"I've long ago stopped trying to tell you what to do for Harry." Dumbledore's eyes drifted over the small pot of sweets he kept on his desk and he unwrapped one. He offered Sirius one, but Sirius shook his head. "Should you- You were always a good student, and were you to remove Harry from the school and take charge of his learning yourself, I'm certain that, academically, he would not be any the worse for it. Not everyone is as privileged with their guardians as Harry, however. Other parents lack the ability or the time to homeschool their children, and so, for as long as they are willing to send us their children, we are willing to accept them." He popped the sweet into his mouth, looking grim.

"Even if it could kill them?"

"Quidditch is a dangerous sport," Dumbledore said. "It doesn't stop us from letting the students take part."

"What part of Tom Riddle is the Heir didn't you understand?"

"I'm old," Dumbledore said, his eyes flashing, "but you're mistaken if you think my mental processes are even slightly disrupted."

"That's not what I meant to imply," Sirius muttered.

"I know," Dumbledore replied lightly. He clasped his hands and looked over at Fawkes, and then at the copy of Nature's Nobility that rested on the desk between them. "I cannot close the school."

"Can't or won't?" Sirius asked.

"Frankly," Dumbledore said, "both." He sighed. "I don't have the influence to close the school on my own. I could encourage students not to return or I could – because I am under no illusions about the placement of my staff's loyalty – arrange for all of the teachers – including myself – to resign as one-"

"Then-"

"But," Dumbledore said, "the Ministry will simply fill the positions with their own people, with people from the Department of Management and Control of Magical Children, the School Board, or from the Wizarding Examinations Board, and students will be encouraged to return to resume their studies." Dumbledore sucked on his sweet for a moment. "My students are, as you've said, in danger, and I'm doing what I can to resolve that-"

"I never said you weren't-"

"I never said you said such a thing," Dumbledore replied, his eyes, absurdly, twinkling for just a moment. He watched Sirius, apparently waiting for another interruption. Sirius was silent. "Until the situation is resolved, however, it is all I can do to ensure the students are as best protected as they can be, and I do not think leaving them in the hands of the Ministry would align with that at all."

"No," Sirius had to say. "Probably not." He'd expected this meeting to have a great deal more shouting in it, and had not at any point stopped to consider that Dumbledore's reasons might be as good as they were. "But then why not send the muggleborns home, where they'll be safe?" And Harry. Harry needs to be safe too.

"Because they belong in this world as much as any of the purebloods," Dumbledore said. "It's not the first time Tom's failed to see that, and not the first time that muggleborns have refused to go along with what he wants. I imagine Lily, for one, would have had very strong words for anyone who dared suggest she wasn't good enough to be a witch." Sirius cracked a smile at that; he didn't have to imagine, having been around on several occasions to see Lily verbally tearing strips off Slytherins who'd judged her for her blood.

"Not all of them are Lily, though," Sirius had to say. "She was- she was something special-"

"Indeed," Dumbledore said.

"And what about their parents?"

"Know that I've done what I can to keep this out of the Prophet's hands, but I've done nothing to keep my students quiet-"

"And what about the ones that haven't told their folks, because they're scared they'll be dragged out of school, or don't want them to worry?"

"A student not telling their parents would be very indicative of that student's desire to stay, I should think," Dumbledore said.

Sirius couldn't fault him there, but still said, "They still deserve to know."

"The majority are not concerned."

"I struggle to believe-"

"The majority have children that are halfbloods and purebloods, and therefore safe. You would be concerned for the other students – Miss Granger, in particular – but tell me honestly, were it not Tom Riddle behind this, would you be truly worried for Harry?"

"Of course I would," Sirius said. "Have you met the kid?" But again, Sirius could see his point.

"And then there's the muggle parents," Dumbledore sighed. "Mr Creevey's father has, of course been notified, and some will have been told by their children, but the rest…? The rest have no concept of blood status, or what the name Voldemort means – if they know the name at all – and assume that Hogwarts is dangerous anyway because to them, magic is the unknown." He sighed again. "And that can't be helped, not with the Statute of Secrecy as firmly in place as it is at present." Sirius fiddled with the dogtags he wore around his neck, not sure what to say. "I do, however, agree with you; it is not my place to withhold information from parents when it concerns the safety of their children. When we are done here, I will speak to Minerva and Pomona and Filius and Severus and determine how best to address them."

"Right," Sirius said.

"Forgive me, Sirius," Dumbledore said, leaning forward in his chair, "but may I ask why things are so different this year?" Sirius, ridiculously, felt like a teenager again, being asked why he and James had blown up a suit of armour, or persuaded Peeves to harass Snape.

