"There's a bend up ahead." Vega stated. "What do we do?"

"Go around it?" Suggested Viola. "Not like there's another way forward, you know."

"I know that." Vega said. "I meant, what if something's waiting around the corner?"

"Then we prepare to launch an attack and if we see anything, we do so." Hydrus said. "Do you want me to take the lead for this bit?"

"No, I can do it." Vega said, sounding nervous. "I'm not gonna like it, but I can do it. You two just be ready in case something flies out of the darkness and tries to bite my face off."

After walking down the underground hallway for what had to have been an hour, they had finally come across a feature other than mossy stone and dripping water. A sharp, abrupt turn to the right was just ahead. And, like the rest of the hall, the only light was now coming from Vega's wand. They had now walked so far that the light of the torches on the walls of the first part of the corridor were no longer visible. Vega's irrational fear of things lurking in the shadows wasn't helping matters any, as he kept lowering his wand to check the floor for anything that might be down there.

The three moved forward slowly, Viola and Hydrus raising their wands in preparation for a boggart or whatever else might jump out at them. And, with Vega giving them a silent signal, they ran around the corner together... and saw nothing but more long, empty hallway ahead of them.

"Oh come on!" Cried Vega. "Who would ever build this? What purpose does a long, empty hall serve?"

"Hogwarts has a lot of places that don't make sense." Viola said. "You're acting like this is somehow new."

"Yeah, but even the Chamber of Secrets had a purpose, Vivi." Vega said, slumping against a wall and letting out a shaky breath. "This? This is just a neverending hall! This is stupid!"

"...I just had a really bad thought. Should I share?" Hydrus said, sounding rather uncomfortable.

"Might as well." Vega said, pushing himself from the wall and looking surly. "Not like my mood can get much worse."

"We'll see about that, I suppose." Hydrus said. Turning to look back in the direction they had come from, he continued, "What do you two think the odds are that we passed at least one more false wall on our way here?"

Vega's shoulders instantly slumped, and Viola let out a loud, frustrated groan.

"Okay... okay, this is what we're doing." Vega said. "We're gonna keep going forward. If we can't find anything, we go back..."

"We're going to be down here for a long time, aren't we?" Asked Viola. "What do we do about food? Or sleep? Or... y'know... facilities?"

"Might as well just have a wee in the bloody corner. I don't think we can make this place any more miserable than it already is." Muttered Vega. "If we need to sleep, we sleep in shifts. If we need to eat, I bet I could call for Dobby. I'd rather not have to spend a single meal time down here, though, so let's get on with it."

"Potter's right. Mostly. I'll keep an eye on the way we came. Viola, you get between us." Hydrus said, lighting his own wand up.

"Not hearing complaints from me." Viola said. And, now in something of a line, the three resumed walking.

But nothing came from behind. Nothing came from in front, either. The suspense that Vega had been feeling had now given way to outright annoyance. He was just about to voice this irritation when he saw something in the distance. He squinted at it, not quite knowing what he was seeing. "...Something up ahead, guys."

"Is it moving?" Asked Hydrus.

"No, it's... the hall ends, I think? Or opens up into something..." Vega said, leading his friends forward until they had reached what he had been seeing. The stone hallway's end looked to have been broken apart by something. Rubble was scattered everywhere and there was a giant, almost perfectly spherical hole in the earth that had been behind the stone hall's end. Carved into the very dirt that was holding Hogwarts up, the tunnel had somehow not collapsed in on itself. Though, as Hydrus was quite keen on pointing out, this wasn't any better than the creaking of the hallway.

"Do we go on?" Asked Viola. "What if it caves in?"

"It's not natural." Vega said. "It's too round. I say we go for it. If the hall's held, I'm betting this one will, too..."

"Lot to bet on an unsure thing." Hydrus said. "I don't know about this, Potter. I say we go back and get the staff and bring them down here."

"If you think I'm hauling my tired butt out of here without anything to show for it, you're insane." Groused Vega. "I haven't been walking all this time to turn around and head back."

"You're being unreasonable again, Potter." Hydrus said.

"No, I kinda get where he's coming from, actually." Viola said. "My feet are killing me. I don't want to walk all the way back. Especially since the boggart's probably down this way. That means it'd be behind us the whole way back. I really don't like the thought of that. Do you?"

"Well, no, but..." Hydrus began.

