt. So I guess it has something to do with that."

"Did he say if they knew anything about it?" Ginny asked.

Harry shook his head.

"No, he just said Dumbledore would want to talk to me after dinner."

As if on cue, the headmaster chose that moment to stand up. Clearing his throat, his deep voice projected throughout the hall.

"If I could please have everyone's attention for a moment!" he called.

Silence immediately settled over the room and everyone turned to look at the headmaster.

"Thank you," Dumbledore began. "I am sorry to disrupt your dinners, but there is something that must be addressed before any more time passes. I'm sure you are all aware of the unfortunate incident that occurred during the first game of this year's quidditch season. Now while my initial impulse is to cancel the games, I am going to go against my better judgment. The games will be postponed, however, until after the winter holidays and will resume in February, beginning with a rematch between the two houses that began the season."

A loud chatter broke out among the students, all seeming very happy they would still be able to continue with their favorite sport.

"There will be, however," Dumbledore continued, loud enough to silence the room once more, "certain changes. Practices will not be allowed to go late into the evening. When the sun is setting, your practice is over. Also, two days before any match is to take place, the house teams that are to be playing will turn their brooms over to Madam Hooch for inspection."

At this, another outburst came from the students, mostly those on the house teams.

"Two days? That's not fair!"

"We'll need that time to practice!"

"How will we be ready in time?"

Harry, Ron and Ginny stayed quiet during this, keeping their eyes on their plates.

"Silence, please!" Dumbledore called out in a booming voice that brought instant results. "It is either that or we cancel the season. I know that you need to practice, but unfortunately these precautions are necessary for everyone's safety."

There was no outburst this time, but there were many unhappy faces in the great hall, and a few of them, mostly from the Slytherin table, were directed at Harry and Ginny, who didn't fail to notice the stares.

"Ignore them," Ron said quietly. "It was probably one of them who cursed the broom in the first place."

Dumbledore thanked them and again took his seat. Normal chatter resumed. Harry didn't feel like talking much. He was glad to know he would at least be playing quidditch again, but had too many other things on his mind to enjoy that thought for long. They finished their dinner quickly and were just getting up as Marzia made her way over to them.

"Hello," she said pleasantly, looking at all of them and smiling. Hermione returned the smile while Ron kept his expression even. "Harry, Ginny," she said turning to them. "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you both." They nodded at her, and said good-bye to the others, before following Marzia out of the great hall.

When Harry and Ginny stepped into the office with Marzia, they saw Dumbledore and Sirius waiting for them.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore began with a smile. "Please, sit down."

Harry and Ginny made their way over to the closest chairs and sat, waiting anxiously for whatever the headmaster had to tell them.

"I suppose you already know," Dumbledore began, "the reason I asked you both to come here this evening, has to do with the Firebolt."

"Did you find out what happened to it?" Harry asked, immediately, leaning forward in his seat.

Dumbledore nodded.

"The curse that was used on your broom is an older one. We don't show students how to do it here any longer, as all it is good for is destruction. We do know that it has to be cast within twenty-four hours of going into effect. Whoever is responsible, had access to the broom not more than one day before the match."

"But how is that possible?" Ginny asked in shock. "The broom was always in my dorm except when I was practicing. I've never noticed it missing, or even out of place for that matter!"

"There's no way the person who did this could have performed the curse from a distance?" Harry asked.

"Not a chance Harry," Marzia spoke up, apologetically. "You need to have direct contact with the object for the curse to work. Once you've cast it, it'll go off whenever you want it to, within a day."

"Well who did it then?" Ginny asked, sounding slightly afraid. "No Gryffindor would take my broom, especially not for that reason. So someone else got into my room." she trailed off, shuddering involuntarily.

"I regret to say, we still don't have an answer for that question," Dumbledore spoke, gravely.

"It doesn't make sense that whoever did this actually got inside the tower," Sirius spoke up suddenly.

"How doesn't it.?" Harry began.

"If they actually got past the portrait, and believe me I know how hard that is," Sirius said, rolling his eyes in disgust. "Then why even bother cursing the broom at that point? Whether they were after you or Ginny, you were both easy targets in there."

Harry sighed in frustration.

"None of this makes any sense!" he said fiercely, pounding a fist into his knee.

"I understand how you're feeling Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "We will do everything we can to find who did this.

"I know," Harry said, trying to force a smile. He trusted Dumbledore and Sirius with his life, but there had been too many narrow escapes already to feel entirely safe.

"C'mon," Sirius said, crossing the room to where the two students were seated. "I'll see that you get back to your tower okay, before I have to go."

Harry jerked his head up suddenly.

"Go? Go where?" he asked, worried.

Sirius looked over his shoulder at Dumbledore, who simply nodded once, his expression unreadable.

"I'll explain on the way," he said. Harry and Ginny exchanged a glance, before getting up. They said goodnight to Dumbledore and Marzia, before following Sirius out of the office.

"So what's going on Sirius?" Harry asked as soon as they'd stepped into the hallway. "Where are you going?"

