Lead in the dark

Dozens and dozens of Acromantulas dangled in their webs, many more were strewn about the ground – their thin, long limbs twisted in black despair. And in the centre of it all, a giant monster of a spider with a twenty-foot leg span, bristly hair like that of a boar, eyes as big as Harry's head, and pincers fit to crush the Knight Bus. A heap of almost equally large spiders lay scattered around it – all motionless, all eyes wide with horror, all irrefutably dead. The air was electrified, sizzling, tingling on Harry's skin. Then, lightning struck the centre of the pit, hitting the body of the gigantic, elephant-sized spider.

Vile-smelling fumes of burnt hair and death wafted towards them, and Harry coughed before he cast a Bubble Head Charm on all of them.

He was peripherally aware that Draco had fallen into the mud in panic, eyes wide with fright.

A prickling sensation crept down Harry's spine. This all felt...familiar – in a distinctly bad way.

'Leo, we need to go!' he shouted over another roar of thunder.

'Can't we have a look? We might be able to fig-'

'Leo, I have a really, really bad feeling about this. We leave, NOW!'

Leo turned towards him, his expression puzzled. 'Alright,' he buckled regretfully after a second.

'Grab Draco!'

Together, they dragged a whimpering Draco, who seemed to be frozen with fear, by the arms and out of the clearing until, quite suddenly, both rain and lightning ceased.

With a presentiment of danger, Harry tried to keep going, but Leo came to a reluctant halt. They both shot a glance back towards the spiders' glade, but it was completely submerged in darkness once more – unnaturally so.

'What in the-'

A curling bolt of violet light came down with vengeance, immediately followed by a ferocious gust of dire force. It hit them in their backs, and they only just managed to keep standing because they were both holding on to the currently unresponsive Draco, and even still they were pushed at least ten feet before they came to a grinding halt thanks to Leo managing to get a hold of a dead trunk. A few of the smaller spiders were tossed around by the sudden gale and smashed with a terrible thud against the trees surrounding the spiders' lair.

:::Run, little Thoughtling! Flee – or perish with them!:::

Evil whispers rode the wind: stomach-turning screeching sounds, malevolent cackling, cries of agony, pleas for death. They danced in Harry's ears, lingered, mingled with his own thoughts until he subconsciously shut them all out.

'What in Slytherin's name is that?' shouted Leo, staggering and, for once, notably worried and pale, covering one ear with his free hand.

'Don't waste time! RUN!'

And they ran. As best as possible, they half ran, half dragged themselves away from the clearing, trying their best to avoid getting squashed against the trees by the unrelenting gales that tore at their backs, unearthly howling following their escape. They heard several of the ancient trees groaning, creaking under the weight and pressure of this foulest of winds. Azure lightning struck the clearing behind them at least twice for every beat of their frantic hearts, the earth trembling in fear with every hit like the drums of the abyss.

They ran, desperately, stumbling, slipping, crawling in the mud as best they could, as fast as they could – away, by any means, wind ringing in their ears like mocking laughter. Through the wood, hair getting stuck in sticky plants, ankles getting sprained, clothes being reduced to tatters – it didn't matter.

Eventually, when the gales had completely subsided, they finally dared to take a short break, seeking shelter in the shadows of a gnarled, wide lime. Harry collapsed into the verdant ferns and moss covering the area around the trunk.

Some bird cawed in the trees above them. It was a serenade to Harry's ears.

Despite the exhaustion, despite his emerging headache, he tried to focus on every detail of the last few minutes, trying to preserve them for later. Wind in the middle of a giant forest. Violet lightning. A whole colony of horrified Acromantulas dead within moments and without any sign of struggle. The whispers... I really wish it could've just been a Werewolf – or even another Chimera!

'I told you so!' Draco squeaked, wiping the mud from his face, looking green and sick. 'I fucking told you so! This forest is bad business! What the hell was that? They were all dead!'

'I don't know,' admitted Leo, wheezing. Leo was by far the fittest of the three, but dragging Draco almost by himself while keeping up with Harry had left him winded. 'Whatever it was, I think it let us go.'

'Are you out of your mind?' shouted Draco. 'We nearly got crushed to death by that wind!'

'Yes, but the Acromantulas didn't get done in by the wind, Draco. No, I think they got killed by something magical, and only then did whatever it was feed. But I can't for the life of me think of a native creature that could do such a thing.'

