Nope, sorry, still not JK Rowling!

Hope you enjoy! Oh just a caution... there is the dropping of the "f... bomb" in this chapter, don't want to offend anyone!

Chapter Twenty-Six

Cruciatus Curses and Tears

It had taken a prompt from the Fat Lady to break Harry out of his thoughts and head into the Gryffindor Common Room. He was seething that Taylor hadn't mentioned either her request to see Snape again or the fact that Moody had used an unforgivable on her.

He spied Taylor sitting in front of the fire with Ginny, Hermione and Ron. Her hazel eyes were apprehensive as they met his over the sofa. He recognized the flash of fear in them as he marched toward her before they narrowed and darkened with anger.

"Taylor, I need a word with you right now!" Harry growled before he even reached the sofa.

The other three looked up in alarm at the anger in Harry's voice and all three looked over at Taylor to see her stand slowly.

"Alright Potter." Taylor said as she gave a quick glance around the common room. There were only two other students still in the common room at this hour. The two third years were sitting at a table in the far corner over by the stairway leading up to the girls' dormitories.

Harry walked past the sofa to the opposite corner from the two third years and Taylor followed him.

Harry spun around and faced his sister as he said, "Muffliato!" He knew that the others could still see him but he was too angry to care at the moment.

"I suppose you didn't think I'd find out about you asking to go see that murdering bastard did you?" Harry snarled.

Taylor paled and her heart hammered heavily in her chest. Shit! She hadn't expected Lupin to tell Harry about that, but she guessed maybe she should have.

"I…" Taylor began.

"Don't lie to me Taylor!"

"I didn't! I just omitted telling you because I knew you'd be angry! I was right, wasn't I?" Taylor snapped, as her anger returned full force.

"What else have you omitted telling me, Taylor? Were you using Dark Magic? Huh? Is that why Moody needed to use an unforgivable on you?" Harry yelled, as red sparks few out of the end of his wand he still had clenched in his hand.

"No! I told you what happened! I just didn't mention that Moody used an unforgivable because I thought it would make you mad!"

"What else are you not telling me, Taylor? Huh? How can I trust you if go behind my back and ask to see that murderer?" Harry yelled furiously.

"I…" Taylor could feel the fear rising up in her chest, threatening to choke off her throat. She couldn't tell Harry everything! She couldn't tell him about…

"So you are hiding other things from me?"

"Dammit Harry! I only wanted to talk to Snape so that I could ask him about my ability to use Dark Magic! He has studied the Dark Arts for years! He may know something that could be useful to me!" Taylor said as she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. "He also knows Voldemort and his ability with Dark Magic! I have no one I can ask about Dark Magic, Harry! Every day I have to concentrate harder and harder to not use Dark Magic by accident! Every time I do, it just comes easier the next time!" Tears were trailing down Taylor's cheeks as she admitted this fact to her brother.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked, as he calmed down a little, startled by his sister's admission.

"Why? So you could go off the deep end at me? Well, I'm telling you now, Harry Potter, that I, your unknown little sister, am able to use some ancient form of magic without even hardly thinking about it. Something that no one knows much about, but everyone fears! There, are you happy now?" Taylor cried as she turned to leave.

Harry reached out and caught her arm, stopping Taylor from leaving. His anger fled as he looked into the confused, fearful eyes of his sister. He should have known that it would be some reason like this. It was just that the mere mention of the murdering traitor Snape, sent him off "the deep end" as Taylor put it.

"Taylor, I…"

"I'm sorry, ok? I should have told you, so that you could be angry at me, again! You don't have to worry though, Lupin refused to let me see Snape. And maybe I deserved that Cruciatus from Moody today, because I can do fucking Dark fucking Magic!" Taylor screamed as the crushing weight of her secret overwhelmed her. She yanked her arm out of Harry's grasp and raced across the common room and up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

Shocked, Harry stood watching his sister run away from him. Dear Merlin, he hadn't meant to upset her like that. He had never seen his sister lose it like that. How could she think that she deserved to be hit with the Cruciatus curse? Harry wasn't sure how long he stood there but he was pulled out of his pained thoughts by a hand touching his arm.

"Harry? Are you all right? What happened with Taylor?" Ginny asked in a gentle voice.

Harry pulled his gaze away from the empty stairway up to the girls' dormitories and looked into his girlfriend's concerned brown eyes. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I think I screwed up, Ginny," he said softly.

"Why? What happened? Why were you so mad at Taylor?" Ginny asked gently as she looked up into his sorrow filled face. With a gentle pull she led Harry over to the sofa and sat him down.

Hermione had watched the heated argument, but not being able to hear what was being said, she could only guess what it was about. She knew, though, that Harry had been extremely angry and that Taylor had been very upset when she had run up to their dorm room. She had been going to go right up after Taylor but she thought better of it. She knew from her long friendship, that if Taylor was half as upset as she appeared to be, then her friend would want some time to herself. Hermione had decided to let Ginny go over to Harry alone too, knowing that the young redhead had a knack for handling Harry in most situations.