"Both Marzia and I need to leave, actually," Sirius began. "Only for a night, so don't worry, it won't be long."

"But where?" Harry prompted.

Sirius sighed.

"We need to go back to the ministry," Sirius said, then rushed on. "But.not exactly through the front door."

"You're sneaking in?" Harry asked, his eyes wide.

"But why?" Ginny asked, openly concerned.

"We're not going for anything more than to check things out.for now," Sirius said. "Thurston didn't think it necessary to warn us about the dementors. He didn't seem too concerned for your health or anyone else's for that matter. We have a pretty good suspicion that he had something to do with both Menetor and Fern being able to find Cho when she left. And to top it off, not once have they tried to send word to Percy. They haven't asked us if something's happen, or sent anyone to check on him. If he was supposed to be reporting back to them regularly, why when he stops do they not even try to contact him? There's something very wrong there."

"So why go then?" Harry asked, obviously very worried. "Why not go when there are more people at least?"

"If we go during the day it will be harder to find anything out. They're not going to talk about the things we want to hear, when there are too many people around."

Harry shook his head.

"I don't know how you can be so sure about this," he began. "How do you know that they even stay there after hours?"

"We don't," Sirius said simply. "But the only way we're going to find out is to go there. As I said, we're not going to confront anyone, should we see or hear anything at all. We're just going to check things out."

Harry couldn't shake the feeling that this was a very bad idea, but didn't argue anymore. He knew whatever he said wasn't going to change Sirius' mind. At least his godfather wouldn't be alone.

When they reached the portrait of the fat lady, Harry turned to Sirius.

"Promise me you'll be careful. Don't do anything stupid."

"Hey!" Sirius said, trying to sound insulted, but grinning just the same.

"I'm serious," Harry continued. "Thurston wasn't eager in the least to clear your name a few months ago. He'd look for any excuse to throw you in jail, and breaking and entering the ministry itself.look just please don't get caught." He looked pleadingly into his godfather's eyes.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning Harry," Sirius said, placing a hand on his godson's shoulder. "I promise."

Harry nodded. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Sirius. It was true there could be nobody in the ministry at night. But what if there were death eaters? Or worse.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he looked back into Sirius' eyes. He said goodnight, and gave his godfather a fierce hug, before turning and entering the portrait hole. Ginny said goodnight quietly, and Sirius stood there and watched, until the door was completely shut behind them.

As the door shut behind them, Harry and Ginny crossed the room to where Ron, Hermione and Cho were waiting for them.

"How'd it go?" Cho asked, standing up as they neared.

Harry shook his head.

"I'm even more confused than I was before," he said sullenly.

"Do we at least know who's responsible for cursing the broom?" Ron asked.

"No," Harry said as he sat down with Cho. Ginny went to the last empty chair and settled down into it, before they both began explaining what they had been told just a short while ago.

"Er.That just about rules out.everyone," Ron said as they finished. "Who could possibly have gotten in our tower, to the broom, cursed it, and gotten out with none of us noticing?"

"They could have done it while we slept." Hermione pointed out.

"But how did they get past the fat lady?" Ron asked.

"Well obviously they had the password," Hermione replied.

Ron shook his head.

"Then it would have to be someone in here now, because none of the teachers would do it and no one from another house has our password."

"Which also doesn't make sense," Harry said. "What Gryffindor would curse someone from their own house?"

"Maybe someone who wanted a position on the team?" Ron suggested with a shrug. Hermione threw him a withering look.

"What?" he asked, defensively. "It's not so hard to believe someone else in here wants to be on the quidditch team."

"But to go so far as to endanger Ginny's life?" Hermione asked. "Who do you know here that would do that?"

"Well.no one," Ron replied. "Yet. We have to start listening around though because it's really beginning to seem like the only likely explanation is another Gryffindor did it."

"I wouldn't say that's a likely explanation," Ginny spoke up, "but at least it's a place to start."

"I guess that'll have to do," Harry murmured, seeming indifferent.

Cho, Ron and Hermione looked at him curiously.

"Did something else happen?" Cho asked, concerned.

Harry sat in silence for a moment, seeming to be lost in thought, but shook himself out of it soon enough and met Cho's gaze.

"Sirius and Marzia.they're sneaking into the ministry tonight."

"What for?" Ron asked immediately, his eyes wide.

"For no good reason, that's for sure," Harry said trying not to sound too angry, but feeling bitter. "They're risking their lives to see if they can find out more about Thurston."

He paused a moment before explaining exactly what Sirius had told him, wishing it were the next day. He had a feeling this could be a long night.

His friends did their best to reassure him that everything would be alright, that Sirius and Marzia would make it back okay. As much as he appreciated their efforts, it wasn't working. Deciding to just try and get some rest, he said goodnight and headed upstairs.

Harry sat awake in bed for hours, unable to get comfortable. He tossed and turned half the night before finally giving up and pushing himself into a sitting position. He held the curtains around his four- poster back slightly and grabbed his glasses and watch to see it was only a little past two in the morning.