'And those voices in the wind?' inquired Draco with a shudder. 'They weren't like anything I know!'

'So you heard them, too? I have no clue, and it's already killing me! Harry, ideas?'

'Hm?' Harry opened his eyes again, concentrating on his friends who looked at him with concern. A few ants were marching in lines over his hand, but he just couldn't bring himself to move or even care.

'Are you alright?'

'Fine. Just a headache. And feeling drowsy,' he added after a while.

'You didn't get stung by something, did you?' asked Leo seriously, his eyes sweeping over him, searching for injuries. 'I have a bezoar packed, just in case.'

'No, I don't think so,' Harry replied wearily. 'Come on, let's get back to Hogwarts.'

'The sooner we get out of this madhouse of a forest, the better!' Malfoy helped him up and set a brisk pace, not looking back once. They didn't speak on their way back, though Draco did cheer a bit when they finally found the trail again.

~BLVoD~

As silently as possible, they crept through the castle, Leo in the lead, Harry trailing behind. Once they had found themselves back at the threshold of Hogwarts Castle (Draco had knelt down and shed a few tears of joy), Leo and Harry had at least superficially cleared them of mud, water and sweat.

With a bit of luck, and they managed to find their way inside without stumbling upon any teachers. Flint, proudly wearing his prefect badge, glared at them a bit when he spotted them shambling around the entry hall, but, in the end, just pointed angrily in the direction of the common room.

'Well, that was fun,' intoned Leo, upbeat, as they made the last turn. 'A good start to our first week, wouldn't you say?'

'Sometimes, I really can't help hating you, Leo,' snarled Draco angrily.

'Come on. I know you'll be bragging about it to everyone who'll listen come tomorrow.'

'That doesn't mean I can't hate you for it right now!'

Harry wobbled a bit, flicking his wand one last time to remove a spot of dirt they'd left in their wake.

'I'm so looking forward to taking a shower!' said Leo. 'Good thing it's Saturday tomorrow.' He came to a halt when they reached the seemingly inconspicuous bit of wall. 'Heritage!' he whispered, looking around surreptitiously. As soon as the words left his lips, the wall in front of them crumbled, revealing the entrance to the Slytherin Dungeons.

The common room was, thankfully, empty – almost, that is. Huddled on a sofa near the fire, wrapped in two colourful blankets, sat Daphne, her eyes fixed on the entrance. She jumped as soon as she saw them, starting a mad dash and tackling Harry with a fierce embrace. 'Yuck! You look like an Auror after basic drills. Where were you? What the hell came over you?! Dumbledore said it was dangerous outside...'

With a lopsided smile, Harry tried to peel his cousin off him. 'We're fine. You'll get yourself dirty, Daphne.'

'Too late!' she returned with a triumphant smile, ignoring his somewhat plain attempts to break off the hug. 'I was really worried, you idiot,' she mumbled somewhat accusingly.

'Well, we'll leave you to it,' said Draco with a grin.

'My shower's waiting. See you guys tomorrow.'

Daphne glared after Leo's back for a while. 'Why didn't you tell me you were off on some nonsense quest with Leo?'

'I, eh, didn't know, to be honest,' he returned sleepily, giving up on his attempts to break free for now.

'I only found out because Tracey saw you leaving the common room with Leo and Draco,' she continued with a pout.

'I'm sorry. If I had known beforehand, I would have told you.'

'Good, that makes things easier,' she said, exhaling, her body losing a bit of tension. 'Because I'll be accompanying you from now on.'

Harry blinked, his overwrought mind struggling to keep up. 'Er, when you mean accompanying...'

'I'm not taking any more chances! You always end up in some ridiculous situation, in way over your head. I can't stand waiting on the sidelines anymore... So I'll be coming with you – end of discussion! I doubt I'll end up being more useless than Malfoy anyway.'

Harry blinked, staring down at Daphne's resolute expression. Well, it's true Grandfather told me not to do everything by myself, and she is fairly handy with her wand...

'Okay.'

Daphne looked up, her eyes wide with surprise, plainly having anticipated him arguing, her mouth already open to protest. Then, she smiled at him like a child on the morrow of a yearned-for birthday. 'Thanks! Now, off you go to take a shower. You reek! Where were you?'