Ron had watched the argument with interest, not because he thought his best mate and Taylor were doing something they shouldn't have, but because he figured that Taylor had gone and done something to piss Harry off. A few minutes later Ron found out he was right.

"Harry, what happened?" Hermione asked quietly once Harry was sitting on the sofa.

Harry rubbed his hand up over his face and pinched the bridge of his nose again. With his eyes closed he told his two friends and his girlfriend about his conversation with Lupin. When he was done, his friends all had a comment.

"Moody used the Cruciatus Curse on Taylor?" Hermione gasped.

"What the hell would she want to see that slimy bastard for?" Ron demanded.

"Oh, Harry!" Ginny exclaimed as she saw the regret in Harry's face for the argument he had with Taylor.

"I was so mad. I didn't even stop to think that she might have a good reason for wanting to see the bastard." Harry said sadly, as he shook his head.

"A good reason? What the hell kind of reason would she have for wanting to see him?" Ron demanded.

Harry then explained what Taylor had told him.

Hermione's eyes became round and filled with dismay as she whispered, "Oh no, Taylor! Harry, you believe her don't you? About Snape I mean? If she has to concentrate on not using Dark Magic, it must be very scary for her. I've never even seen more then a brief mention of Dark Magic in all the books I've read."

"Yeah Hermione, I believe her. I might hate Snape but I can see why Taylor might want to talk with him. Her ability to use Dark Magic… people will fear her and accuse her of being in the Dark Arts if they find out." Harry's quiet voice held an edge of the fear he had for his sister.

The four friends were silent for a few minutes, before Hermione broke the quiet.

"Harry? Did Taylor say why Moody used the Cruciatus on her?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders and told his friends what his sister had said about Moody suspecting her of using Dark Magic on him, when he was having his vision of Voldemort.

Silence followed and Harry looked up towards the girls' dormitories. He knew he couldn't get up the stairs to Taylor's room. The charm on the stairway would just turn it into a slide if he tried to go up. The more he thought about what his sister had said, the more he wanted to go check on her and see if she was alright. She had been so upset, and afraid. He wasn't used to seeing his sister like that. It worried him, greatly.

"Hermione?" Harry asked as he looked at his best friend. "I'm worried about Taylor. I doubt she will come down to see me, but could you go up and check on her, please?"

Hermione looked into Harry's green eyes and saw the worry in them. She nodded. It had been nearly twenty minutes since Taylor had gone up to their dorm room. Maybe Taylor would have calmed down enough by now to be willing to talk. "Sure, Harry. I was planning on going up anyway." Hermione started to rise but Harry caught her hand.

"Thank you. Could you… well… let me know if she is ok, alright?" Harry asked awkwardly.

Hermione gave Harry a reassuring smile, "Sure Harry. If I can't get her to come back down, I'll come myself, ok?"

Harry just nodded.

Hermione made her way up the stairs after smiling at Ron, who wished her luck.

The door to their dorm was closed and Hermione paused a second. Not hearing a sound, she opened the door and went in. She could see the coverings on Taylor's bed were drawn shut, but so were the ones on Lavender's, as well as a soft snore. Hermione stopped beside her friend's bed. She whispered, "Taylor? Are you all right?"

When she didn't get an answer, Hermione put her hand out and touched the heavy coverings. They were charmed shut. She didn't doubt that probably Taylor had put a silencing charm up too, so that no one would hear her if she were crying.

Hermione thought for a moment, then with a flick of her wand she whispered, "Expecto Patronum" a silvery white otter formed and Hermione sent it in through Taylor's bed coverings. A few seconds later the coverings stirred gently as the sticking charm was removed.

Hermione put her hand up on the heavy coverings again and pushed it out of the way. Her best friend sat up by the headboard with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head resting on her knees. Red puffy eyes looked back at Hermione.

"Oh, Taylor!" Hermione whispered as she sat on the bed, reaching a hand out to lay on her friend's arm. "Are you ok?"

Taylor tried to nod and smile but just more tears leaked down her already wet face.

Hermione knew that her friend didn't cry very often. Had in fact only cried several times in all the years Hermione and Taylor had been friends.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I'm… I'm just scared. I think that maybe the damn Cruciatus wore me down more than I should have let it." Taylor said softly as more tears ran down her cheeks. One of the side effects of the Cruciatus Curse, one of the more minor side effects, was a lower emotional threshold. Taylor and Hermione had researched the three unforgivable curses thoroughly in their fourth year.

"You're not weak, Taylor. I'd be scared too, if I could use Dark Magic." Hermione paused then said gently, "Harry is worried about you. He didn't mean to upset you like this."

