I told you guys I would post! :)

The common room was as messy as ever when I burst in. Almost every night I cleaned up the place as much as I could without breaking the keep-your-hands-off-of-other-people's-books rule, but somehow dust just reappeared during the day. It was pretty empty, but I spotted Peggy sitting in a corner reading her Potions textbook. Breathing a sigh of relief, I rushed over to her, trying to seem like I hadn't just been dashing through the halls.

"Aly!" Peggy said when I stopped next to her armchair, looking up from her book. "Hi! What's new? You seem like you're in an awful hurry!"

"I just have a speech to write for the Commander," I panted, attempting to breathe evenly. "I wanted to catch you before you went off to your next class."

"Oh?" She looked mildly interested. "Why?"

"What's happening tonight at dinner?" I inquired. "Sara said I had to ask you because it was a 'surprise'." I made air quotes around the word surprise.

"Oh, that!" Peggy laughed. She leaned in and whispered, "Well, I heard this through a couple of second-years who heard it from a Hufflepuff first-year who heard two Slytherin seventh-years talking about what had happened on the way to their first class… so I'm not sure if it's reliable…"

I motioned for her to go on anyway.

"Apparently," Peggy stated, articulating each syllable separately and seeming as if she was rather enjoying the moment, "three rebel leaders were caught conspiring this morning in one of the second-floor corridors during a bag check. One of them had a list of names in her satchel."

No!

"What kind of list?" I pressed. Maybe it was a different list than the one Lanie and I had started…

"A list of names," she told me quietly. "A list of people who serve the Commander. Funny thing, Aly, you weren't on it. The rest of us were, though. I guess they knew about you and weren't going to forget anytime soon. Lucky duck. Everyone in the entire school knows your name."

"Yeah, lucky me." A feeling like I'd just dodged a Killing Curse washed over me. They don't know the real reason as to why my name is on the list. But worry replaced it so quickly it was almost like I'd never been relieved at all- was it Lanie who had the list?

No, it couldn't be. Her turn was last week! a little voice in my mind reassured me.

Then who?

I have to find Lanie and ask her. She'll know.

"I'm thinking that Commander Damien is going to punish them tonight, maybe even kill them," Peggy said with all the eagerness of a third-year who had just visited Honeydukes for the first time. "Either way, I want to see it. You'll be there?"

"Of course," I assured her. "Can't wait. Wouldn't miss it for all of the money in Gringotts."

Then I ran to my dormitory to find Lanie.

She was there, like she always was during her free time. She didn't have Expanding and Upgrading Spells open on her lap, like I had expected her to- in fact, she had a different book open next to her. Upon closer inspection, it was The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Four. And Lanie, poor Lanie, she was sprawled sideways on her bed, snoring. It looked like she had been studying Charms and toppled over with exhaustion.

I didn't want to wake her, but I had to. Bending over her, I shook my friend awake. "Lanie? Lanie. I know you're tired, but you have to get up. It could be a matter of life and death."

Slowly, she blinked open her eyes. "Timeizzit?" she groaned, her words running together as she threw an arm over her face.

I checked the grandfather clock that Millie and Helen sometimes propped against a window on Saturday mornings to block the light out. "Er, nearly eleven." Herbology had apparently finished while I was in the office of the headmaster, and we had a free period. "I need to talk to you."

"About?" she mumbled.

"The list."

Immediately, Lanie sat up and stared me in the eye. "Tell me he didn't get his hands on it!"

"I think he did," I whispered.

Lanie buried her face in her hands. "I was so careful!"

"Tell me," I pleaded. "Tell me who had the list today."

She murmured a name so quietly that it was incomprehensible. I leaned a bit closer. "Who?"

Lanie sighed, a tear running down her face. "It was Sophie."

"Jordan?" I exclaimed.

"The very one," Lanie whispered.

"Do you know who was going to have it tomorrow?" I pressed. Chances were that Sophie had met with whoever was scheduled to have it the next day. But who was the third?...

"Carter Ryall."

I raised an eyebrow. "Lisa's brother?"

"Yeah," Lanie confirmed with a sad nod. "Oh, Rowena... I normally pass him in the halls on the way back to Ravenclaw Tower, but I didn't see him today. Do you think Headmaster Damien has them?"

I nodded. "Them and one other, according to Peggy."

"Peggy Dalingridge," Lanie said flatly.

"Yes."

"The girl who practically worships Headmaster Damien."

"Yes," I allowed. "Hey, she does that to me, too."

"Fine," Lanie sighed, turning away.

"I can try to find them," I offered. "I can go almost anywhere-"

"Aly, they're probably already dead." Her voice caught as she picked up her charms book and her satchel, which I hadn't noticed because it had been half hidden under the bed. "It's of no use."

She pushed past me, looking more defeated than I'd ever seen her, and exited the dormitory.