"No buts. C'mon, you two. Cygnus thinks we're on the right path." Vega said, stepping forward and into the large tunnel. It was about twice as tall as the hallway had been, so there was plenty of room to move about. All the same, Vega walked very slowly once inside and kept his arm and head movements at a minimum.

"Oh, well if Cygnus thinks that..." Muttered Hydrus under his breath. A bit louder, he asked, "How does it seem in there?"

"Stable." Said Vega. "Come on in. It's really cold, but that's not really very surprising. The hall wasn't really warm, either."

Reluctantly, the twins stepped out of the hall and into the tunnel. With Vega keeping an eye forward and Hydrus still watching behind them, the three continued on, into the strange tunnel.

"Almost looks like a really big worm came through here." Vega murmured. "Wonder if the basilisk did this before it got to the Chamber of Secrets... dad didn't find anything there, I don't think, but that doesn't mean anything, right?"

"Really don't want to think about fighting a basilisk, Potter." Hydrus stated, teeth clenched.

"Right. Thinking out loud again. Sorry." Vega apologized.

It wasn't much better than making their way through the seemingly endless hallway had been, though the earth around them made them go even slower than they had been. It continued, almost in a straight line, in the direction the hall had been in. It was almost as though something had simply stripped this bit of some stone and candles. At one point, Vega stumbled forward a bit, managing to catch himself before he went tumbling, as the dirt path curved downward. Much like the initial bit of the long hallway they had come across, this path also aimed awkwardly down at an angle. The three decided the best way to get down this bit was to slide down and hope for the best.

But the ground was hard and dry, so their attempts to slide turned into little more than very short scoots. Hydrus complained, and tried to stand back upright, but nearly went tumbling forward himself. He promptly sat back down and, with the others, resumed the scoot down the hill. When they reached the bottom, they were greeted with a sight that was both welcome and unwelcome to them. The dirt path broke back into the castle, piercing another wall and scattering debris all over the place. And, while it was good to have sturdy stone around them again, it did pose a very interesting question.

"How far down do the dungeons go, exactly?" Asked Vega in a hushed voice. "We were under the regular dungeons before, that went down a bit, and we've just gone down again."

"It's... really quiet here, isn't it?" Viola said. "That's bothering me more than anything. I kind of miss the stone creaking and leaking. At least that was some noise. We've got nothing down here except silence..."

"I don't like it either." Vega said. "I hope we're getting close. I really don't want to think about the trek out of here now."

"We've got to be in the lowest dungeons. I wonder how long it's been since anyone was down here..." Hydrus said, looking around as they resumed their seemingly-endless journey into the bowels of the castle. "No idea what this part of the castle was used for..."

"Probably made people serving detentions walk down here and back up again..." Vega said, making a face. "It's certainly felt like one so far..."

"I wonder what part of the castle we're under right now." Viola said. "I kinda lost track of where we were..."

"Same here." Vega said. "Trying not to th- hey, look!"

Vega came to a halt and pointed ahead of him. In the distance was a faint light coming from what looked like an open room. Indeed, there were a few rooms littered along the new hall they were in, though the doors on them seemed heavier than those found in Hogwarts proper. So far, they had all been locked, and none of the three were in any hurry to pop them open to have a peek inside. Looking at one another, the three started moving a little faster as they headed for the glow.

As they got closer, their footsteps began to splash in a shallow pool of water that seemed to come from the room itself. Once they got to the open doorway, they saw why. Hearts sinking somewhat, they stepped through the doorway and into the remnants of what seemed like it could have been a classroom at one point in time. It was half destroyed now, opening onto yet another tunnel through the earth. A similar one was overhead, though it was far smaller. Even Vega, tiny as he was, would have never been able to squeeze up through it. It went up for a long way, and apparently opened up onto the Hogwarts grounds rather than into the castle itself, as moonlight was what had been shining down through it. The room was also filled with stagnant water, which had rotted most of the desks and chairs. Mosquitoes buzzed around them, as well, leading them to quickly get into the tunnel on the far side.

"Well, that was fun. Just when I think we were about to reach boggarts, all we get are mosquitoes!" Vega cried, slapping his cheek when he felt a bug land on it. "This place just keeps getting better and better!"

"At least we know we aren't under the castle anymore." Hydrus said, swatting at the air to try and keep the flying pests away from him.