"Because it's Voldemort-"

"We knew that last year-"

"But now he's actually in the school-"

"That was the case last year as well, but last year, you were running patrols, and following leads, not trying to pull Harry out of classes."

"There aren't leads this year, though," Sirius said. "There's- it's just a legend and a monster no one knows anything about, and- and Voldemort. I just want him safe."

"Come in," Remus said, without looking up from his marking. He'd been expecting a student or perhaps Madam Maxime, or Monsieur Motte, but it wasn't the Defence professor coming to discuss their next lesson; it was a very unexpected visitor. "What are you doing here?" he asked, as a damp Sirius let himself into the office.

"Came to talk," Sirius said. He flicked his wand, drying himself, and pulled up one of the chairs. "Are you busy?"

"Not with anything that can't wait," Remus said, frowning. "Did you speak to Dumbledore? What-"

"Dumbledore can't and won't close the school," Sirius said, and Remus wasn't entirely surprised. "But he said that what I do with Harry is up to me." Remus flicked his wand at the teapot and cups he kept on the table in the corner, and they floated over, along with his teabags and pot of sugar.

"Not that I'm not pleased to see you," Remus said, passing Sirius a steaming cup, "but why didn't you just write a letter? Two international portkeys in one day-"

"I brought my bike," Sirius said.

"Oh." Remus stirred a few teaspoons of sugar in, and sipped his tea. "Good flight?"

"Wet," Sirius said, and offered nothing else after that. He looked calm enough, but his scent was all over the place.

"You still haven't said why you're here."

"Because Harry's not going to take it well when I tell him he isn't going back, if last night and this morning are any indication. I just- I know I'm right, that this is the way it's going to be, but I need to hear it."

"I'm sorry," Remus said.

"For what?" Sirius blinked at him and lowered his teacup.

"I can't tell you you're right," Remus said. Once, he might have lowered his head and avoided eye contact, or said the words jokingly. Now, he met Sirius' startled eyes. "Do I think that Harry needs to be protected? Absolutely. Do I think locking him up in Grimmauld is the way to do it? Absolutely not."

"I was thinking of sending him here, actually."

Remus' heart constricted; he loved Tonks, he did, but she was out and about at all hours with the Aurors, and Remus missed Harry and missed Sirius. It had been wonderful having them over Christmas and hard to see them leave that morning – even if Sirius was back again already. The idea of having Harry coming to stay permanently was something that appealed to him greatly. But Remus pushed that thought away.

"No," he said.

"I thought you'd like the idea," Sirius said, frowning.

"Does Harry?"

"I haven't asked him yet," Sirius sighed. "But I think he'll adjust to the idea-"

"From what he's said, I think he wants to stay at Hogwarts," Remus said. At least, that was the impression he'd got from Harry and Sirius' shouting last night. "And unfortunately for you, Harry's got all of Lily's selflessness, all of James' stubbornness, and his very own brand of wanting to help."

"I can talk him out of that, with time," Sirius said.

"You don't have time, though," Remus said. "Harry also takes after his prat of a godfather." Sirius scowled. "He's not ambitious, but trying to get in the way of what he wants isn't a good idea… Your parents wanted you to stay away from James and the Potters – told you so after your first week at school – and look how that went." Sirius had a funny look on his face.

"James wasn't dangerous, though-"

"I was," Remus said.

"Moony-"

"Don't deny it," Remus said, smiling. "If I wasn't, you'd have let Harry come out for the full moons already."

"That's- that's beside the point," Sirius said, floundering. "And we were fifteen-"

"Only because it took you so long." Remus' smile widened, to let Sirius know he was teasing. "You put yourself in danger to help me because you thought it was the right thing to do. How is what Harry wants any different?"

"You were a teenage werewolf, not a bloody Dark Lord," Sirius said.

"It's all relative," Remus said, shrugging.

"And we weren't trying to be sacrifices," Sirius said. "And sometimes, with the way Harry talks, that's what I think he-"

"You're the one who told him the Prophecy," Remus reminded him. "Of course that's going to shape his thinking, and his actions." He took a sip of his tea, noticing that Sirius' had been abandoned for several minutes now. "For the record, though, I don't think Harry wants to be a sacrifice."

"But you still think he should go back?"

"Not particularly. But, nor do I think it's in any way, shape or form my decision to make."

"Doesn't sound like that," Sirius grumbled.