I stared after her. There was no doubt in my mind that Lanie was blaming herself more and more- for the deaths of Arthur and Margaret, for the impending-if-not-already-done murders of Carter, Sophie and someone else who was probably just as innocent. A Gryffindor? A Hufflepuff? Another Ravenclaw, another Slytherin, or maybe even a teacher?

Sitting heavily on the bed, I debated using the rest of my free period and maybe even skiving off my next class to try and find Sophie and Carter. But I decided against it. I needed to write a speech. He would keep them alive until at least dinner, right?

And Brooklyn! I felt horrible for running away from her like that. She already hated me- I have to tell her I'm not really a worshipper of Headmaster Damien!- but probably the encounter we'd had in the hallway hadn't helped. Last year we'd saved the school from a rogue ghost; the year before we had been the heroines of the year; in first year we'd teamed up with the rest of our year to prevent an evil spirit from destroying Hogwarts and possibly the world. Even before we'd come to Hogwarts and had to deal with all of the insane school-saving stuff, we'd been best friends since we were little (she was only five months older than me).

She must be really mad. I ought to make it up to her.

You have a speech to write, argued another voice in my head. Do you want to make up with Brooklyn or save the school from death and destruction?

Make up with Brooklyn! insisted the first voice.

Brooklyn could die if you don't keep up your double-agent duties, the second voice yelled.

"Bloody hell!" I pressed my hands to my ears, trying to block it out. "I'm going mental."

I hurried from the dormitory, the bickering voices silent in my head.

It seemed, however, that once I started thinking about the speech and stopped thinking about much else, my mind became a blank slate. I couldn't come up with a single idea that would make me sound like an ally to the "rebels" without sounding like an enemy to the followers of Headmaster Damien.

I sat on a window seat in the common room, my knees to my chest and parchment on my lap. The curtains half-obscured me from view, which is why I was startled when someone drew back the folds of fabric.

"Oscar?" I said, confused. "You're here? At Hogwarts?"

Oscar Fitzgerald was about the weirdest kid I'd ever met. He was a jumble of random facts, song lyrics, and a bunch of other stuff, too. I was surprised to see him because it was the middle of November and I hadn't seen him at all since the year before. Then again, Oscar could blend into the background like no one I'd ever known.

"Yes," he said quietly. "You aren't really a student leader for Professor Damien, are you?"

"N-no," I stammered. "I- you do know he's Headmaster now, right? How did you find out?"

"Did you know that Celestina Warbeck's parents met when her mother was attacked by a Lethifold disguised as a stage curtain?" he replied.

I was used to Oscar replying with random facts and not anything of importance at all, so I shook my head and continued, "Oscar, what is it? Why did you come find me?"

"Professor Damien once had a run-in with a Lethifold," Oscar mused. "You are hidden behind a curtain. It could be a Lethifold."

"I'm pretty sure it's not."

"You shouldn't write a speech," Oscar mumbled, so quietly I could barely hear him. "Minister of Magic Faris Spavin once wrote a seven-hour speech on the Leaky Cauldron's impending destruction and the wizarding community rallied against his decision. I wouldn't write a speech."

"I'm not planning for mine to be seven hours long," I responded.

He looked me right in the eye. "This is not a joke. Have you heard the one about the troll, the hag and the leprechaun?"

I joked, "Is it school-appropriate?"

In response, he backed up and let the curtain that could possibly have been a Lethifold but probably wasn't fall back over me.

Shaking my head to clear it- an encounter with Oscar always made you feel like a Wrackspurt had flown into your ear- I rolled up my parchment. Oscar might not have been the most understandable person, but two clear messages had gotten through his jumbled thought process: one, he was on my side, and two, he thought writing a speech was a bad idea. That combined with the fact that I couldn't seem to get a word out on paper sealed the deal for me. I wouldn't make a speech- not the one Headmaster Damien had written for me, not one I had written myself. I would prevent whatever he was planning and that would be all.

Through the day my mind kept flashing back to the speech- my conversations with Sara, Oscar, Peggy, Lanie and Brooklyn- and most importantly, Carter, Sophie, and the unknown person. Were they all right? I dearly hoped they were.

I didn't go to classes the rest of that day. I purposely skipped class for the first time ever, staying back in the common room and reading Expanding and Upgrading Spells. Lanie was exhausted and she wanted to stay with me and sleep, but I told her (perhaps a bit too forcefully) to go to class. I could get away with staying back. She couldn't. Plus, if we both skipped class, word would get to Headmaster Damien and he would suspect.

He couldn't suspect.

I wasn't even aware I'd fallen asleep until I was being shaken roughly awake. Blinking sleepily as I awoke from the best sleep I'd had in a month, I opened my eyes to see Peggy. She was smiling, but when she spoke she sounded cross.

"Where have you been? It's nearly dinnertime. I thought you wanted to see the rebel leaders get punished."

"I do," I slurred tiredly, rubbing my eyes.