'Let's talk about that tomorrow.' Slowly, he disentangled himself from Daphne's embrace. She didn't protest this time. She just stood there, beaming at him.

'But I'm tired enough to seriously consider the sofa here right now. Stairs are a hassle.'

'Go take that shower and then off to bed. I don't want you falling asleep on me another time. I don't think I could take Tracey's needling again.'

'Too tired.' He yawned.

'Move already,' she ushered him good-naturedly and with a teasing smile. 'Unless you want me to drag you up into our shower room. I'll have to take a bath too, now that you've draggled my clothes.' She took a step to the side, pointing towards the girls' dormitory as if inviting him up.

'Er, no. I'm fine, thanks.' He hastily waved at her, retreating towards the boys' dormitory.

Daphne still stood in the common room, her eyes following his retreating form. 'Good night, Harry,' she whispered, drawing the fluffy blankets even closer.

~BLVoD~

Harry awoke to the sound of chatter from an excited crowd down in the common room. He blinked drowsily. How people could be so damnably chipper in the morning he had no idea. After a few moments of trying to shut out the noise, which included the tested method of pressing the pillow over his ears, he admitted defeat, groggily and angrily getting up. The outside was as dark and glum as it'd been for the last few days, and the other beds were empty. The door, however, stood ajar.

No wonder those effing hooligans are so loud...

Slowly, tediously, Harry dressed. He felt as if he'd done a marathon the day before, all his limbs aching and aggravatingly heavy. His thoughts felt sluggish too, but that might just have been the effect of being woken so rudely. Also, his hair was strangely sticky.

'Can't they keep it down in the mornings?' he complained angrily to the empty room.

Five minutes later, dressed and finally somewhat awake, he descended the stairs to the common room. A lot of boys, mostly around his age, were gathered around a notice that had been put up at some point in time.

Grumbling angrily, he walked over to have a look.

'The Slytherin Quidditch team needs YOU¹!

Extra credits, personal liberties, eternal fame, and glory await!

Tryouts on Sunday, 10 a.m.

¹In case you're male; fit; of good build; can get your hands on a racing broom not older than two years; are willing to give up three days each week for practice; consider yourself an above-average flyer; don't mind adhering to an already established team hierarchy; aren't squeamish or a total tosser.'

Harry raised an eyebrow. That was it? He liked flying, but the requirements were a bit ridiculous, especially considering Slytherin had on average between five and ten students a year. The other houses might get away with such demands, but Slytherin, surely, couldn't afford to be so picky. Why they would disallow girls just on principle was beyond him. Maybe for team-building reasons? Also, speaking from his experience, most in Slytherin were guilty of being a bit of a tosser. Well, everyone except him, obviously.

He shrugged, striding towards the exit. Not my problem. Maybe breakfast isn't over yet.

Harry passed a lot of students on the way to the Great Hall, which served to somewhat lift his spirits a bit. If the sheep flocked towards the Great Hall, a meal was surely about to be served.

Leo, Tracey, Daphne and Hermione sat together, waving enthusiastically at him, and so he made his way towards them, squeezing through the mass of his excitable and rather noisy schoolmates. At least his headache had improved a bit.

'Harry, there you are!' said a thoroughly relieved-looking Daphne, looking him up and down with strangely out-of-place worry.

'Er, yes? Good morning.'

'Are you alright, Harry?' asked Hermione earnestly.

Harry looked at them, confused. 'Look, you know I don't like getting up early, but I even got here in time for breakfast, so what's the b-'

'Harry,' Leo interrupted, 'this is dinner. You've slept through the whole day.'

Harry stared at his cousin. 'Excuse me?'

'Yep, slept through the whole day, you did. We even tried to wake you. Made a bit of a game of it, really. Like, three Galleons for whoever could get you to get up. We all lost, though,' said Tracey with a look of reproach. 'Thanks, by the way. Now I don't have any money left for Hogsmeade.'

'Tracey was sure you'd wake when she emptied the bucket of cold water over your head. You didn't though,' supplemented Leo.

'So that's why my hair feels like adhesive?' Harry asked with a sharp look.

But Tracey only grinned toothily. 'It doesn't look much different than normal, to be honest.'

Harry grumbled something under his breath and put a bit of shepherd's pie on his plate.

'Are you really okay? We can go to Pomfrey after dinner if you want,' proposed Daphne anxiously.

