Harry lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Normally, he wouldn't have let himself fall asleep so early, but he was exhausted. He had been up since before dawn, and he hadn't slept very well. He kept dreaming that someone was chasing him, but in his dream, he was fast. In his dream, he was able to get away. In his dream, he was safe.

He felt something against his leg. He sat up, opened his drawer, and took out his wand. He had not dreamed the night before. His leg was covered in huggles.

"Huggles?" he said, looking at the purple binturong lying on his leg.

"I missed you, too, Huggles," he whispered. "I missed you."

He closed his eyes, and soon, he was fast asleep.

In the morning, he was woken by a loud, squeaking noise. He sat up, startled.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Probably the sound of the entire school running away," said Ron. "I heard the headmaster's announcement last night, and we all know what that means."

Harry got out of bed, opened his wardrobe, and got dressed quickly. He had just put his robe on when there was another loud noise, and this time, he heard screaming.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," said Harry.

He ran downstairs. Everyone else was already there. The whole school was there, it seemed. Even the ghosts were there, crowding the staircase.

"What's happening?" he asked.

Professor Sprout, the teacher for Charms, shook her head.

"No one knows, dear. The school is on lockdown."

Lockdown. That didn't bode well.

Everyone else looked confused, and no one said anything. Harry's heart started to beat faster. Was this it? Had the Dark Lord finally found him?

He tried to calm himself, tried to think clearly. If the Dark Lord was going to kill him, wouldn't he have done it by now? And if the Dark Lord was going to kill him, wouldn't his death have triggered something by now?

He had to find out. He had to know.

"Who wants to go to the dungeon with me?"

No one wanted to go with him.

"I do," said Hermione. "I want to know what's going on."

"Me too," said Ron.

"I suppose I could," said Professor Sprout. "But I have no idea what we'll find."

"I'm not sure I want to go," said Neville Longbottom, the new kid, who was trembling.

"It could be dangerous."

"Probably dangerous," said Harry. "Come on, I'll explain it to you on the way."

He led them to the dungeons, where, sure enough, most of the ghosts from his lessons with the Dark Lord followed.

"So," said Harry, trying to calm himself. "This is the lockdown."

He tapped his fingers against his leg, trying to think of what to do. He looked around at the ghosts. Most of them were scared, just like he was.

"This is a very bad day for all of us," he said. "I need you to do something for me, okay?"

Most of them nodded, but not all of them. He tapped his fingers some more.

"Okay," he said. "I need you to take a very deep breath and tell me what you can remember. Can you do that?"

They nodded, but again, not all of them. He needed to be sure.

"Good. Okay. Remember what I said about the ghosts in this school being held prisoner here for a reason?"

Most of them nodded, but not all of them.

"Well, I think we all might be in danger. From something other than ghosts, this time."

He looked around at them, one by one. All of them were looking back at him.

"I need you to try to remember what those ghosts remember. Can you do that?"

Again, they all nodded. He could see the tension in their shoulders, in their spines. He needed to be sure.

"Okay," he said. "One at a time. Take a deep breath, and think about what you remember. Do you understand?"

When they nodded, he said, "Good. Neville, can you remember anything?"

"No, I don't think so," he said. "I mean, I don't —"

"Take a deep breath, think about what you remember, and try again," said Harry.

Neville took a deep breath.

"I remember a light," he said. "A light that blinded me. I remember —"

And suddenly, the light that blinded Neville was shining straight at him.

"It was you!" he hissed.

"What?" said Harry.

"The light, it was you!"

"That's not possible," said Harry. He turned around, but there was no one there. "I was in my dorm —"

"I know," said Neville. "But it wasn't you. I remember the light. It was you."

Harry turned around again, and this time, he could see Ron and Hermione staring at him.

"Neville, I was in my dorm," said Harry. "I was wearing my robe. This is all a big mistake. It's nothing to worry about."

"But I remember the light."

"Neville, I'm not wearing my robe!" he shouted. "For God's sake, this isn't funny!"

But it was. Neville was laughing. Laughing, and crying at the same time.

"It is you!" he said. "You're the one who's been following me! The whole time!"

Harry stared at him. Had he been following him?

"You were in my dorm," said Harry. "You were following me."