"Yet here you are sleeping when you could be getting to the Great Hall early!" she exclaimed, tugging on my arm. Her excitement made her seem like a small child visiting Honeydukes (or Zonko's) for the first time. "Come on. If we hurry, we can still set a good example."

Peggy and I careened through the halls and arrived panting at the Great Hall five whole minutes before dinner was due to begin. If anything was good about Headmaster Damien's regime, it was his strict sense of order. Instead of being hectic and spontaneous, like Hogwarts normally was, it was more structured. I enjoyed that, at least. Anyway, it wasn't that great of an example, but Headmaster Damien- who was actually in the Great Hall on time, for once- nodded to us anyhow as we took our seats.

Eve-Charlotte flashed me a smile as I sat down. "Ready?" she whispered. "This is going to be so fun!"

"I've been waiting for it all day," I murmured back.

"Same here!" She grinned.

Unlike me, I had no doubt that Eve-Charlotte actually had been waiting all day to see Lindsey, Sophie, and Carter's punishment. No, wait. I had been waiting all day for it- I'd been waiting all day to stop it.

Only a few minutes passed before Headmaster Damien stood up. It seemed like there were less people in the Great Hall than normal. It seemed like my eyes were magnetically drawn to the empty seats that were normally inhabited by Carter and Sophie.

"Greetings!" he boomed out. Was his voice louder? Had he magically amplified it? I guessed so. "Tonight before dinner I have a very special surprise."

I expected the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables to murmur in surprise or at least seem a little bit emotional, but they just glared at Headmaster Damien the same as the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. Either they've become very good at guessing when Headmaster Damien doesn't mean what he says... or word got around. Peggy did say she got her information from people who heard it from Slytherins.

He motioned to two Slytherin seventh-years who were standing by one of the side doors. "Bring them in."

There were gasps of shock and horror as the Slytherins disappeared and reappeared, three people levitating in the air above them. No. Not people. They were far, far too still to be people.

The corpses of Carter, Sophie, and Lindsey Frowseloure hung limp above us. They looked horrible. Carter had a black eye, the bruise startling against the glassy blue iris that was bright even in death. The left side of Lindsey's face was caked in blood, and Sophie's arm shouldn't have naturally bent that way. They were tortured before death? No- no! Headmaster Damien is evil but he can't be that evil!

Headmaster Damien spread his hands. "Ah, but what can I say? These three rebel leaders were discovered conspiring in the second-floor corridor early this morning. I did warn you that those who moved against me would be punished, didn't I?"

"You tortured them!" shouted a voice. Since the Great Hall wasn't so crowded, I could easily see that it was Zach. My heart leaped in my chest. No! No! Zach ought to be smart enough to know not to speak up! Has he lost his mind?

Headmaster Damien glanced at Zach, but he didn't seem to be all that mad at him. "No, Mr. Henson. I simply... used methods of persuasion known to me to attempt to make them give up the names of their fellow rebels. However, they refused." His eyes darted away from Zach and swept over everyone else. "If there are any... mutineers... here, I strongly advise you to reveal your identity now. I promise I will spare your lives." His lip curled up in a horrible sneer. "Your miserable, lying, cheating lives. They will be spared if you step forward now. In fact, you may even escape without injury if you reveal the names of some of your comrades."

No one spoke. No one so much as even twitched. Even a glance to the side could mean Headmaster Damien's assumption that one was a rebel. I willed Lanie and the rest of my dorm-mates not to move, and was relieved when they didn't.

"Fine!" Headmaster Damien scowled, reaching for something inside his sleeves. "You insolent scum! I know there are more of you!" He drew his wand and brandished it, making a frightening picture with the sneer that was still upon his face. "Will I be forced to kill random people until you feel bad enough to turn yourselves in? Or will I have to kill you all so that I know you are all dead?"

I was up on my feet before I even realized it, the only flicker of motion in an otherwise still room. "Wait!" I cried, knowing full well that he would turn his wand first on Zach and Vincent and Lanie. "Commander, wait."

He turned those piercing, icy blue eyes that were so full of ugly hate and rage on me. "What is it, Miss Salinger? Can't you see I'm busy? Or shall I be forced to kill you too?"

In that moment I knew that just being chosen as Headmaster Damien's protégé would not save me from his mad killing. He was insane, a full-on psychopath, and in that moment I realized how dangerous Hogwarts was and would be until he was gone.

But my rash and foolish brain made me keep talking. "You asked me to make a speech," I said bravely, lifting my chin and staring him in the eye. "Well, I'm ready, Commander."

We stayed locked in our poses, staring each other down, for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Headmaster Damien nodded, a small grin slowly spreading across his face. "All right, Alyssa. Go ahead with your... speech."

Well? Did you like it? I'm also trying to make Aly seem less hero-ish. In fact, I'm writing First Year at the same time I'm writing Fourth Year and I have a scene where... well, it's good enough and you'll hopefully find out exactly what Aly's biggest faults are soon! :)

~atrfla