Sirius was all he could think about. He needed to know his godfather was okay and knew it was the reason he wasn't getting any sleep.

In an effort to get his mind off of that he concentrated on the only other thing he could think of. Who cursed the broom? If it truly was a Gryffindor student, then who? It wasn't as if he knew all of his housemates very well, but he knew a great deal of them. It was hard to believe any of them could have done this.

"Well it had to be someone," he whispered to himself firmly. Sitting in silence for a while longer, he was still unable to come up with even a possible suspect, when suddenly he was struck by an idea. It was a long shot, but it just might work.

Pushing the curtains completely away, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

Heading immediately for his trunk, Harry rummaged through as quietly as possible until he found the Marauder's Map. Glancing around at his four roommates, he decided it would be better to do this downstairs in the common room and grabbed his wand off his bedside table before heading for the door.

Once downstairs, he settled down in the nearest chair before holding the blank piece of parchment open in front of him and held up his wand.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

He waited until the school finished appearing, before opening his mouth to speak, but closed it quickly.

"I have no idea how to ask this," he whispered to himself, trying to think. He didn't even realize until he looked down that the map was talking to him.

"What do you want now?" was written in what he recognized as Wormtail's scrawl.

"To speak with someone besides you," he nearly spat at the map.

There was no reply for what felt like an eternity. Harry was wondering if Wormtail was trying to get one of the others, or just ignoring him.

"Are you still there?" he asked finally, exasperated.

"Harry Potter?" the map asked.

"Yes," Harry replied immediately, glad for any response. "Yes it's me." He paused for a moment, looking closer, and saw it was his father this time.

"You're just a regular Marauder, aren't you?" Prongs said. "It seems you've been asking for our help quite a bit this year."

Harry's heart swelled at seeing these words and for a moment, completely forgot the reason for opening the map in the first place. His father, his dad, had called him a Marauder. He didn't bother to mention that the times he'd asked for help were not to cause much trouble, but rather prevent it.

"So what do you need this time?"

This shook Harry from his thoughts and back to reality.

"I know this is going to sound a bit.weird.but, does this map have a memory?"

"It has our memories," came the answer.

"I realize that," Harry said gently, "but what I mean is." he trailed off, considering. "For instance, the way you show me where everyone is in the school, by their names on the map. Well can you remember where people were going back a few days or so?"

"And why would you need to know that?" came the reply, which Harry knew was Padfoot.

"Not now," he whispered. He needed to get this information and he needed it soon.

"That's not an answer," came the reply.

"Oh quit acting like a git!" Prongs said suddenly.

"Who are you calling a git, Potter?" Padfoot retorted.

"This is what we wanted, right? Someone who would learn to use the map as well as we did.continuing the traditions."

"Yes but he doesn't seem to want to use it for anything we did."

"Hang on," Harry cut in. "Maybe I do want to use it for the same things as you. How else will I learn the secrets if I don't ask?"

There was a brief pause, before Padfoot replied.

"Alright then, how are you going to use the information, if we tell you what you want to know?"

Harry didn't even hesitate before answering.

"Someone cursed my broom and it almost caused us to lose the first quidditch match of the season. I want to find out who so I can.pay them back."

"Told you," Prongs said.

"Stuff a sock in it," Padfoot retorted. "Alright, when did this git get near your broom, and where was it?"

Harry smiled watching the banter, stifling a laugh. He gave them the date of the quidditch match and the location of the broom, asking to see everything that happened that night.

"Funny that your broom would be in a girl's dorm the night before a game, don't you think?" Padfoot asked.

"Just show him Padfoot," Prongs said quickly.

"Thank you!" Harry called as the words faded quickly. The map suddenly showed the school again, before slowly enlarging the sixth year girl's dorms in the Gryffindor Tower. He watched carefully as Ginny's name moved across the map in one corner of the room, probably getting ready for bed. Soon enough the five names that had been moving about became stationary as they went to sleep.

Several minutes passed, nothing. A half hour, an hour, an hour and a half. No one new entered the room and no one inside moved either.

As the two-hour mark neared, Harry was falling asleep in his chair.

"This is getting me nowhere," he murmured as he pulled out his wand. He pointed it at the map and began to speak the incantation to shut it off, when at long last, someone entered the room and Harry's eyes widened in disbelief.

"This can't be right," he whispered, watching the new name on the map. The person went immediately to Ginny's part of the room, pausing for a few seconds, before turning and heading back for the door.

"Is what you're showing me the truth?" Harry asked aloud, feeling that this had to be a joke. Padfoot had decided to play with him or something.

The girl's dorm swirled out of view and was replaced with words.

"Of course it's the truth."

"But that can't be!" Harry replied a bit louder than he'd intended. "Please show me what really happened!"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but what you've seen is what happened."

Harry stared at the map, completely speechless. There was no way he could believe what he'd seen was the truth, but it seemed it had to be. Feeling frustrated and confused, he lifted his wand, aiming at the map.