"Yeah, we're just a thousand feet underground." Viola muttered. "This place sucks!"

"Oh... it gets better." Vega said, his voice gone flat. "This is a dead-end. We're going to have to go back and start popping locks."

"What?" Viola cried, storming up to Vega and looking ahead. Sure enough, the dirt tunnel came to a rather abrupt end just around a slight curve. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me! Back through those bugs? Vega, there'd better be a boggart down here..."

"You think I enjoy this?" Vega griped. "Come on, let's get this over with!"

Now feeling as miserable as they no doubt looked, the trio headed back the way they came, rushing through the soggy classroom and pulling the heavy, wooden door behind them as they exited into the hall once more. They then quickly made their way back down the corridor until they reached the next door, swatting at mosquitoes all the while.

Aiming his wand at the door, Hydrus unlocked it and caused the door to fall open with a creaking groan. Inside was just another classroom, this pne spared the ravages of nature. After inspecting around it just to ensure that they weren't missing something, they tried the next door down. Again and again, they opened doors, finding only long-abandoned rooms as well as the occasional family of spiders.

"Only two left. I'm gonna be mad if one of these doesn't lead somewhere..." Vega said, opening the next door himself. "...Oh good, more hallway! Haven't seen enough of those yet!"

Viola let out a strangled cry at this, with Hydrus blowing out a long sigh at the same time. Vega trudged into the newly-opened hall as Viola muttered darkly about the reasons anyone would ever have to put a door at the end of a hallway. They weren't walking for very long, however, before Vega came to a stop, quickly turning and putting a finger up to his lips to silence his friends. Hydrus frowned at him, and Viola quietly asked, "What is it?"

"Hear something. Be quiet and move slowly..." Vega whispered, creeping forward down the hall. They came to another corner, and Vega peeked around it cautiously. He immediately put a hand over his mouth and ducked back behind cover, pressing himself back against the wall. "...We have a problem."

"What? Is it the boggart?" Hydrus asked.

"Look for yourselves. But just barely look around the corner!" Vega said, quietly moving to one side to allow the twins access.

Viola went first, and had a reaction very similarly to Vega's. Hydrus went last and drew in a sharp breath. The corner led to another hallway. Or, at the very least, something that could have been a proper hallway at one point in time. Most of it looked wrecked, with some of the ceiling collapsing in on it at points. There were a few rooms off to the sides, and from these, passing from one side to the next and back again, were boggarts. Having not detected the three Slytherins yet, they were still in their default state, one that was rather wispy and formless in nature. They floated around slowly, moving between rooms and only really doing something when they crossed paths. When this occurred, the two boggarts that had moved by one another would briefly try shapeshifting. Upon failing, they'd return to wisp form and continue on their way.

The majority of the boggarts, around eight in total, were gathered around a small crater towards the back end of the hall. They were floating over what could only be described as eggs of some sort. They were tall and thin, and were giving off something resembling the wispy material the fully grown boggarts were made of.

"Great. A breeding pool." Hydrus hissed. "You and the voice in your head got any bright ideas, Potter? Because I'm having a hard time thinking right now!"

"We thought of this while we were scheming... we had a lot of time to go over situations like this, after all..." Vega said. "But... talking it over and actually being here are two different things. I think... I think Cygnus wants to try something..."

"What?" Asked Viola, reaching out and grabbing her brother's hand. "We can't stop that many, can we?"

"We can... and I think we can without the Exsilium. Hyde might be mad at me afterwards, but that can't really be helped..." Vega said, smiling weakly. "...But it might knock us out, apparently..."

"Then you aren't doing it." Hydrus stated. "Not doing anything that might knock you out."

"Well, if you've got a better idea, I'd love hearing it!" Vega said, trying to keep his voice low. "I trust Cygnus... after all, we share the same body. If I get hurt, so does he. I think the best way to do this is to let him come forward and do whatever it is he plans to do."

"Potter, you have to be positive you can get them with whatever this is..." Hydrus said. "You can't be playing around!"

Eyes flashing from green to blue suddenly, Cygnus shook his head quickly. "I got this, Hyde. Just trust me. I'm going to get them all on me, alright? And then, if everything goes right... we'll kill them."

"'If' is the part of this I'm having trouble with here, Potter!" Hydrus whispered, grabbing Cygnus by the shoulders. "What are you going to try?"