"Yeah I know. It's just that I know so little about this kind of magic." Taylor told Hermione about talking with Harry and telling him about her nightmare about the snake and about using Dark Magic on Snape.

Hermione listened and then she said cautiously, "I don't want to make you upset again, and I know you don't like talking about your parents or your aunt and uncle, but… do you think your ability to use Dark Magic could have come from them? I mean…"

"No!" Taylor said, cutting Hermione off. "I know that it didn't come from them! They were not Dark witches or wizards!"

"But you don't know that Taylor." Hermione whispered.

Taylor closed her eyes. From what Hermione knew about Taylor and her family, she knew that it was an easy conclusion for her friend to arrive at.

"Hermione, I just know that my mom and dad were not into the Dark Arts. They were most likely muggles for crying out loud!" Taylor added the last part to keep up the pretense she had always used.

Hermione looked sadly at her friend but she didn't push her anymore about it.

A watch beeped from Lavender's bedside table as a particularly loud snore came from the bed.

Hermione knew it must be midnight. She thought she should go back down to the common room to see Harry like she had promised.

"Do you think Harry is still up?" Taylor asked.

Hermione smiled. "Yeah, I think he is."

Together the two friends got up and walked down to the common room. The fire was little more then coals now but they could still see Harry and Ginny sitting on the sofa and Ron in one of the armchairs.

The three looked up at the sound of the two girls approaching.

Harry jumped up and pulled his sister into a crushing hug. He had been berating himself ever since his little sister had run up to her dormitory. "I'm sorry Taylor," he whispered, "Are you alright?"

Taylor hugged her brother back but the deep concern in his voice made the tears start running down her face again. "Yeah, I'm fine." Taylor whispered but was shocked at how thin her voice sounded.

Harry leaned back and looked down to see his sister's face. The tears he saw running down her face made him feel like a heartless git, "Oh God, Taylor! I didn't mean to say those things to hurt you," and he hugged her tightly again.

Taylor felt a sob welling up in her chest and fought to get control of her emotions. She wasn't going to go to pieces on her brother like this. Forcing herself to take several deep calming breaths, Taylor pulled away from her brother a little to wipe the offending tears from her face. "I'm ok Harry. It's just that stupid curse of Moody's."

Harry watched his sister wipe at the tears on her face and try to smile at him. He could see the fear and worry lurking in her eyes, though. Keeping one arm around her shoulders he guided her to the sofa so he could sit down beside her, and Ginny could be on his other side.

Taylor wiped at her face again as she sat down and her brother sat beside her. His arm went back around her shoulders and more tears leaked from her eyes. "Harry, I'll never be able to stop this foolish crying if you don't stop!" Taylor exclaimed in exasperation, but there was gratitude there too. Harry's answering soft chuckle made Taylor smile.

The five friends talked for the next hour and a half about Taylor's ability to use Dark Magic and what it could mean. The common room had become almost dark as the fire died to just a few embers.

Taylor's eyes were growing heavy as she thought about Hermione's last statement, "I've just never heard of someone just being able to do something like Dark Magic without having to spend years studying it. It's almost like you being able to speak Parseltongue, Harry."

The group had been silent for over five minutes, whether they were deep in thought or almost asleep was questionable, when a loud pop in the silent room startled them.

"Harry Potter! Sir! How are you doing?" Dobby asked in his high squeaky voice as he bowed to Harry.

"Hi, Dobby. How are you doing?" Harry asked as he smiled at the house-elf.

"I's doing good! Harry Potter. Sir! Winky, she is doing better now too!"

Taylor listened to her brother and the house-elf talk but an idea had taken root in her mind and she sat up straight on the sofa, all traces of sleep gone. As soon as Dobby disappeared with a pop again, Taylor jumped up off the sofa and raced up the stairs to the boys' dormitories with only an "I have an idea," as explanation to her startled friends. It only took a minute to locate what she was looking for in Harry's trunk before she raced back down to the common room now lighted by a roaring fire in the fireplace.

Taylor skidded to a stop in front of her friends with a big grin covering her face. "I know how we can easily identify the Horcruxes when we find them!" Taylor unwrapped Helga Hufflepuff's cup and set it gently on the floor. "Dobby made me think of it when he Apparated in here. You see Dark Magic can be traced, just like the magic we use now. It leaves a residual trace so that if someone looks for it, then it can be identified. As Dark Magic or, let's call the magic we use now, Light Magic, can also be identified not only as there being magic used, but which kind." Taylor paused and looked at each of her friends to see if they were following her and she was pleased to see that they were. "However, a house-elf's magic cannot be traced, because they use their own brand of magic. That's why they can apparate through the wards protecting Hogwarts." Hermione was sitting on the edge of her seat as she nodded. "What if it isn't actually their own brand but simply a combination of the two?"