"Mischief managed."

The parchment went blank and Harry stood up immediately. Moving quickly, he raced back up to his dorm and ran in, only to come to an instant halt. It was still too early, no one was awake yet.

Tip-toeing across the room, he glanced at his watch to see it was only half past four in the morning. Feeling restless and uneasy, he sat down on his bed in a huff. How could he explain what he'd just been shown? The thought of talking to his friends was making him a bit queasy now.

He hoped very much that the map had been lying, though didn't know how he could find out.

Standing up abruptly, he decided to find Sirius, to ask him to make the map tell the truth. But after taking only two steps, he suddenly remembered, his godfather wasn't in the school.

"Of all nights why did he have to be gone tonight?" Harry asked himself, harshly, now beginning to pace. He'd made up his mind to say nothing to his friends until he was certain of what he had seen, but was bursting to talk to someone about it.

"Remus," he said, stopping in his tracks and looking up. "That's it, I'll ask Remus." Running to his closet, he quickly threw on a shirt and a pair of pants, before grabbing both the map and his wand, and racing back downstairs.

He left the common room and walked quickly through the halls. Remus would know what to do; he could make it show the truth. And if he couldn't, he would at least be able to figure out if it was the truth.

In minutes, Harry was at the door to Remus' quarters. Hesitating just a moment, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.

At first, there was no answer, and he knocked harder. Again he heard no response, so he lifted his hand for the third time, when someone spoke from the other side of the door.

"Coming, hold on." a groggy voice said. Harry listened as Remus shuffled around sleepily. A light glow shown through the crack under the door, and less than a minute later, it swung slowly open.

Remus stood there in pajamas and a robe, squinting into the dark hall.

"Harry?" he asked, sounding uncertain.

"Yes, it's me," Harry replied, anxiously. "I need to talk to you.it's important."

Remus' brow furrowed in concern and he opened the door wider, stepping to the side.

"Come in, please," he said. "What's happened? Is something wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, no one's hurt." Harry replied as Remus shut the door. He looked from the map to Remus and back again, before sighing.

"I think." he began. "I think Hermione cursed the Firebolt."

"What?" Remus asked in shock, looking much more awake. "Why do you think that?"

"The map," Harry replied, holding up the parchment. "I was able to make it show me what happened the night before the match, and what I saw was Hermione sneaking into the room when everyone was asleep. She went to Ginny's part of the room for a minute, then left." He stopped and looked into Remus' eyes. "Please tell me the map can lie about these things. It just can't be true."

Remus shook his head slowly.

"I'm afraid not, Harry. What you saw is what happened. There's a great many things the map may keep from you, but what it does show is always accurate."

Harry felt his throat tighten as he heard this.

"No," he said quietly, shaking his head. "No she'd never do that. Never."

"I agree," Remus said, firmly. "She had no reason to and even if she did, that's just not Hermione."

Harry looked up suddenly.

"That's it! It's like with Percy.and then with Cho's parents. Hermione was being controlled. That's got to be!"

"My thoughts as well, but the question is, by who?" Remus asked.

"I.I don't know.the shapeshifters maybe?" Harry asked.

"That doesn't make sense though. Hermione doesn't know how to perform the curse that was used and they certainly couldn't show her. The magic they possess is."

"I know, I know," Harry cut him off. "They're just too weak when it comes to that."

The two of them sat for a moment, each deep in their own thoughts.

"Harry, can I see the map for a second?" Remus asked suddenly.

Harry held out the parchment without a word and followed Remus over to the table nearby. They stood over it as Remus activated the map and the school grounds were laid out in front of them. He pointed his wand again, saying words Harry didn't recognize.

"Exhibeo Vetustas."

"What does that.?" Harry began, but stopped as the school disappeared from the map and words formed, asking for a date, time and location.

"When did all this happen Harry?" Remus asked looking at him.

"The night before the quidditch match, in the sixth year girl's dorm." he said. Instead of giving him the time he started with earlier, he pushed it back about two hours, not wanting to have to wait through all that again.

Once Remus repeated the information, the map did exactly as it had done for Harry, closing in on the girl's dorm and showing him only those students in there.

It was only a few minutes before Hermione's name suddenly appeared, and Harry watched, again, as she went to Ginny's area of the room, paused for a few seconds, and left.

"See?" Harry asked when there was no further movement. "It was Hermione, though she couldn't have known what she was doing."

"Actually Harry," Remus spoke up. "Hermione didn't curse the broom at all."

"She didn't?" Harry asked, feeling relief flood through him. "Then who.?"

He stopped as Remus again pointed his wand at the map.

"Adaperio."

The full school was once again shown in front of them, but still allowing them to see the past. Remus searched the map intently for a moment, before pointing at a specific spot.

"There she is," he murmured. Harry leaned over to see Hermione was out of the Gryffindor tower and walking through the hallways.

"What is she doing?" he asked.