"Something ridiculous." Cygnus said, grinning and breaking away from Hydrus' grip, stepping out into full view of the boggarts and calling out loudly, "Hey, boggarts! Come and get me!"

Hydrus and Viola exchanged a quick, terrified look, then scrambled to get out at Cygnus' side, aiming their wands at the boggarts, who were now pulsing with a faint light as they floated away from the egg pool. Cygnus licked his lips as more and more boggarts came floating from the side rooms. As they gathered, they began shapeshifting. Some turning into Hydrus, some into Vega himself - splitting into two halves then recombining. They all seemed focused on Cygnus, however. This seemed to suit him just fine, as he raised his wand in preparation.

"Potter!" Hissed Hydrus. "Do something!"

"I am..." Cygnus said, his voice belying how scared he was feeling. Or rather, how scared Vega was feeling. "Gonna put everything I have into this."

By now, the boggarts had stopped being Hydrus, and were now the splitting-and-recombining Vega. As Cygnus roared out "RIDDIKULUS," he caught them mid-shift, making them look like stretched and warped versions of Vega. But the spell, meant for a single target and cast by an eleven year old boy, didn't seem to be good enough. The boggarts seemed to be breaking through the spell, their assumed forms looking sillier as they stretched in slow motion.

"It wasn't good enough!" Viola whimpered. "What now?"

'Yeah, what now?' Vega cried out. 'This isn't working!'

"I've got this! That wasn't the part I was gonna pump out power into!" Cygnus replied, laughing as he took aim once more. "I just gotta hit 'em all at once!"

Before Hydrus could grab him, Cygnus had rushed forward toward the group of boggarts, yelling something about having to be closer to pull this off. What 'this' was, Hydrus didn't know. Cygnus kept his wand trained on the slow-moving boggarts until he was almost in the middle of them. There was a flash of blue light, followed by a flash of red light, with Cygnus screaming something that was lost in the roar of the spell that came next. Spiky red crystals shot out of the walls and floor, slamming up, into, and through the transforming boggarts. Slowed-down, inhuman wails started to fill the air as the boggarts were driven into the stone on the walls and ceiling.

The boggarts' cries were lost as the crystals impaling them quickly started to encase their bodies, which were bleeding rather profusely at this point. When the crystals had stopped growing over the boggarts, Cygnus raised his wand and brought it straight down, slamming it to the floor.

The crystals shattered violently, as did the half-transformed boggarts trapped within. Blood and meaty bits of boggart fell to the ground alongside the remnants of Cygnus' spell. Panting heavily, Cygnus forced himself to move further down the hall until he was standing at the edge of the little pool that held the boggart eggs. Wand cutting an arc through the air, he hissed, "Cruentus Via!"

Smaller shards of jagged, red crystals flew from his wand, piercing the eggs below. And, moments later, more spikes shot out from within the eggs. If anything had been alive inside of them before, it wouldn't be now. Swallowing hard, Cygnus turned and started to walk back toward the Malfoy twins, who were staring at him with stunned expressions on their faces. He opened his mouth to say something, but only managed a hoarse gurgle before he fell forward, barely catching himself before his head hit the ground.

"Potter!"

"Vega!"

The twins rushed over as Cygnus pushed himself over onto his back. His breathing was coming in short, labored bursts, but he was grinning. Blue eyes faded to green, and Vega whispered, "Did we get 'em all?"

"I... yeah, you got 'em all..." Viola said. Then, turning to her brother, she asked, "He did get them all, right?"

Hydrus raised his wand and went to quickly check the side rooms. A few moments later and an odd noise came from one of them. When Hydrus came back out, his right shoe and everything around it was covered in green ichor. "There were a few more eggs in that one," he explained. "Potter, are you alright?"

"Nope..." Vega said, trying to raise an arm. It was shaking violently, so much so that he was unable to keep hold of his wand. "Feels like... hospital."

"Hospit- Vega? Hey! Vega!"

Viola shook Vega's body as his eyes slipped shut. He still wore a triumphant smile on his face, even while unconscious. Looking at Hydrus, she asked, "What do we do?"

Hydrus ran a hand back through his hair and replied, "I don't know. We can't carry him up that slope in the tunnel, we can't apparate, no one knows we're here..."