Hermione grinned and began running this theory through her vast knowledgeable mind. The other three looked a little lost.

"It's like this!" Taylor said, excited by the possibilities as she took her wand out and pointed it at the cup. "Horcrux Reveal", and the teacup shimmered and shook, as thick black acidic smoke poured out of it.

Coughing and waving their hands, Ron growled, "What the hell did you do that for?"

Taylor grinned as she silently made the foul smelling smoke disappear. "That is what would happen if we wanted to test an object to see if it was a Horcrux or not."

Taylor closed her eyes and the other spell rolled off her tongue, "Revel thy Horcrux", the teacup rocked back and forth and an evil looking thin green smoke rose, twisting and turning, as if it were writhing in pain. "And that is what it would look like if Dark Magic were used to reveal a Horcrux."

Silence followed as the green smoke reached the ceiling and dissipated.

"Taylor! Dammit! What the hell did you do that for?"

"Dark Magic! Bloody Hell Taylor!"

"Oh Taylor!"

"Is there a reason why you just performed that spell?"

Taylor ignored the others' complaints and looked at Hermione with a grin. "Of course there is a reason! I realized when Dobby showed up, that I think I can combine the two Magic's. It should be untraceable, like the magic the house-elves use!" Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at Taylor. "Of course it might not work… but…?" Taylor trailed off as she thought.

''Taylor, maybe you shou…" Hermione began.

Taylor closed her eyes, the calmness that always came with the Dark Magic settled over her once more but this time she used the first incantation, "Horcrux Reveal", Helga Hufflepuff's teacup remained still and a thin barely noticeable puff of green smoke wafted up from it and dissipated when a tiny draft of air pushed out from the roaring fire.

Hermione pulled out her wand as she stood and walked slowly around the cup muttering and moving her wand in intricate patterns. A ghost of green smoke and then a hint of black acidic smoke, curled up from the teacup. Hermione continued for another minute, before she looked up at Taylor, a hint of amazement on her face.

"Like I said, untraceable!" Taylor grinned.

"Yeah, it might be untraceable but… Taylor. Do you know how dangerous that was?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"However now we can figure out if an object is a Horcrux without having to touch it or bring a lot of attention to it!" Taylor pointed out.

"Dangerous how? Besides the fact that Taylor just used Dark Magic, again!" Harry asked, as he eyed his sister angrily. He could hardly believe that she had just done that in front of them, after being so upset about that actual ability just a short while ago.

"What Hermione means is that Dark Magic is, of course, old magic. It's like…" Taylor thought for a moment to find someway of explaining, "radio waves, am and fm. Dark Magic is am, and Light Magic is fm. The two don't combine very well, but if you do then the magic is untraceable!"

"And extremely dangerous!" Hermione huffed as she sat back down with Ron. "If one syllable or wand movement is off…"

"What's am and fm?" Ginny asked and Hermione explained about the different radio frequencies.

"Dangerous how? What would happen?" Harry asked.

"Well…" Hermione started but Taylor interrupted her.

"It would be like going into a huge pit of snakes without knowing how to speak Parseltongue." Taylor met Harry's eyes as she continued. "I knew I could do that spell before I attempted it, Harry, just like I knew how to remove that curse from Snape. I just know." Taylor shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know of any other way to explain it.

"So what now? Are you going to be able to apparate out of Hogwarts?" Ginny asked.

"But if that were true, that by combining the two Magic's you could apperate like the house-elves through the wards, then You-Know-Who could get through them too!" Ron said apprehensively.

"No, You-Know-Who can't, neither can Taylor. Combining the two magic's is extremely difficult, despite the fact Taylor just knows how to do it!" Hermione gave Taylor a disgruntled look, as if somehow Taylor was cheating. "So the more complex the spells the more difficult it becomes. A revealing spell is a long way from apperating! The chances for something going wrong increases exponentially."

Taylor thought and suddenly she knew. "Voldemort knows how to combine the two magic's! That's how he concealed the entrance to that passageway for so long. It took Dark Magic to reveal it. Something he thought only Dark wizards would ever use!" She glanced up from where she had been looking at the floor as she thought, to see her friends staring at her in shocked silence. Shit! She was going to have to be more careful with these revelations or her friends were going to start questioning how she knew these things.

A/N Well there you go! Another chapter! :) So what did you think? I appoligise for the Revealing spell and the lack of latin for it... I'm not very good at researching stuff on the internet(more like scared to venture out into that big wide world!) so hopefully you can forgive me for that little blunder! I did kind of get the idea to just use the words from the PoA movie when Snape grabbed Harry's Map from him and said "Reveal your secrets". Also hopefully Taylor wasn't unbelieveably upset... I do try not to get carried away with the emotions but not sure if I quite keep it believeable at times... let me know what you think!

Thank you for reading!

Until next time, cytpotter