"I think that you should be talking to Harry about this, not me," Remus said. "But since you aren't, I feel obliged to make the arguments that he would be."

"What you've said isn't what Harry was saying last night," Sirius said.

"Harry got angry and perhaps didn't get his point across as well as he ought to have," Remus said, "and even if he had, you were too angry and scared for him to want to listen anyway." Sirius glowered at him. Remus took another sip of tea, unrepentant.

Won't be on the train. I'll work something out. Be careful; I was right. See you soon. Harry.

Ginny glanced at the note as it passed from Ron to Draco, and frowned. Hermione, who was patting Hedwig, looked worried.

"He was right?" Ginny asked. "About what?"

"No clue," Draco said, scrunching up the note and tucking it into the pocket of his robes. "It would, of course, be too much for Potter to explain something."

"He said 'be careful'," Ron said. "Maybe it isn't safe to tell us-"

"All the more reason for him to do so." Draco arched an eyebrow, apparently waiting for someone to contradict him, but no one did.

"I suppose we'll just have to wait," Hermione said. "Did he want a response?" Hedwig only flew up to rest on the edge of the luggage rack and tucked her head under her wing.

"Apparently not," Ron said.

"I hope he's all right," Ginny said.

"He'll be fine," Hermione told her.

"Oh, definitely," Draco said. "It's only Potter, after all. How much trouble could he get himself into?" Everyone laughed, and Draco looked rather pleased with himself. Conversation lulled after that; Draco pulled out a Marvin Miggs comic that he'd borrowed from Ron, Ron entertained himself by making Scabbers run back and forward along the seat after a bit of corned beef from Ron's otherwise untouched sandwich, and Hermione vanished behind a truly enormous book called Branches of Magic and Their Use.

Ginny pulled Tom's diary out of her pocket, along with the self-inking quill she'd been given by Percy for Christmas. She propped the diary up against her knees, and rested her back against the window, so that no one would be able to read over her shoulder.

Hi, Tom.

Ginny. Hold on just a moment.

Why? What's happened?

I want to try something.

Try what? Have you been working on another project?

Something like that.

What is it? No response came. Tom?

The page remained blank. Ginny winced; the back of her head had, abruptly, started to hurt.

Ginny? Her name didn't appear on the pages of the diary, though. She heard it, heard Tom's soft voice whisper it into her head.

"Tom?!" she asked, her mouth falling open. Hermione looked up, frowning.

"Did you just say Tom?" Hermione asked, eyes bright and curious from over the top of her book.

I'm sorry, Ginny, I didn't mean to startle you-

"I was- um- supposed to meet him. Sorry. Didn't mean to disturb you. I'll just- See you later." Ginny fled the compartment.

"What are you doing in my head?" Ginny hissed, when she was out in the quiet corridor. "Tom?"

Think your words, Ginny, his voice murmured. People will think you're crazy.

I'm not crazy, she snapped.

I never said you were. I just know that people can be unkind.

So what are you doing in my head?

I feel- very close to you. I- I think it's similar to the way that you're able to visit me in the diary… now I can visit you on the outside. I think this might be the beginning of a solution to get me out of that book. His voice sounded so hopeful that Ginny couldn't help but smile. I'm sorry I startled you.

I don't know how I feel about having you here, Ginny said. What if he heard her thinking about him? Then he'd know that she thought she might fancy him, and she didn't think Tom would tease her about that, but what if he did?

It must be strange, Tom agreed. Ginny relaxed; clearly, he hadn't heard anything. I should have asked, but I didn't know if it would work. I'll ask next time.

Thanks, Ginny said. I'm sorry I told Hermione your name. She'll never let it go, now.

We'll sort something out, I'm sure, Tom said, not sounding worried. There was an odd sensation in Ginny's head, and then everything fell silent.

Tom? she thought, but Tom didn't respond. Worried, Ginny scribbled his name into the diary, and watched the letters fade.

I'm here. I don't know what happened, he wrote back.

Are you okay?

Tired. So, so very tired. I think I need to go now, Ginny.

Okay, she wrote. I'll come and see you tonight, after dinner.

That… that would be lovely, thank you… My sweet Ginny.

Then, he was gone. A little sad to lose his company so quickly, Ginny tucked the diary into her robes, where it would be safe, and – unable to face Hermione again so soon - set about trying to find Luna and the Greengrass twins' compartment.

Harry wasn't at dinner that night, and wasn't at breakfast the next morning. Ron, Hermione and Malfoy were seriously entertaining the notion that maybe something was wrong, that maybe Harry had got himself hurt, or wasn't coming back.