'I'm fine.'

'I'm not saying you have to, but maybe you actually should, Harry. Being sleepy is one thing, but you were oddly exhausted after our...excursion yesterday.' Leo looked at him ruminatively. Then, he shrugged. 'It's your choice, of course.'

'Maybe I will, maybe I won't. So I gather you already told everyone what happened, Leo?'

'He didn't need to! Draco's been bragging to every Slytherin who'd stop to listen and then some how he narrowly escaped from the vicious monster in the forest, dragging the both of you – you were both crying in his story, by the way – back to Hogwarts, calming you with promises of how everything would be fine.'

Harry coldly raised an eyebrow at that. 'Where is he?'

'In the infirmary, getting treated on a nasty rash,' said Hermione with a fragile smile.

'And Amy?' Harry asked on a vague hunch.

'Detention for hexing a fellow Slytherin during lunch and in front of about two hundred witnesses.' Tracey sniggered appreciatively. 'It really was a good jinx though. Totally worth it!'

'Anyway, I cleared up a few of the...misconceptions with the girls,' said Leo impassively. 'And I think Amy's actual aim was for Draco to stay in the infirmary until tomorrow noon.'

'Tryouts?' Harry guessed with a resigned look.

'Yes,' Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance. 'He wouldn't shut up about them for the whole morning.'

'I actually think Amy just got tired of Malfoy's boasting.' Daphne sighed dramatically. 'Not that I can't relate, of course. But enough of that! What-' she softly hit Harry on the shoulder, 'were-' she hit him again, 'you thinking?! Dumbledore said the forest is dangerous! It's good I'll be able to keep a closer eye on you this year. I can't say I tend to agree with all the nonsense Malfoy spews, but you do have a nasty streak of Gryffindor in you!'

Harry generously refrained from reciprocating the compliment. He did like to take his meals with a minimum of fuss, and his noisiest cousin shouting loudly at him certainly qualified as fuss.

'Don't let it worry you, Harry.' Leo smiled at him encouragingly. 'They just don't understand the thrill of it. Maybe we can even convert you, Daphne.'

'Convert?' she repeated sceptically. 'I doubt it. But maybe you'll see how much better it's going to be to have a girl with you. Boys tend to get into a lot of trouble when left to their own devices. I can be the voice of reason!'

Hermione looked very much as if she wanted to say something regarding that comment, but it was Tracey's head that suddenly shot up with a look of glee. 'Does that mean we don't have to sneak after them anymore like we did during half your childhood?' she asked innocently.

'Tracey! You weren't supposed to tell!' groaned Daphne.

'Anyway,' Harry interjected in a low voice, putting down his cutlery. 'Let's talk about that later. I still feel rather worn out.'

~BLVoD~

'Harry! Harry, get up!'

'Mblejmble?' Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes and regretfully opened them to have a look at who was shaking him. It was some vaguely familiar, blond demon in humanoid form.

'Harry, I won't allow you to skip another two meals! It's noon again, get up already!' Daphne said without consideration for his craving for sleep, continuously shaking him again.

'You know, Harry, at this rate, you'll never get any action if you always sleep through anything including wild rocking and loud screams,' came Tracey's disembodied voice from somewhere in the room.

Reluctantly, he sat up, sighing loudly. 'Is it really so late again?' he grumbled.

'Yes – it – is!' said Daphne forcefully, avoiding his eyes and blushing a bit at her best friend's words. 'And stop being so crude, Tracey.'

But Tracey only sniggered. 'YOU are calling me crude, Sweetie?'

Harry gave a yawn that might have made a lion envious, rubbing his eyes again. 'You're not messing with me, are you?' he asked just to make sure. He couldn't have been in bed for more than fourteen hours again, could he?

'No!' responded Daphne. 'You'll never get up in time for classes tomorrow at this rate.'

'I'll think of something,' he retorted without any real conviction.

Daphne responded by snatching the blanket he'd clung to all this time, throwing it on Draco's bed, cruelly far out of reach for Harry. Turning around and walking towards the exit, she said with one last smirk at him, 'If you're still up here in ten minutes, I'll think of something more personal to motivate you.'

Exactly nine minutes later, Harry arrived down in the common room, still looking extremely out of it, his hair wet and his tie askew.

'Salazar, you look just like an alcoholic on your way to work, Harry,' commented Tracey nicely.

