Almost all of the leaves had fallen from the Whomping Willow. Cool wind gently blew through the hallowed halls of Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry. The spirit of Autumn was in full swing, it being heralded by Halloween.

Harry awoke to the smell of baked pumpkins. He smiled and sat up. After getting dressed and doing his morning routine, Harry met up with Hermione in the common room.

"Happy Halloween, Harry," Hermione greeted. Harry smiled and nodded.

"And to you as well, 'Mione," Harry replied.

"Let's get some breakfast."

The Great Hall was beautifully decorated with jack-o-lanterns that smiled cheerfully instead of the usual dripless candles. Live bats twittered about near the ceiling which currently showed the partially cloudy day.

"These are very impressive decorations," Hermione said in awe. Harry nodded in agreement.

It seemed the school decided to be lax on school that day, as everyone's classes ended at noon instead of the usual time. Students were encouraged to interact and enjoy the holiday. They learned levitation in Charms, which Harry delighted in.

Currently, Harry, Hermione, and Neville were sitting under a willow tree near the lake. Hermione was reading a tome that was almost comically large in comparison to the small girl. Harry was making a paper airplane zoom around the branches of the tree. Neville laughed as a blackbird thought it got too close and began to chase it around.

"Boys," Hermione huffed, trying to focus on her book.

"Cut us some slack, Hermione. Just because we're in Ravenclaw doesn't mean we have to read all the time."

"I don't have to read it, I want to. It's quite fascinating, actually," Hermione replied. Suddenly, Neville perked up.

"Is that Professor Quirrell?" he asked. All of them turned and saw just two hundred yards away, Professor Quierrell was walking hurriedly to the Forbidden Forest's edge. They stared at the man until he disappeared into the thick of the dense trees. Harry frowned.

"Come on."

"What?" Neville half-yelped.

"Seriously, Harry. It seems like there's no teacher you're not suspicious of," Hermione said, rolling her eyes and turning back to her book.

"It pays to be a little paranoid, Hermione. Either you're right or you're pleasantly surprised," Harry replied, standing up and stretching. Neville looked between the two of them, unsure who to follow.

"I'm not going to the Forbidden Forest, Harry. It's name isn't just a cute title for laughs."

"Hermione's right, Harry. We'd be breaking the rules," Neville said nervously. Harry groaned.

"Fine. I'll just go alone," Harry said, stomping off towards the woods.

"Curiosity killed the cat!" Hermione called, still reading the book.

"But satisfaction brought it back!" Harry shouted back. Hermione shook her head and stared after him. Neville looked after Harry as well.

"What am I going to do with that idiot. Come on, Neville," Hermione said, slamming her book shut. Neville jumped at the noise and stared at Hermione like she'd gone completely insane.

"What? But I thought you just said—"

"I know what I said but if Harry gets killed in there then we'll probably get in trouble, too," Hermione said.

"You two are seriously odd. Aren't you worried about him?" Neville asked, looking once again at the forest.

"Worried about Harry? No. If he's lived with Mr. Holmes and not died, then I fear more for Professor Quirrell as well as the poor animals that may encounter him," Hermione replied, keeping her eyes fixed on where Harry disappeared.

"Right," Neville said skeptically. Hermione remained quiet.

"Fine, let's go," Neville said, immediately feeling regret.

When Harry passed through the first layer of trees, the world got quieter. All that he could hear was the light whistle of the wind and crickets chirping. Harry felt his hair stand up. Something was wrong.

Harry stared up through the canopy. The sunlight could barely make it through, giving the forest the feeling of dusk, rather than noon. It was as if the world had forgotten what time it was.

"P-professor Quierrell?" Harry called meekly. Harry had stared down quite a few dangerous situations and not even flinched, but something bad was gnawing at his soul. Rot and filth and all manner of evil things seemed to turn their attention to him. He wished he stayed silent. Whatever dwelt in this forest that was so malicious turned its attention on him, he could feel it. The wind began to pick up and Harry couldn't move. Fear had paralyzed him. He opened his mouth to scream when a hand got him by the shoulder.

"Harry! What are you doing!" Hermione exclaimed. Harry was pale. Just near the edge of the forest stood Neville.

"H-harry? Hermione?" squeaked Neville.

"How could you just waltz right into the forest, you idiot! A wild animal could've attacked you! Quierrell's a teacher! You're not! I know you grew up with Mr. Holmes but still—"

"Guys?" Neville said again, this time visibly shaking.

"What, Neville?" Hermione said exasperatedly. Neville could only point at a tall figure that appeared to be flying. It was about fifty yards away and all three could hear its growling quite clearly.

"Run," Harry said, grabbing Hermione's wrist. She yelped as he dragged her towards Neville.

"It's getting closer!" Neville shouted. Hermione had begun to sprint as well. Harry was unsure if the high pitched screaming was him, Hermione or both of them.

All three cleared the forest and sprinted up the hill. When the were closer to the castle than the forest, they turned. Nothing was chasing them anymore. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping. It was a perfect Autumn day. Harry's gaze lingered on the forest. Something in there was watching him from that dark place. Something, or someone, more dangerous than anything he'd ever seen hid in the undergrowth. It made Harry shiver.

"Let's get out of here," Harry said. Neville and Hermione nodded in agreement.

Neville departed from them, saying something about needing a nap. He still looked pretty shaken. He did, after all, see the thing in its entirety. Hermione and Harry headed back to their own common room. Harry was eager to sit in an armchair and ponder over this new mystery. Hermione wanted to finish her reading.

