If Callidus had thought that Harry and Draco's issues would blow over, he was soon proven wrong. During their Quidditch practices, when they theoretically should have been able to vent their more aggressive emotions, Harry and Draco had instead become more competitive against one another, amplifying their row. It wasn't awful - it wasn't as if their friendship had snapped and they hated each other. They were at least speaking to one another, but now, the underlying feelings of rivalry had intensified, whereas before, rivalry between Harry and Draco was almost non-existent.

Their conversation had become a bit sharper, and they needled one another much more than before. And of course, since their main outlet was Quidditch talk, Callidus had to endure more discussions of Quidditch than ever, but now with a more combative undertone. Callidus wished things could go back to how they were before. The new competitive streak between Harry and Draco was a bit exhausting to endure. On the other hand, he found himself appreciating Hermione, Caiside and even Ginny more than before. Callidus didn't know if it was because of the influence of Hermione, but the three Gryffindors tended to have pretty intelligent conversations.

Hallowe'en was soon coming up, and this year, the trio wouldn't be practicing anything for Samhain. The reason was because the 31st fell on the weekend, and Draco would be returning to Malfoy manor to celebrate with his family. The same was true for many of the other pureblood Slytherins. It was rather unusual for most students to return to their families for Samhain, but this year, there was a newfound sense of fear that had been spread by the Orange Madness disease. Families wanted their children to be close by on important occasions like Samhain.

If the trio's relationship had been the way it was before their quarrel in the forest, then in all likelihood, Draco would have spent the past few days trying to cajole Callidus and Harry into coming with him and celebrating Samhain at Malfoy manor. Instead, Draco spent his time talking about how much better it would be to celebrate a real wizarding holiday instead of a ridiculous muggle one.

"We might not be celebrating Samhain but I warrant we'll get a better selection of candy than you will, Draco" Harry pointed out, as he attempted to apply an even layer of fertilizer to his mandrake plant in Herbology. It was their last class before the weekend, and most students were too excited about Hallowe'en to be doing a good job. Thankfully, fertilizing mandrakes wasn't dangerous.

"Ha! Have you seen the delicacies that we serve at the manor? Nothing that they serve at Hogwarts can compare," Draco retorted.

"I'd take treacle tart over anything served at the manor."

"Your tastes are so plebeian," Draco said with disdain.

"Is this what you two've come to?" Callidus cut in with irritation. "Having a disagreement over sweets? Just duel it out so I don't have to suffer any more of your churlishness."

"He's the one who won't shut up about how great everything is at the manor," Harry objected.

"It's not my fault if you're jealous," Draco retaliated.

"Boys!" Professor Sprout interrupted, ambling over to check on their progress. "How's your mandrake coming along? It looks like it could use a more even application of fertilizer on that side -" she gestured to one area of the pot covered by an overhanging leaf. "The mandrakes need plenty of nutrients if they are to fully mature into healthy plants."

"Yes, Professor Sprout," the trio chimed, returning to their work.

Callidus was glad when the day was finally over. Draco had no real need to pack for the weekend - he made use of the floo in Professor Slughorn's office, and when he was gone, Callidus felt like a weight had been lifted. While secretly, he thought that Harry was being just as belligerent as Draco was, Callidus found it easier to deal with just one of his friends rather than both at the same time.

Because of Hallowe'en, the professors had been generous and had given a lighter-than-usual homework load to the students. It meant that rather than studying and writing essays all weekend, Callidus and Harry had a great deal of free time.

"What do you feel like doing today?" Harry asked after they had readied themselves and dressed the following day, which was Hallowe'en morning.

Callidus shrugged. "I haven't given it much thought. Perhaps go to the library and study for a bit."

Harry frowned. "The library? I wouldn't mind seeing Hermione for a bit - it feels like we rarely get a chance to talk these days - but I refuse to spend my entire weekend in the library. Hmm. Why don't we go looking for that secret chamber? We've already explored pretty much every corner of the dungeon so we can start on the first floor. I still can't believe that Hogwarts dungeon has a real dungeon. I guess it's called the dungeons for a reason but still - seeing those cells and those chains was pretty creepy."