"My guess," Remus began. "Taking your Firebolt to whoever actually did curse the broom"

The two of them watched, not even daring to blink, as Hermione made her way through the school. She nearly ran into Filch at one point and Professor McGonagall at another, but both times she managed to get out of sight just in time. It was as if someone was guiding her, someone who knew exactly where she had to be to remain unseen.

On and on she went, down several floors, until she reached the dungeon area of the school. She only stopped when she came to Snape's office, and went inside. It was there that Harry noticed a new name, one he was sure by the sharp intake of breath Remus took, he'd noticed as well.

Saaneeraa.

Remus and Harry exchanged horrified glances as they watched Hermione move across the room, and right next to Saaneeraa. The two of them stood a few moments and Harry wished desperately that there was a way to hear what had been said. Hermione at one point stepped away from Saaneeraa, and again stopped moving.

"That's when it must've been cursed," Remus muttered. "Hermione waited while Saaneeraa had the broom."

He stopped talking as Hermione moved back to Saaneeraa for just a second, before turning and leaving the office. She made her way back to the Gryffindor tower unnoticed, put the broom back in Ginny's room, and headed up to her own dorm.

When they were sure Hermione was in her bed and asleep, Remus pulled out his wand.

"Mischief managed," he said, almost sounding disgusted. He handed the now blank parchment back to Harry, before crossing the room and plopping onto the sofa.

"So she's here then," Harry said quietly, making his way to the sofa and sitting on the opposite end of it. "Saaneeraa, she's at Hogwart's, or at least she was."

"Yes, she was," Remus replied, his voice unreadable.

Harry looked at him, not knowing what to say. He could tell without a doubt Remus was very worried. It was the most fear he'd ever seen the kind professor show.

"Can I ask," he began hesitantly. "How did you know it wasn't Hermione who cursed the broom?"

Remus lifted his gaze, slowly.

"Like I said before, I know there's no way she could've learned the curse on her own. She has no access to any of the books in this school that would show her, and no one would show her. But when we looked at the map, Hermione was only in the room for a matter of seconds. Now while the curse doesn't take long to perform, you certainly can't do it in that amount of time."

Harry nodded.

"Well I'm glad you knew that, I'd never have figured it out." he trailed off as Remus seemed to be far off again.

"What do we do now?" Harry asked, bringing Remus back into focus again.

"We are doing nothing," he answered, standing up. "I'm going to make sure you get to your tower alright, then I'm going to speak with Dumbledore."

Harry didn't argue. He was very relieved to know it hadn't really been Hermione to curse the broom, but at the same time, he couldn't help but be afraid, knowing that Saaneeraa had gotten into the school. Making sure he had the map and his wand, the two of them set off for the tower.

When he entered the dorm again, he was surprised to see everyone up and getting ready. He'd gone the entire night without sleep, and now it was time to go down to breakfast. Shaking his head and thinking it was gonna be a long day, he went to his closet to grab a set of robes.

"Where were you so early?" Ron asked as Harry passed his bed. For a moment, Harry didn't respond, he was too busy watching the unreadable stare Neville was giving him to pay attention.

"Hello, Harry!" Ron called. "You there?"

"I'll tell you at breakfast," Harry muttered, not taking his eyes off Neville who was now finished dressing and on his way out of the room.

Ron gave him a questioning look, and shrugged.

When they got to the great hall, Harry made sure Neville was not nearby before he sat.

"You look as if you didn't sleep at all!" Hermione said, concerned.

"That's probably because I didn't," Harry replied, picking up a strip of bacon.

"Worried about Sirius?" Ron asked.

Harry's expression suddenly became one of dismay; he brought up his arms, resting his head against his hands on the table.

"I can't believe I forgot him." he mumbled.

"Forgot him?" Hermione asked, wide-eyed. "What happened last night that could possibly have caused you to do that?"

Harry lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"I know who cursed the broom," he said evenly.

"That's great!" Ginny said, smiling. "Now we can tell Dumbledore, he'll."

"Hold on Ginny, it's not that simple," Harry cut her off. "And I think Dumbledore knows by now anyway."

"Well out with it then!" Ron said, exasperatedly. "Tell us what you know."

"Okay, but you have to just listen to the whole story before saying anything. Promise?"

The other three nodded, and Harry began explaining, as quickly as possible, what had happened while they slept. When he finally said he'd seen Hermione enter the room he heard all three of them gasp in shock.

"But I didn't." Hermione began, trailing off as Harry gave her a pointed look. He rushed on, telling what had happened when he finally decided to go and see Remus. When he finished, they all looked as scared as he felt.

"I.I don't remember any of that," Hermione spoke, barely above a whisper.

"Because she was controlling you," Ron said angrily.

"But why me?" Hermione asked. "And why did she want the Firebolt? And what are we going to do about this?"

"I don't know.to all three," Harry said, glumly. "I guess if Dumbledore comes up with anything he'll let us know."

"Wait a second.Hermione," Ron began. "That was the night you were so late in coming back from your chat with Marzia, right?"