They settled into their usual seats at the back of the Defence classroom, and were twenty minutes into the lesson when the door opened and Harry slipped in. Ron thought he looked far more tired than he should, given he was returning from the Christmas holidays.

"Sorry I'm late," Harry said shortly. He dropped his bag on the floor, and sat down in the empty seat beside Draco.

"Harry-" Hermione started, but Harry just shook his head.

"Not to worry, not to worry," Lockhart said, beaming at him. "I was just telling the rest of your classmates how close I came to catching Slytherin's monster over the break. Yes, yes," Lockhart continued, "I know, it's shocking isn't it, Harry-" Harry did indeed look stunned. "-but I don't mind; giving up my holidays to pursue the beast seems like a small sacrifice, in the scheme of things."

"Was there another attack?" Was it Ron, or did Harry's voice sound strangled.

"No," Lockhart said. "No, no. But it's best to take the offensive, in this sort of circumstance."

"You're very brave, Professor," Parvati said. Ron caught Malfoy's eye, and pretended to retch. Malfoy sniggered, and Hermione gave the pair of them filthy looks. Harry was still watching Lockhart.

"So what is it?" Harry asked.

"What- what's what?" Lokchart asked, blinking. The silly smile he'd been wearing since Parvati spoke slid off his face.

"What's the monster?" Harry repeated.

"A snake, Harry," Lockhart said. "Clearly- Slytherin House is all about snakes, isn't that right?" He looked at the Slytherin side of the room.

"Absolutely," Zabini drawled. He was clearly mocking Lockhart, but Lockhart didn't seem to notice. Parkinson giggled.

"That makes sense," Hermione said.

"Of course it does," Lockhart said, beaming again.

"Salazar Slytherin was a parselmouth," Hermione said eagerly, "so that explains why only his Heir can control it; it's because the gift's been passed down-"

"Precisely, precisely," Lockhart said. "Very keen deductive work, Miss Granger; those are the exact conclusions I myself reached only a few weeks ago-" Ron snorted.

"Yeah, nice work, Granger," Greengrass whispered. "Still won't save you, though." Shafiq and Parkinson laughed. Ron balled his hands into fists, but Hermione put a hand on his arm. She was too far away to stop Malfoy, though, who, Ron noticed, was pouring his ink into Greengrass' school bag. She hadn't noticed.

"So it's a snake?" Neville asked.

"Keep up, Longbottom," Lockhart said, "Haven't I just said that-"

"And where is it?" Harry asked. "The Chamber, I mean?"

"Now, now, Harry," Lockhart said, "I can't go revealing everything to you… We've all heard of your penchant for trouble and your love of saving the day-" Malfoy – the one Ron didn't like – laughed, but their Malfoy – who was calmly screwing the top back onto his inkpot – looked amused as well. "I'd never forgive myself if you got yourself injured following information I'd given you."

"You didn't mind when it was his arm," Zabini said. Ron laughed before he could stop himself.

"That was- an unfortunate side effect, Mr Zabini, and Mr Potter bears me no ill will-"

"That's news to me," Harry muttered. Ron sniggered.

"Have you got any advice, Professor?" Davis asked. "For avoiding the monster?" Nott and Bulstrode exchanged grim looks over the top of her head, and Ron wondered – not for the first time – if Davis' lineage might not be as pure as people like Malfoy and Greengrass thought.

"I wouldn't worry yourself about it," Lockhart said. "I'll have vanquished it before you know it." This time, Ron was one of about five people that snorted. Sadly, at least five others – including Hermione – sighed, like that was the greatest thing they'd heard that day. "But, staying alert never hurt anyone, and brushing up on your Defence skills is always a good option-"

"Good thing we do loads of Defence, then," Ron heard Malfoy mutter. Harry sniggered. "Defence lessons are more like story time with Gilderoy."

"-and so-" Lockhart smiled his silly smile at them all. "-I was supposed to keep this quiet, but I think you deserve to hear it; I've approached Professor Dumbledore for permission to start a duelling club at Hogwarts." Even Ron sat a little straighter in his seat. "I expect notices will go up in the common rooms sometime in the next week-"

"Is it just you running it, Professor?" Seamus asked. "Because I heard Professor Flitwick used to-"

"I've approached several staff members with the offer of being my assistant," Lockhart said. "None of them have- er- taken me up on the offer yet, but I'm still waiting to hear back from some of them-"

"Is-"

"No, I've said too much already. Mr Goyle, I think you can start with the reading for today; Holidays with Hags, Chapter Four."