"Indeed," Callidus agreed. "I think what made it worse was that it was so clean. One would think that they're ready to lock someone up at any moment."

"Like people with the Orange Madness?" Harry suggested.

"I'm fairly certain that there are rules against that sort of thing. If anyone was affected, they'd just put them in a stasis and keep them in the hospital wing."

Harry hummed. "I s'pose you're right. C'mon. Let's get breakfast first, and then we can go exploring."

The owl post was usually much less active on weekends than on weekdays so Callidus was surprised to see a letter landing next to his plate of food at breakfast. It wasn't from Wystan, but instead was from Madam Filodoxos. Callidus wondered what his foster parent had to say. He unfolded the letter and read it.

"What's that about?" Harry inquired between bites of toast.

"It's from Madam Filodoxos," Callidus explained. "Mostly just well-wishes for Samhain and a reminder to try the spells from the book that she gave me."

"Book?"

Callidus opened his mouth to reply, but then it occurred to him that Madam Filodoxos had told him not to speak of the book. It seemed ridiculous - the spells in the book were Old and Dark Magics, but none of them were any worse than what they were learning in ARMED club. He figured Madam Filodoxos was just trying to protect her own name.

"Yes," Callidus explained, decided that Harry could definitely be trusted. "A book on Old Magics. Interesting stuff - we could probably learn some of the spells as part of ARMED. I actually almost forgot all about it."

"Spells?" Harry perked up. "Sounds interesting! If it'll give us an edge against Rowle, we should definitely try them out."

Callidus nodded in agreement. They finished their breakfast quickly, and set out to find Harry's secret chamber.

While most people would consider exploring to be a fun activity, searching for secret chambers was much more tedious. Callidus and Harry still discovered some interesting things about the castle (such as the disturbing sight of the cells within the dungeon), but for the most part, their searches led to dead ends. On top of that, the first floor of Hogwarts was much more populated than the dungeons, and they kept receiving odd looks from students who were wondering what they were doing. More than once, Callidus heard people whisper: 'Those Slytherins are up to something.' The one benefit to being a Slytherin in this case was that no one dared ask them any questions.

To make matters more challenging, even if there was a secret chamber, how could they reveal it? What if a spell was required? Or a certain gesture or ingredient or password? For whatever reason, Harry was convinced that the password was extremely simple. It didn't make sense to Callidus, but Harry believed that all he needed to do was to tell the secret entrance to 'open.' Callidus had his doubts, but Harry just brushed them off.

They ventured from room to room, keeping their eyes out for anything unusual that might mark a secret entrance. Callidus could hear Harry muttering: 'open - open. Open!' repeatedly. As for Callidus, he randomly tapped at the decorative stonework or the portraits with his wand. Every so often, he would say 'open' to appease Harry, but he felt foolish doing it. It was a bit of a relief when it was finally lunch, and they could take a break from talking to walls. The idea of a secret chamber where they could practice any type of magic sounded fantastic, but Callidus would have been a lot more enthusiastic if he had the same feeling of certitude that Harry did.

As they ate their meal at the Slytherin table, Parkinson, who sat across from them complained about their absence.

"What have you two been doing?" she demanded. "It's so boring with all of you gone."

Callidus arched an eyebrow. "You prefer to listen to Harry and Draco bicker?"

"We don't bicker," Harry protested.

Parkinson laughed. "Oh Harry. You're such a dear. You and Draco are just so adorable."

"What do you mean 'adorable?'" Harry asked hotly. "I was going to tell you what we've been doing, but now I don't think I want to."

"That'll show her," Zabini drawled before taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.

Callidus couldn't help sighing. Harry's stubbornness could make him so childish at times. "We're looking for a secret chamber that will allow us to practice - magic. Mostly to spite Rowle."

Parkinson perked up. "Spite Euphie? Why didn't you say so? I'm almost inclined to help."

Harry tilted his head. "You'd help? Really, Pansy?"