Hermione thought for a moment, before nodding.

"Well don't you think that seems a bit suspicious?" he asked.

"Maybe it would," Harry spoke up, "if we knew what you do about her. Don't you think it's time you told us?"

Ron looked down at his hands, fidgeting nervously.

"If it's so bad that you get uneasy just by the mention of her name then don't you think you should tell us?" Harry asked. "You go white as a sheet when you know she's around."

"No I don't!" Ron said, defensively, looking up at his friend. Harry gave him a pointed look and Ron sighed. "Well not every time, anyway."

"But a good majority of the time," Hermione said.

"Come on Ron, out with it," Harry continued. "The map showed Hermione meeting with Saaneeraa. What made you bring up her talk with Marzia when that happened hours earlier?"

Ron looked over to Ginny, who was looking back at him intently. She shrugged apologetically and Ron sighed.

"Okay, okay," he said, giving in. "Just promise me you'll do the same thing we did for you. Listen to all that I have to say before you start arguing with me."

"Arguing? Why would I.?" Harry trailed off. "I promise," he nodded. "Just please tell us before any more time goes by."

Ron took a deep breath, nodding.

"Alright. Here goes. You know how Marzia helped out with Sirius' trial over the summer, right?" he asked.

"Yes, she was able to get most of the ministry to side against Thurston," Harry said.

"Right," Ron said, "but don't you wonder how? I know for a fact just by hearing my dad talk about it that Sirius was as good as on the next train to Azkaban until Marzia suddenly showed up. She came back from an assignment that my dad really couldn't ever remember hearing about, just in time for the trial. Almost every minister in the place sided with her.after being dead set against it."

He paused, studying his friends' faces carefully, before continuing.

"Percy, for a long time, seemed very unsure about things last year. I know work became very hard for him after the whole incident with Fudge, but he was never as rude or obnoxious as he was after she showed up. Suddenly he hated you, Harry, and treated all of us as if we were his enemies. When Marzia would come by the house, his behavior would only worsen."

"Whenever my dad would try to talk to her about anything other than the trial, she would change the subject completely, basically ignoring his questions, and he wouldn't even notice."

Ron stopped, looking back and forth between Harry and Hermione, anxiously.

"Don't you see?" he asked, loudly, bringing his hand down hard on the table. "It's too much to just be a coincidence. Things happen when she's around; people don't act the way they normally would. The ministry doesn't seem to care much for Sirius anymore, but while she was there during the trial, they voted to have him freed. Percy was horribly confused and upset by everything last year, all of a sudden he's decided you're the cause of his problems. At least we know for a fact he was being controlled now. Then my dad tried to find out information about her, only to forget he even asked anything at all!"

Harry and Hermione stayed silent, waiting.

"Now," he continued in a lower voice, "the night before our quidditch match, Ginny's broom was cursed and we find out that it's by someone who can control the mind of whomever she chooses. All this just a few hours after speaking with Marzia."

He stopped speaking and looked over at Ginny, before again becoming very interested with his hands.

"If," Harry began evenly, clearing his throat. "If she's not to be trusted, as you seem to think, why would she free Sirius?"

"And," Hermione spoke up. "If she did somehow use magic to make the ministry free him, why then would she turn Percy against everyone? That just doesn't make sense. First use magic to help us and then for the complete opposite."

"Also, I still don't see how Hermione talking with her that night has anything to do with what happened later on," Harry added.

Ron shook his head.

"I knew there was no point in telling you, you don't understand."

"Well make us understand," Hermione said. "What exactly are you trying to say here? That Marzia is working with Saaneeraa?"

"She would never!" Harry said, defensively. "She helped free Sirius, saved us all from the Dementors, and guards the school every night. Besides, Sirius has known her for years." he trailed off, his expression softening. "She's going to be his wife."

"I don't know what I think yet," Ron spoke up, a grim expression set on his face. "But too many strange things are going on, and many of them center around Marzia. Now I'm not saying she's working with anyone.but I do think we can't just let this go."

"So we'll keep our eyes open," Hermione said. "But I think we'll need a bit more to go on then the ministry freeing Sirius and Percy getting angry."

"You weren't there," Ron said, trying unsuccessfully to hide the anger in his voice. "You didn't see how sudden it all was."

"Well if you were there," Hermione began. "Why would she let you remember all this? Especially if she didn't seem to want anyone else to know."

Harry looked at Ron intently, but his friend merely averted his gaze, and shrugged.

"I don't know."

An awkward silence fell over the four friends, the muted sounds of the other students playing all around them. Harry, at first, had been dead set against what Ron was suggesting about Marzia, but now the small whispers of doubt were starting to creep in. What if there really was some connection between her and Saaneeraa? How could they possibly find out if there was?

He was stirred from his thoughts as Ginny cleared her throat.

"We're going to be late," she mumbled, gesturing around. The rest of the hall was mostly empty, everyone on their way to class. Still not speaking about what they'd just discussed, the four of them stood; leaving the room, they headed down the hall together.