'Morning, Tracey,' he returned with a glare.

'Does your wife have to get you each and every morning now?' she asked with a grin. 'The other boys will be so jealous!'

Daphne made a face at Tracey. 'Let's just go. The others are saving us seats!'

Harry stumbled after them. He was still so out of it that Daphne, at some point, took his hand, more out of pity than anything, when he lost his balance on the stairs for the third time.

'Wow, Harry, it's really getting worse if you don't even fight against your enslavement by Greengrass anymore,' said Draco by way of greeting when they'd finally reached the Great Hall.

Harry shrugged, letting his head rest on the table, his arms misused as cushions.

'Hello, Harry,' Hermione greeted him. 'You look terrible.'

'Thanks,' returned in a muffled voice. 'I feel drained.'

'Well, I suppose there always was a bit of risk of that happening when we let Greengrass enter our d-OUCH!'

'Stow it, Malfoy!'

'No need to get violent, Greengrass! Merlin, why is your first instinct always to hit people? Behave like a girl of your standing for once!'

'I couldn't care less,' returned Daphne loftily.

'You're more resilient than you look, anyway,' said Amy with a smirk. 'Wouldn't have believed that you'd be able to sit down again properly for a few more days, Draco.'

'Well,' he sniffed pretentiously, 'someone has to save that sorry bunch we call a Quidditch team. And I've taken it upon myself to be that person. It is fated to be, nothing can stop me!' When he saw Amy giving him a measuring look, he hastily added, 'That wasn't an invitation to try!'

'Pity!'

'Oh, Dumbledore's actually here today.' Leo looked at the head table with a museful expression.

'He wasn't yesterday?' Harry asked, opening one eye to peer at his cousin.

'No, only at breakfast.'

He directed his one-eyed gaze towards the headmaster just as the ancient wizard stood up. 'Everyone, may I have your attention for a few seconds?'

Slowly, the discussions and idle conversations all around them died down until all was silent, all eyes fixed on Dumbledore.

'Excellent. Due to unforeseen circumstances and in accordance with our Ministry, I'm afraid we will have to set up a few new rules this year. As of this moment, unsupervised exiting of the safe walls our school provides is a breach of rules to be disciplined with, at the very least, suspension. For your safety and that of the support staff, Aurors will be stationed at all entrances to the castle. You are to comply with any safety measure they propose, no matter how irksome or strange they may seem to you. Also,' he slightly raised his voice to make himself heard over the outbreak of murmuring, 'all outside activities are hereby cancelled. Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures classes are, for the time being, to take place inside. This also and particularly applies to both flying lessons and the activities of all Quidditch teams. All matches, tryouts and practices are herewith cancelled. And lastly,' he intoned with a piercing look at Harry specifically, to both his own surprise as well as that of his friends, 'if any of you have something you wish to tell me, anything at all, I urge you to come to me privately. No punishment is to be handed out in the case of you voluntarily approaching me with the intention to help. That is all.'

And the hall positively exploded with excited and, in more than a few cases, worried blather, Harry noted. When he turned his head, Hermione, Tracey and Draco were looking at him accusingly. Daphne looked worried, Leo merely curious. Amy, on the other hand, grinned approvingly at him.

'What?' he asked, slightly irritated with the lot of them.

'You've done something again!' gushed Tracey. 'Why else would Dumbledore single you out like that?'

'I've done nothing,' replied Harry in high dudgeon. 'I'm just as perplexed as you are!'

'At least your lack of funds won't be a problem now, Tracey,' said Amy with one of her, for lack of a better word, smiles.

'Hogsmeade!' cried Tracey, dismayed.

'Maybe Flint told Dumbledore?' speculated Leo, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

'Flint? No way! And who cares anyway?!' objected Draco. 'But...but...Quidditch! You've ruined my chance to shine, Harry!' wailed Draco childishly.

'I did nothing of the sort!' Harry repeated himself with a scowl. 'Don't go all whiny on me. You'll just have to wait another year.'

'At least Slytherin can't come last this way.' Tracey chuckled. 'Without or because of Draco, I mean.'

'Haha, very funny!'

'I think,' said Leo calmly, edging a bit closer to them so they wouldn't be so easy to overhear, 'we should start getting serious with our research. Hermione, can you help me with the books? You know your way around the library, I gather?'