Violins echoed quietly in the Ravenclaw common room. According to many, it helped with focus. Harry couldn't help but agree. His mind raced as he meticulously tried to remember every single detail of the Forbidden Forest, the creature, and most importantly, Professor Quirrell's disappearance inside the woods. Harry knew it couldn't be a coincidence.

"The universe is rarely so lazy," Sherlock had once told him. Harry shook his head and continued to think. Perhaps over the Winter holidays, he could bring Sherlock and John up to speed on the mystery of Professor Quierrell, if he hadn't solved it already. That night, at dinner, would see only the beginning of this mystery.

Dinner was truly a sight to behold. The live bats were now resting on the roof of the Great Hall which appeared to be the roof of a cave. Stalactites hung from the ceiling. The torches on the walls lit up with orange and black flames and Jack'O'Lanterns floated everywhere.

"Welcome everyone, to the Halloween feast! I could lecture you all about the importance of this holiday to the Wizarding World, but you all appear too hungry to appreciate it, so tuck in!" Professor Dumbledore announced, clapping his hands. Holiday themed food appeared all over the table. Hermione got over her initial disappointment at the missed chance to learn more about wizard traditions as soon as she smelled the sweet and savory foods.

Dinner was going quite well until Quirrell threw the doors open and sprinted in, screaming like a child about trolls. With his last whimper of, "thought you ought to know," the cowardly man fainted. At least, that's what many thought happened. Harry stared at the man intensely as he fell to the floor and noticed the flicker of his face. Quirrell was obviously faking it.

Hermione stood, but Harry pulled her back down.

"No! We've got to stay here! Quirrell's planning something. He's faking it. We've got to follow him!"

"Are you mad! We'll get in trouble—"

"Have we before?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Exactly. Trust me, 'Mione. Quirrell's up to something," Harry whispered as Dumbledore instructed the teachers to follow him to the dungeons and the students to go back to their dorms. Harry shuffled behind the Ravenclaws just until they turned the first corner. Harry and Hermione peeked inside the Great Hall to see Quirrell sneer and brush off his clothes.

"Pathetic. It seems even Dumbledore fell for that stupid distraction," Quirrell said. Harry felt a cold chill run up his spine. The professor's attitude had changed completely. His voice was arrogant and cold. Harry knew that if he and Hermione were caught by the man, they'd have to worry about a lot more than detentions.

"Stay hidden, this could get bad," Harry murmured to Hermione, who nodded. Harry briefly glanced back to see her features were set. There was some obvious fear and caution, but also determination in her eyes.

Quirrell began to stalk towards the Great Hall's doors, where Harry and Hermione were currently standing. They scrambled to hide. A broom closet was conveniently right nearby where they could hide. Harry was almost certain that the broom closet that they were in hadn't been there a few months ago. Silently, he thanked whatever supernatural being conjured it up for them. Hermione stared intently as Quirrell passed.

"He's moving, let's go."

Harry and Hermione cautiously followed the professor as he made his way up the castle, the opposite direction of the dungeons. Finally, Quirrell came to a door. With the flick of his wand, the door unlocked and opened into looming darkness. He sneered and entered. Harry and Hermione peeked from the door.

Quirrell paced once or twice before growling. The dog stared at him, as if to observe the human and decide if he was tasty or not. Unfortunately for him, Quirrell's arrogance would be his downfall.

"What are you two doing here!" Snape growled. Harry jumped but covered his mouth. Hermione, less experienced in the art of espionage, gave a startled shout and turned. Quirrell seemed to have no idea how to act in front of a three headed beast that could easily swallow him up, because he turned and stared at the door where the three of them were standing.

"What—" was all poor Quirinus could utter before the middle head growled and promptly ate him. Harry instantly covered Hermione's ears and dragged her away from the sight before she could see something that gory and downright disgusting. Harry gritted his teeth and bore the nightmarish gurgling sounds Quirrell made as he was chewed up and swallowed. The dog let out a burp before curling up and falling asleep.

"What the Hell was that!" Hermione shouted, slapping Harry's hands away. Snape stared at both of them and then back into the room with a mixture of grim satisfaction and horror.

"Quirrell was attempting to steal something hidden at this school. I will let Professor Dumbledore explain the rest. You will not tell anyone what you have seen tonight unless you are given EXPRESS permission from Headmaster Dumbledore, am I understood Mr Potter? Ms. Granger?"

"Yes sir," they both said quietly. It seemed Harry wasn't going to need to involve Sherlock on this one, after all. Harry, Hermione, and Snape all walked away from the revolting remains of Professor Quirrell. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry swore he thought he saw a dark specter rise from the body and zoom through the roof. Quite a disturbing Halloween it was.

"Are you alright, 'Mione?" Harry asked as they walked to the headmaster's office. Hermione looked a little paler than usual.

"I-I'm fine, I sup-suppose. I've never seen a real dead body before and it was so incredibly—"

"Fascinating?"

"Horrifying! What's wrong with you?" Hermione said. Harry chuckled.

"After going to approximately thirty different crime scenes, most involving murder, you kind of get used to it," Harry said, shrugging.

"That's unfortunate."

"It is what it is," Harry replied, staring straight ahead. Hermione placed an arm on his shoulder.

"Well, let's hope it doesn't become frequent around here," she said.

Snape stared at the two suspiciously before whispering something to the gargoyle in front of them. It leapt out of the way, revealing a spiral staircase. At the top was a pair of oak doors.

"Come in," A voice called from them.