Just as Harry had expected, the day dragged on slowly. His eyelids felt like led throughout the morning and all he could think about was his soft, warm, comfortable bed. By the time lunch came around, he was too tired to stay awake.

"I think I'm going to try for a nap," he said sleepily to his friends as they left the class and headed for their tower.

"Aren't you hungry?" Ron asked.

"Not so much as I am tired," Harry replied. "Wake me when you come back for your books?"

"I'll try," Ron said, smirking. "But it might be hard, judging by how you're walking."

"Huh?" Harry replied, puzzled.

"You couldn't walk a straight line if you tried," Hermione said, matter-of-factly.

Harry glanced down, chuckling to himself.

"Well at least I'm." he began, stopping abruptly as another voice cut him off.

"Harry!" Sirius called out from just up the hall. They were near the portrait of the fat lady and Sirius was standing in front of it, waiting for his godson to return. Suddenly, Harry didn't feel like sleeping in the least.

"Sirius!" he yelled, quickening his pace. The two men reached each other, embracing briefly. "I'm so glad you're alright," Harry said as they separated.

"I told you I would be," Sirius said, giving him an affectionate punch on the arm.

"Did you find out anything?" Hermione spoke up, eagerly. "Was Thurston there?"

Sirius glanced around quickly at the passing students all within earshot.

"We'll talk about that later," he said quietly. "But to answer your question, no we didn't see him."

Hermione nodded.

"Remus and Dumbledore told me what happened last night," Sirius said, looking back to Harry.

"Did they say what we're going to do about it? Saaneeraa can probably get in here whenever she wants."

"Right now, there's little we can do. Until she shows herself and lets us know it's her.we don't even know what she looks like."

"But," Harry began, "Professor Gazten.she explained."

"She explained what the rest of them looked like, but not Saaneeraa. Strange, don't you think?" Sirius asked, pointedly. Harry could see the distrust his godfather held for Gazten was still just as strong as ever.

"Maybe there's a reason though," Ron spoke up, hesitantly. "We can ask her next time we see her."

Sirius made no response to this, just nodded noncommittally, before turning again to Harry.

"There's a few things I need to take care of for the time being," Sirius said, grinning again. "And you're all probably very hungry by now. Sorry to hold you up."

They said goodbye and watched for a moment as Sirius made his way back up the hall, before turning and entering the common room.

The weeks passed by in a blur for Harry, but no solution had presented itself for any of the problems they were facing. He'd had a very short discussion with Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus at one point, about Saaneeraa and the late night visit to the ministry. No one seemed to be giving out the information, so finally he went and asked them.

"We are taking measures to prevent anyone else entering the school unnoticed," Dumbledore had told him. "It will probably be shortly after the winter holidays that everything will be in place. Until then we will increase our patrolling of the school."

Harry had thought that no matter how many people were on the lookout it wouldn't matter if Saaneeraa was spotted, she could control whoever she wanted and there was really no way to stop that from happening.that he knew of. But he kept this thought to himself.

As for Sirius's visit, it seemed the ministry building in the center of wizarding London had been deserted. Not only were there no people, but no desks, chairs, files.anything. He and Marzia had spent the whole night searching for clues as to why, but came up empty. And now it was more than evident that the ministry was hiding something.

"Why wouldn't Mr. Weasley at least tell us something about this though?" Harry asked.

The three men exchanged nervous glances, before Dumbledore spoke, gravely.

"Arthur Weasley did tell us, in a way. He has been keeping a close watch on things for me ever since everything that happened with Miss Chang. Thurston became suspicious of him, had him followed, and watched carefully. No matter where he went, there was always someone right behind him. Finally, he had no choice but to notify us of what was happening. He could find nothing out, they were too careful around him. That is when we decided to send Sirius and Marzia.and unfortunately.it was too late."

"Is he alright though?" Harry asked, anxiously.

Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, thankfully. He had taken a few days for himself and this happened during that time. He and Molly are safe at the Burrow."

"There must be others, like Arthur," Remus spoke up. "He can't possibly be the only one who wasn't involved in whatever it is the ministry is up to. Think of all the people that sided with him for Sirius' trial.where are all those people now?"

Harry felt the lingering twinges of doubt about Marzia begin creeping in on him again. The more he thought about it, Ron had a point. 'Could everything he told them possibly be one long string of coincidences? Highly unlikely.' He opened his mouth to say something when another voice popped up in his head. 'But at the same time, if she did have some way to control people, or was working with Saaneeraa, why would she let Ron remember, but no one else?' Closing his mouth, he decided to wait. He was almost ninety-nine percent sure Marzia could be trusted and until that number changed drastically, there was no reason to get Sirius mad at him for accusing her.

"We will have to try and find them, the more we can get to side with us, the better," Sirius said.

"Harry," Dumbledore began, "Don't worry yourself about all of this. All I want you to concern yourself with besides your schoolwork, is making sure you follow the few rules we have set. I know you're a not a child anymore, but please try not to go anywhere alone right now, or if you must, stay out of areas that you're uncertain of."