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. 'Of course! I've had a first look since our discussion yesterday.'

'Research on what?' Harry asked, feeling incredibly stupid for not keeping up. He blamed his 'lack of' sleep.

'That thing in the forest, of course,' replied Leo as if it was the most natural thing in the world. 'You didn't think I'd let it go, did you?'

'Not really,' Harry replied with a sigh, his head falling onto his arms again. 'But no more expeditions for now. I actually agree with the headmaster; that place is dangerous and way out of our league.'

'Well, have fun with that, guys. Oh, and you're all totally nuts, by the way! I'll stay away from that freakish forest, and I'd advise you to do the same unless you want to bite the dust,' said Draco, talking fast.

'Sounds fun, but I'm not into the whole research stuff. Just find me when you actually plan to do something about it,' Amy answered Leo's silent question. 'I'll be sussing out the castle in the meanwhile. I'm really looking forward to Rose's class, as well!'

'You remember our discussion, Amy?' Harry asked, turning his head to look at her.

'Yes, yes, don't fret.'

'What do you want with her, anyway?'

'Mother asked us to sound her out a bit,' answered Leo without any enthusiasm. 'She seemed a bit obsessed with us making her life difficult, actually.'

Harry groaned. While Leo could probably not be bothered, Amy was quite happy to be pointed in a direction, any direction really, to unleash utter chaos. She was pretty much an enthusiastic weapon of mass-destruction that never needed to reload in that regard.

'Daphne? Tracey?' Leo looked at the girls who sat at Harry's side. 'What about you?'

'I'm in!' responded Daphne at once, folding her arms. 'And so is Tracey!'

'I am?' Tracey asked surprised.

'Yes, you are! I don't want you hanging out with Malfoy or Amy more than necessary.'

Amy only smirked at that. Draco, however, seemed offended. 'Oi! I'm not one of the idiots who thinks it's a good idea to poke around something that killed a whole bunch of deadly super-spiders. And you actually think my presence is detrimental?'

'It's more your character than your judgement that concerns me,' replied Daphne nastily. 'The direct opposite of Amy, so to speak.'

'Cheers, Daphne!' said Amy, raising her cup. Both girls exchanged a short, grim smile.

'Well, let's meet in the library after lunch, then,' proposed Hermione, looking excited at the prospect of additional, independent study time.

'Hold on,' Harry protested, finally lifting his head. 'Give me half an hour, I want to check something.'

'I'm coming with you.' Daphne's objection followed his statement at a speed that somehow seemed to defy the laws of physics. She had her arms folded again, looking at Harry as if daring him to argue.

Harry sighed. Some struggles are neither winnable nor wise to attempt. 'Fine.'

~BLVoD~

'What are we doing?' asked Daphne as soon as they got out of earshot.

'I want to have a look at the Aurors. Depending on who they are, I might be able to force them to relinquish a bit of information regarding this mysterious lock down.'

'Lock down?' Daphne repeated with a frown.

'What else would you call it when all students are to stay within the confines of the castle under threat of suspension? It's...worrying that the Ministry seems to be fully on board with this measure. I can't remember something comparable happening in the recent history of Hogwarts. After all, the school prides itself on being independent of the government.'

'You really think you might be able to make them talk to you? They're Aurors, Harry! You know what Bones thinks of Uncle Arcturus and you.'

'Irrelevant,' countered Harry with a smile. 'When push comes to shove, personal loyalties will always prevail over a vague sense of duty. At least, for the vast majority of humans.'

Daphne fell a step behind. 'Y-you're not going to blackmail or bribe them, are you?'

'Well,' said Harry carefully, 'that's why I said I want to have a look at them first. There aren't too many squads of Aurors in Britain. The choice as to which squads were dispatched might be illuminating, too; combat-experienced Aurors, investigators, tracers, hunters or even the Minders.'

'Minders?' Daphne repeated with a puzzled expression.

Harry was glad to answer, especially now that she seemed to have forgotten her earlier question. 'That's how they informally refer to their two squads that specialise in Legilimency and the like. I can't say I expect them here, though. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say it would be those who specialise in taking down wizards and beasts. Maybe a few consultants from the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Possibly an Unspeakable if things are truly dire.'

'You think they know what's in the forest?' she asked nervously.

'Yes. And going by Crouch's and Dumbledore's reaction, it must be a serious problem.'