"This sounds labourous," Zabini observed. "I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you, Harry."

"Labour?" Parkinson echoed distastefully. "Oh Merlin, no. Labour is for house-elves and the like."

Zabini smirked. "The lady hath spoken."

"But it's fun!" Harry argued. "And just think of all the things we could do if we had our own secret room where Rowle wasn't allowed!"

"Harry, learning people's secrets and spending galleons is fun," Parkinson asserted. "Running around the castle poking at random holes - well - let's just say that I'd rather leave that sort of fun to you. But if you do find that secret room, I'll be there to celebrate by your side."

Harry blinked. "Er - all right then."

After they had eaten, Callidus and Harry decided they would continue their search for a couple more hours, but on their way out of the Great Hall, they bumped into Hermione, Caiside and Ginny.

Hermione smiled warmly. "Oh, hello Callidus, Harry!"

"Hello," Callidus nodded, while Harry said a cheerful: "Hi!"

Callidus noticed Ginny had turned a bright shade of red upon seeing Harry, and her body language immediately changed to become shy and awkward. Meanwhile, Caiside was giving Ginny a look and rolling her eyes.

"How have you been?" Hermione asked. "I feel like it's been a while since we've last spoken, Harry."

However, before Harry could reply, they were interrupted by a loud sound like a mix between a grunt and roar of frustration coming from the foot of the marble stairs across the entrance hall. The group looked towards the stairs, and all of them jumped when a shrill scream cut through the air.

Because it was the lunch hour, there were a great deal of students coming and going, and none of them had an idea of what was going on. But the screaming had caused a feeling of fear to ripple down their spines and many students were looking around in confusion, trying to get a sense of where the threat was coming from.

There were shouts of confusion, and more screams, and Callidus thought he heard someone say: "It's the Orange Madness! It's here at Hogwarts!" Those words were enough to set off a full blown scene of pandemonium. Callidus and Harry could no longer stay in place, but had been caught up in the mob of students, frantically shoving each other as they desperately sought some sort of safety. As the students desperately tried to move away, Callidus caught sight of a brown-haired student near the stairs lunging at another student who was trying to ascend the staircase. The student screamed, kicking the brown-haired student in a bid to escape, but whoever it was, they seemed impervious to the pain and instead, made another loud guttural sound.

Callidus could hear one of the students, probably a prefect, calling out: "Calm down! Please, everyone! Return to your common rooms!" But the the words had no effect, and the prefect seemed to give up. Students who had been eating were now pouring out of the Great Hall in confusion. Some were trying to push their way up towards the stairs, while others were desperate to avoid it. One of the students was claiming that the Great Hall wasn't safe - another was saying: "No, look! It's here! We have to get out of here!"

Callidus had lost sight of Hermione, Caiside and Ginny in all of the chaos. He felt a moment of worry for them, but it was an effort to even remain near to Harry. Both of them were still too shocked to be afraid. All their energy was taken up by trying not to be overwhelmed by the crowd. With the mass of students spilling out of the Great Hall, it took all of Callidus's effort to weave past the crowd, towards the staircase that led down to the dungeons.

"Who's the one who's infected?" Harry called out to Callidus. "Did you see?"

But before Callidus could answer, he heard Dumbledore's amplified voice calling out: "Students! Calmly make your way back to your common rooms!"

Callidus wasn't sure if Dumbledore had used any sort of magic, but the headmaster's voice seemed to settle the crowd, and although the students still pushed, there was a feeling of order amidst the chaos and the students separated and made their way to their respective Houses. Callidus managed to stay by Harry's side and they followed the flow of students down to the Slytherin Dungeons, where a sixth year prefect awaited them, crossing their names off a list.

All around them, Callidus could hear the Slytherins talking in a panic.

"Merlin - I can't believe it's here -"

"Are you sure? You're sure it's the Orange Madness? I didn't see anything."

"Circe, they never should have let mudbloods into this school! This is all their fault!"