Neville was still laughing, still crying.

"No, I wasn't!" he said. "I would never —"

"But the light! It was you! You were the one who blinded me!"

"Neville, calm down! This is preposterous! I wasn't following you!"

"Yes, you were!"

"No, I wasn't!"

"You were!"

"Well, who was it, then?"

Neville was laughing and crying at the same time.

"It was the new kid!"

Neville was laughing so hard he couldn't speak, and Harry was crying so hard he didn't care.

"The new kid?" said Harry.

Neville nodded, still laughing and crying at the same time.

"You mean Neville Longbottom?" said Ron. "From the House of Gryffindor?"

Neville nodded again, and Harry felt his chest deflate.

"Oh, God," he said. "Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God."

It was Professor McGonagall's voice, floating up from the dungeons.

"What's going on down here?"

"I'm not sure."

"Ghosts, I presume?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Harry. "But I think it might be something else."

"You mean — there are more of them?"

"I don't know," said Harry. "I think they might be — possessed."

"Possessed?" said McGonagall. "By what?"

"I'm not sure," said Harry.

He looked at Ron and Hermione. He looked at the faces of the other ghosts.

"Is this true?" asked McGonagall. "Have you encountered other ghosts, other creatures of the night?"

They all nodded. One by one.

"Is this true, Neville?"

"Yes," said Neville. "There are others. They were in the dungeons, too."

"I thought only ghosts were allowed in here," said Harry.

"So did I," said McGonagall.

"I suppose the rules change when a place is under attack by dark forces," she said.

"What do we do?" asked Ron.

"We have to get back to the rest of the school."

"But what if they're possessed?" said Hermione.

"I don't think it's a question of what if," said Harry. "I think it's a question of now. We have to get back up there. Fast."

"But the dungeon's sealed," said Ron. "We're stuck down here."

"Not necessarily."

Harry looked at McGonagall. She looked back at him.

"The old dungeons were sealed," she said. "But I believe I know a way out."

"Can you open it?" asked Harry.

"I believe so," she said. "But we'll need something to —"

A high-pitched scream sounded from deep in the dungeons, and Harry felt cold splashes of sweat on his face.

"Quickly, everyone!" shouted McGonagall. "To the great hall!"

As they ran, Harry could see something moving fast in the shadows at the base of the stairs.

"It's — it's coming after us!" he yelled.

"Quickly!" she cried. "This way!"

They raced through the empty school, up the stairs, and into the great hall. Harry could see the doors to all the other dorms standing open, the beds and the desks and chairs inside them smashed and ripped apart.

"This is truly terrible, Harry."

"What is?" Harry said.

"Being under attack by your students," she said.

"But they're not my students any more," he said. "They're —"

He stopped. Because they were. His students. All of them. They were attacking him.

"Harry."

He turned and saw Cedric, smiling a twisted smile, a mass of dirty grey hair hanging down over his face, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly, and suddenly, for the first time tonight, Harry felt truly afraid.

"Cedric," he said.

Cedric moved his mouth but said nothing. He raised his arm and pointed a shaking finger at Harry.

"You — you —"

Neville appeared beside Harry. He had a black eye and a bleeding nose. He looked from Harry to Cedric and back again.

"Harry," he said again. "You — you told me to follow him. And I did. And now look at him!"

Neville pointed at Harry, and Harry felt his face flush.

"Neville," he said. "Shut up."

"No, I won't!" said Neville. He squared his shoulders and stood taller. "I wasn't following you, Harry! I was following him! And look at him!"

Neville pointed at Cedric again, and suddenly he wasn't pointing at Harry any more. He was pointing at the floor.

"Neville," said Harry, but it was too late.

Neville had raised his foot. Harry saw blood on his boot. He looked down at his foot. Blood was running down his leg.

"Neville, for God's sake —"

Neville raised his foot higher.

"Neville!"

There was a cracking sound. A terrible scream ripped through the air.

Harry felt himself being lifted from the ground, Cedric's arm around his neck, crushing his windpipe. He was lifted off his feet, he could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing any more.

And then he fell.

Falling for an eternity.

Tumbling end over end, his last thought that he was going to be killed by his students, his last thought that he was going to be killed by the monster he had made.