"I always do," Harry said, shrugging. He thanked them quietly, before leaving the office. Was the ministry really up to something? Or did they leave for some other reason? What was Dumbledore's plan for protecting the school after the holidays? Why did they have to wait until then to implement it? Questions filled Harry's head and he wanted nothing more than to be rid of them. There were too many things to worry about.and too many things they still didn't know.

The winter holidays arrived at last! The last day of classes had been fun, and though the yearly trip to Hogsmeade was sorely missed, they made the most of it. Keeping with all good traditions, they were sure to pay as little attention as possible in all of their classes. The halls were decorated as beautifully as ever, and the scent of pine was everywhere you went, filling the air.

"Finally," Ron said happily as they stepped into their common room on the way back from the last class of the day. "Two whole weeks and no school work. Heaven, I tell you."

Hermione gave Ron a disgusted look as she passed him, and stalked off to the corner of the room.

"What's up with her?" Harry asked, looking questioningly at Ron.

"Oh.nothing," Ron said innocently, before his face broke out in a wicked grin.

"What did you do?" Harry almost groaned.

"To her? I didn't do a thing, I swear," Ron said earnestly. "However.no one's asked her to the Yule Ball as of yet.and it's tomorrow night."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at Ron's expression as he said that.

"How, I'm afraid to ask, did you manage that?" Harry asked, already cringing before he even heard the answer.

"Well, you see, Fred and George were kind enough to send me some of their newest.surprises.when they found out I wouldn't be able to get to Hogsmeade and re-stock. So naturally when I overheard Trevor Mills saying he was going to ask Hermione to the ball, I was inclined to try one out."

"And?" Harry asked, smiling. "What did you do to him?"

"Well, did you ever notice how he seems to have a thing for those Finger Nuts they sell in Diagon Alley? Remember? They're peanuts in the shape of fingers.filled with jelly and."

"I remember, and?" Harry prompted, waving his hand impatiently.

"Well he has them all the time, I swear he eats them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Anyway, he had a bag of them yesterday evening, chomping away at them, and I got Seamus to distract him. He left his bag on the table he was near, and I sprinkled a little of this in it," Ron said, proudly, holding up a jar of green powder.

"What does that do?" Harry asked, looking warily at the jar.

"It turns your hair green, your nose too, instantaneously, but only if you eat it. Fred and George sell it in every color.but I only got his one. Hey, you know.it might look good with your eyes."

"Don't get any ideas," Harry said warningly. "So, tell me the rest then. What happened next?"

"I gave Seamus the signal and he 'suddenly' had something else to do, leaving Trevor to go back to his snack. He started eating, and just in time. Hermione walked in, and went back to our corner. Trevor didn't want to waste any more time it seemed, because he was up at once and following her." Ron trailed off, no longer able to hold in his laughter.

"What, what?" Harry said, smiling. "You can't stop there!"

"He.he." Ron began, gasping for air he was laughing so hard. "He went over just as she was setting her books down on the table, and when he was standing right behind her, he said her name.very quietly," he whispered, as if to demonstrate. Harry was doubled over just looking at his friend. "She turned around.and I swear Harry it was the funniest thing ever.her face.it.she." he paused, laughing harder still. "She screamed.right in his face! She was scared by him, terrified even, his green nose and hair.right up in her face.oh man you should have seen it! It was priceless.he of course didn't ask her, then; and she didn't say anything else; she was so embarrassed at having screamed. So Trevor, having no idea what had caused her to scream, turned around, sat down back in his chair and kept on eating." Ron trailed off, once again in a fit of laughter.

Harry shook his head in wonderment.

"You know it would have been so much easier if you'd have just asked her in the first place. I can't even believe she's still going with you." he smiled.

"Well it's either that or go alone," Ron said smugly. "Because no one's dared to ask her now. Trevor's nose is back to normal but he still has green streaks in his hair."

"Oh you're terrible," Harry laughed. "Picking on poor, innocent sixth years."

"Hey, he was gonna ask out my girlfriend. I'm just glad I heard him."

Harry sighed, contentedly.

"How did I miss all of this?"

"Sorry," Ron said with a shrug. "I couldn't wait for you and Cho to get back from your walk. Had to act while I had the time." He looked up and grinned at Hermione, who was glaring at them. He waved pleasantly and she shook her head in disgust, grabbing a book off the table in front of her, she began flipping pages, furiously.

"Are you sure she's still going with you?" Harry asked, uncertainly.

"Well who else is she gonna go with?" Ron asked as if it were obvious. He started off towards their corner and sat down next to Hermione, who refused to acknowledge his presence. Harry shook his head, thinking Ron was in for a rude awakening whenever Hermione decided to drop the bomb, but he wasn't going to get in the middle of it. He spotted Cho and Ginny off in another part of the room, playing a game of exploding snap, and wandered over to join them.