"Hey... hey, look!" Viola exclaimed, looking down at Vega again. The blond had apparently regained consciousness to some extent, as he was looking up at Viola through barely-open eyes and was attempting to mouth something to her. "...What? Vega, I don't know what you're trying to say!"

"...Understood, Potter." Hydrus said, suddenly. "Rest. We'll get you out of here."

Vega's eyes rolled up to look at Hydrus for a moment, and he managed to mouth out 'I'm sorry' before passing out again. Viola looked from her friend to her brother and asked, "Did you understand what he was getting at?"

"I think so... I just hope it works." Hydrus said. Taking a breath, he called out, "DOBBY!"

His cry echoed through the ruined hallway and, for a moment, he thought it fell on deaf ears. However, a loud CRACK filled the air and suddenly, a house elf was standing nearby. Dobby seemed a bit confused as to where, exactly, he was. But when he saw Vega and the twins, he rushed over. Viola and Hydrus, in rapid succession, explained where they were - or at least, where they thought they were - and what had happened, both to the boggarts and to Vega. Dobby promised he would go and get help, and vanished. A few minutes later, he reappeared, saying that he had informed the headmistress of where they were. He had been ordered to stay with them, and to see if there was anything he could do for Vega.

"Dobby is sorry, but he is not knowing how to heal... Vega Potter has used lots of magical energy, as Dobby is feeling it in the air. If Dobby was to guess, sirs, Dobby would say that Vega Potter is using almost all of his magic to stop the monsters!"

"He's just like his dad!" Viola cried, glaring down at Vega through slightly wet eyes. "Idiot..."

"He'll be okay, won't he?" Asked Hydrus.

"He is the son of the great Harry Potter, sir! Dobby is certain Vega Potter will be recovering in no time!" Said the house elf, smiling up at Hydrus.

Eventually, Hydrus sat down, leaning back against a portion of unruined wall. The four sat in relative silence for what felt like forever, the only noise coming when Viola would ask Dobby a question. Soon, however, Dobby's ears perked up, and he got to his feet. As he turned, he saw a good portion of the Hogwarts staff come rumbling around the corner, McGonagall leading the charge. When she saw the scene in front of her, McGonagall came to a dead halt and stared. Dumbledore came walking up from the back of the pack and, leaning in, murmured to her, "Like father, like son, wouldn't you say, Minerva?"

"Don't you start encouraging this!" Cried McGonagall, rounding on the former headmaster. "Of all the foolish, dangerous things they could have done! They could have been killed, Albus!"

"Ah, but they weren't." Dumbledore said. "Vega knew he could call Dobby, you see. If they had to, they could have retreated at any time."

"Yes, while being chased by... who knows how many boggarts!" McGonagall exclaimed. "They would have made it as far as that slope before being caught! I daresay one house elf would not be able to keep away this many boggarts!"

"And yet that - and more - is what an eleven year old boy has done, Minerva." Dumbledore said, a smile on his face. "Or rather, two eleven year old boys and one eleven year old girl."

"That is entirely beside the point and you know it!" McGonagall stated. With a sigh, she turned and walked over. "Is Mister Potter alright, Dobby?"

"He is in no mortal peril, miss!" Dobby said, smiling pleasantly. "He has probably burned up most of his magic, but he is in no mortal peril!"

"That isn't exactly 'alright,' if you ask me..." Muttered Viola, who was still on the ground next to Vega, holding one of his hands. "Is there a quick way back up, Professor? I'm... I'm really tired..."

"I think it can be arranged, Miss Malfoy." McGonagall said. Turning to her brother, she asked, "Are the two of you alright?"

"Ask again when my heart isn't in my throat." Hydrus said. "Potter just leapt out, alerted them, then charged. Absolutely mental..."

"One thing we can agree on, Mister Malfoy." McGonagall said. Looking over his shoulder, she asked, "I take it you can summon Fawkes, Albus?"

"Of course." Said Dumbledore. Pursing his lips, the old wizard let out a melodic whistle. Within seconds, a flash of fire erupted nearby, revealing one rather large phoenix.

"Then let us get these three up to Poppy and Gabriel." McGonagall said.

And, starting with Vega, Fawkes landed on the three Slytherins and vanished, reappearing in the Hospital Wing with them. When Hydrus, who insisted on being taken last, had gone with the phoenix, McGonagall let out a long sigh. "They're trying to give me a heart attack, I swear..."