"I heard that someone was killed -"

"- definitely a mudblood -"

"Why hasn't Dumbledore done anything to stop this?"

"I'm not staying here at Hogwarts any longer. I refuse to stay at a school that admits those mudbloods! They can't keep me here!"

"- can't be the Orange Madness! I refuse to believe it!"

"They're all going to be infected! They'll take us down with them!"

"I saw it with my own eyes! It was one of the second years, I swear!"

"- blood everywhere -"

"- practically turned into a rabid beast -"

"It's all the mudbloods' fault!"

The atmosphere was becoming unbearable. Callidus and Harry exchanged a look, and wove past the milling students, entering into the relative sanctuary of their dormitories.

"Merlin, that was insane. Did you see anything?" Harry questioned, once they were sitting on their beds.

Callidus frowned, feeling troubled, not only by the strange events in the entrance hall, but also the sentiments of the Slytherins. "I saw one of the students attacking another student. I think it was a Hufflepuff, but I'm not sure. I don't know who it was though."

"Do you really think it was the Orange Madness?"

Callidus shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know what happened. But whoever that student was, he was acting strange and aggressive. His behaviour seemed - unnatural."

"If we had the friendliness bomb, we could have ended things right then and there -" Harry mused.

Callidus felt suddenly defensive. "The potion and vapourization work. It's the container that's the difficult part. I've been experimenting with various methods, but I only have so much time and resources."

"I'm not trying to say that you should have finished the project by now," Harry clarified. "It's just - you know - it was kind of scary how quickly everyone panicked."

Callidus pursed his lips. "Yes. Crowds can often have minds of their own."

They spoke for a while longer, but eventually, they were interrupted by the entry of Zabini and Nott.

"There you two are," Zabini remarked. "Did you hear about what happened?"

"We saw some of it," Harry answered.

Zabini's eyes widened. "You were there?"

"We saw one student acting aggressively in the entrance hall," Callidus informed him.

"So it was the Orange Madness?" Nott queried.

Harry shook his head. "We don't know for sure."

Zabini hummed. "There's a rumour going around that Lockhart was the one to take the infected student down."

Callidus and Harry's expressions were disbelieving. "Lockhart," Harry echoed flatly.

Zabini smirked. "I know. I highly doubt those rumours are true. Flitwick and Dumbledore may have had a hand in helping out. I heard that quite a number of students were injured, but I have a feeling that much of the fault of that is due to the madness of the crowd, and not the madness of the disease itself."

"Do you know who was injured?" Callidus wondered, worrying once again about Hermione, Caiside and Ginny.

"I'm afraid not," Zabini replied.

"Does anyone know who the person is that initiated attacking?" Callidus asked.

Zabini shrugged. "Most people here seem to think it's a mu - muggleborn. But some have claimed it's a half-blood and one person seems to think it was a pureblood who was infected."

Harry scowled. "People seem to become really stupid when they're scared."

"I won't dispute that," Zabini calmly agreed.

"I surmise that it's their survival instincts taking over," Nott speculated. "I've read about it of course, but it's another thing to see it first hand."

"To be honest, I really hope that whoever it was isn't a muggleborn. If that -" Harry gestured to the door, "- is how people react based on a rumour - then -" Harry frowned.

Callidus nodded. "Yes - it'd be like a war within the school. It would be bad."

Nott frowned. "That's an - interesting perspective."

Zabini raised his eyebrows. "It wouldn't hurt for you to pull your nose out of your books and take a look at the real world every so often, Nott."

Nott shrugged. "What can I say. The world can be a pretty ugly place."

Sadly, none of the other Slytherins could disagree with him.

A/N: I have an exam for my online course this upcoming week. I always feel kind of guilty when I don't write, as though I'll immediately run out of chapters, but in the case of the story, I think I'm okay...

My stories are sometimes swayed if a fanfiction I've read made a strong impression on me. There was one particular story which described Gryffindors and Ravenclaws as more individualistic, while Slytherins and Hufflepuffs leaned towards being more collectivist/unified. I think that mentality sometimes creeps into my writing.