Chuckling, Dumbledore strode over and placed a hand on McGonagall's back. "Some things cannot be prevented, Minerva. The children of the Potters and Malfoys inviting trouble and going after it themselves seems to be one of these things. Your godson seems to be a very interesting case, however. Taking after Harry very closely in some regards, wouldn't you say?"

"Unfortunately." McGonagall said, turning back toward the staff. "Search around - go in pairs and look for hidden rooms. If there are any more boggarts, fully grown or otherwise, get rid of them. When we make it back up top, we'll seal these corridors off properly. If we happen to miss something, then at least it won't be able to get into the school from down here."

The staff split apart into small groups and began searching the area, leaving McGonagall with Dumbledore, who pulled a peppermint from his pocket and offered it to her.

"My stomach is irritable enough at the moment, Albus. It doesn't need any assistance." She stated tersely.

Shrugging, Dumbledore popped it into his mouth. "The children are alright, Minerva. How are you?"

"I was doing fine until they arrived. Now, one of my staff is dead and it seems very likely that bad things will keep happening until they graduate." McGonagall said. "To say that I'm stressed would be an understatement. Gareth was a fine man and a good teacher."

"Indeed he was. But it does go to show that even the best of us make mistakes." Dumbledore said, offering the headmistress a slight smile. "Come now, Minerva. Let us join in the search. I believe we still have a bit of work ahead of us before we can check in on those three."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Why did that even work?" Asked Vega.

"I told you I was gonna pump all we had into it, didn't I?" Cygnus replied, sitting nearby. "That's exactly what I did."

"That explains nothing!" Cried Vega, glaring up at the sky. "You know, sometimes I think it's better to just not worry about it, but then the logical part of my brain starts to have a seizure."

"You're gonna feel really sick and shaky for awhile. Not much to do about that." Cygnus said. "We really should ask dad about this..."

"Or we can just forget about it and not think about it and just move on from the unpleasantness of the whole thing." Vega suggested. "How long until I wake up, by the way?"

"Could probably go any time you felt like you had the energy, honestly." Cygnus said, looking around him. "You won't be casting for awhile, and you're probably not gonna want to eat. Treat it like a normal trip to the hospital!"

"Normal, you say. I don't want to be here so often that I start developing habits." Vega groaned. "Okay. I've got a rule for our second year here - no hospital stays!"

"I love a good challenge!" Cygnus laughed. "Alright, go on and wake up. At least argue long enough to get us back in the Pit's bed. Far more comfortable."

Vega pushed himself to his feet, stretching. "Mmph... Vivi's gonna be mad and Hyde's probably gonna wanna know why some of the boggarts turned into him, huh?"

"Probably, yes."

"Not all of them were doing that, though. Why were some turning into me and doing that weird thing?"

"You'll figure it out someday, I'm sure." Cygnus said. "Go on, get outta here. It's cramped with two people here."

"Cramped? It's a giant, open field. Even if it's all in my mind, it's still a fair bit better than that endless hallway we were in." Vega said. "...But yeah, I'm going. Best to get it over with. Talk to ya later."

"Preferrably after some rest. And something really cold to drink." Cygnus said.

"Preferrably." Echoed Vega. He closed his eyes for a few moments and concentrated. He wasn't in a nice, warm field. He wasn't hanging around with a visual manifestation of the voice in his head. He was in Hogwarts. He was in the Hospital Wing. He was...

"Owwwwww..."

He was in a lot of pain. It felt like someone had punched him in the gut while running at full speed. Why did a shortage of magic hurt so much? He cracked an eye open and tried to take in his surroundings, but he could barely focus for how sore he felt. He wanted to double over and curl up on his side, but the thought of moving at all seemed like a really terrible idea. He settled for opening the other eye and staring up at the ceiling.

"I daresay if an 'ow' is the only thing that comes from this, then you've come out of it for the better, somehow." Came a clipped voice to his left.

"Hullo to you, too, Madam Pomfrey." Vega said, his voice slightly raspy. "Why does everything hurt?"

"Because you used up far too much of your magic, Mister Potter. I would have thought that obvious. You won't be-"

"...doing much of anything for awhile. Right. Sorry, bit groggy. And sore. Very, very sore." Vega said. "Also? Brain isn't letting me think. Too focused on the stomach pain."

"Just lie there and try to relax." Came Gabriel's voice as she walked into view, carrying a tray of potions. "It's nice that you didn't spend a week out of commission this time. Getting better!"

"Not coming up here next year." Vega declared. "So... not been out of it for a week?"

"Nope. Just a few hours." Gabriel said.

"What time is it?"

"Late enough that everyone in this school should have long since gone to bed." Madam Pomfrey stated, reaching for one of the potions on Gabriel's tray. Uncorking it, she held it up to Vega's mouth. "Here, drink this. It should reduce the pain."

Vega swallowed it, wincing as he drank. "Urgh... can't you guys make these things taste good?"

"Consider it punishment for breaking the rules." Gabriel said. "Just gonna have to grin and bear it, I'm afraid."

"Gonna be in here until at least morning, then, huh? Tsk..." Vega mumbled, frowning slightly. "...Hey, where are Vivi and Hyde?"

"Probably in bed, as well." Gabriel said. "Neither of them had any injuries, so they were free to go. Told them it'd be pointless for them to stay here for the night. Viola looked like she was about to pass out, too."

"Hey, 'least we won. No more boggarts, no more injuries." Vega said, grinning cheekily up at Madam Pomfrey. "Back to 'normal' injuries from students for the rest of the year!"

"Are you trying to get me to give you the worst-tasting potions first, Mister Potter?" Asked Madam Pomfrey, one eyebrow raised.

"No! Wait... yes, bad potions first! That way the good ones can cover the taste!" Vega said. "Ugh, don't make me think. Already got a headache..."

"As well you should. I'm just glad you've managed to escape the seemingly inescapable relatively unharmed. You'd make your father proud, though I'm not sure that's something to actually be proud about."

"Yeah, well, tell that to Dumbledore." Vega said, closing his eyes and yawning. "Sittin' there, grinnin' at us like he knew what we were gonna do..."

"Oh, yes, that man is still quite intolerable, as well. In fact, I would go so far as to say his time away from this place has made him even more maddening." Madam Pomfrey declared, rolling her eyes and reaching for another potion. "No reason at all that you three had to go it alone..."

Vega felt another bottle touch his lips, and he parted them accordingly, thankful that this potion didn't taste like rotted goat innards. "S'probably our fault. Professor Tadygbbo died 'cause we came here. Was our problem to deal with."

"Nonsense." Madam Pomfrey stated. Grabbing the third potion bottle, she held it to Vega's mouth until he drank the contents of it, as well. "It's bad luck and coincidence and nothing more."

"If you say so. Wish I could be that confident..." Vega said.

"I'd say stopping a small army of boggarts by yourself says a lot about your confidence." Gabriel chimed in. When she received a rather severe look from Madam Pomfrey, however, she quickly added, "And your foolishness!"

Smiling weakly, Vega murmured, "So long as no one got seriously hurt, no reason to worry about what could've happened, I guess. Did Professor McGonagall say anything about the path we went down?"

"Only that she sealed it up after she and the staff had searched the length of it thoroughly." Said Madam Pomfrey, tapping Vega's chest gently with her wand. "...Right, those should do, Mister Potter. Do try to get some rest. Gabriel, we should also be getting some sleep. We've been up quite long enough."

"I'm all for going back to bed." Gabriel said, setting her now-empty tray down on the next bed over. "Sleep well, Vega. We'll check back in with you in the morning, alright? Standard routine."

"'Kay." Vega said, feeling his grip on the waking world falter. "G'night..."

"Good night, Mister Potter." Madam Pomfrey said, offering him a small smile. "With any luck, this will be the last time we have to say that to you this year."

oOoOoOoOoOo

Author's Notes: This was written almost entirely the same night I finished the last third of the previous chapter. And now, I'll be going off to work on at least a bit of the final chapter! Yup, we only have one left! After all this time, I'm finally going to finish the first stinkin' book of R-2. I plan to at least try getting out one more chapter apiece of all the non-Potter side stories I've got going right now, as well, between chapter 18 and the start of book 2. No promises, though. I am terribly lazy, after all.

If the date Windows is giving me is correct, I wrote chapter one in may of 2009. Two years is a bit much for one book, if you ask me. I'll be trying to crank out the whole of book 2 between March and the end of the year, though.