Harry sharply raised his hand, cutting off Daphne's next question. Standing next to the doors of the Great Hall stood two Aurors, both deep in conversation.

'Do you know them?' whispered Daphne, as they both peeked around the corner.

She was a bit closer to Harry than the situation demanded, and Harry was inwardly considering if it had been a mistake to give in to her so easily. He could smell the scent of her shampoo. 'No. Never seen the two of them. Come on, let's check out the next one, the exit near the kitchens.'

'You know where the kitchens are?' Daphne asked surprised.

'Oh, yes. Minnie dragged me there a few times, so she could mother me without interference.' He rolled his eyes.

'How did that work out?' Daphne asked with a smile.

'Not too well. The other elves kept trying to help her out, insisting she wasn't a proper Hogwarts elf.'

'I think she's adorable!'

'Well, it's certainly quite hard to turn her down when she stares imploringly at you with her huge, hopeful eyes.'

The next thirty minutes, they wandered around the castle, checking every entrance Harry and Daphne, who knew the castle much better than him, could think of. To Harry's increasing irritation, he only spotted one Auror he knew. Good-natured smile, receding hairline and short coarse hair.

'Longbottom,' he growled softly.

'Y-you're not going to try anything with him, are you?' Daphne asked anxiously.

'No.' He sighed in resignation. 'I'm afraid Frank Longbottom is definitely out of my reach.'

Daphne, not too subtly, pulled on his sleeve to get him away from the man.

'Then let's go, please. That family's trouble!'

'Their son isn't too bad, actually,' responded Harry with a shrug.

'I know you have a history with him, but he's still their son. Her son for that matter!'

Harry allowed her to drag him away from the two men who were in conversation. Longbottom, apparently noticing movement out of the corner of his eye, looked in their direction, locking gazes with Harry for a moment. Then, he nodded curtly, returning to the conversation with his colleague.

Harry knew why Daphne was nervous, of course. If Prewett was the public face of the Pillars, the Longbottoms were their arm. And, in truth, they were popular and, more importantly, dangerous people to take on. But so was he, and Harry wouldn't hold Neville's parentage against him. Doing so would go against every belief he held.

'I can only think of one more. It's, uhm, not really an official exit per se.'

Harry, his interest piqued, looked at her. 'Yes?'

'There's a hidden passage behind a mirror on the fourth floor.'

'You never mentioned that.'

He hadn't meant it as an accusation but Daphne still squirmed under his eyes a bit. 'W-well, my mum told me to keep it to myself.'

'It's alright,' he said with a small smile. 'Let's just get it over with. At this point, I'm not really expecting much.'

As fast as possible, they hurried towards the fourth floor without outright running. The study area on the fourth floor was bustling with activity, though most students seemed to be discussing the current state of affairs rather than actually studying.

'There it is,' whispered Daphne, grabbing Harry's hand to stop him and subtly pointing around the next corner towards a great, ornate Mirror that hung in the corridor. Two grim-faced wizards stood in front of it. One of the men, who was a bit more than six feet tall, had curly dishwater blond hair, and a spectacular moustache even curlier than his hair. The other one, who had his back turned towards them, still loomed over his partner, standing at nearly seven feet. That one was wearing a dark, military-looking leather coat, his long auburn hair falling over his shoulder.

'Was glauben Sie, Herr Oberst, wie lange der Einsatz dauern wird?' the first one asked, looking around uneasily, thankfully not spotting Daphne or Harry.

'Das hat nicht Ihre Angelegenheit zu sein! Machen Sie Ihre Aufgabe, und halten Sie gefaelligst den Mund!'

Harry blinked, exchanging puzzled gazes with Daphne, who looked, frankly, bamboozled.

'What are they talking about?' she whispered.

'Couldn't say, but I'm fairly sure it's German.'

Most unfortunately, it seemed the tall man possessed rather exceptional hearing. In the blink of an eye, he spun around, his black leather coat scrunching due to his fast movement. One second later, he stared down his arm at both Daphne and Harry, wand outstretched, his eyes narrowing as he saw Harry's own wand equally pointing towards him.

'Herr Ober-' the other one stammered, shocked.

'Shut up, man!' the big one snarled, cutting back in.

'Who are you?' Harry demanded, eyeing the man. He had a long, elegant face and cold grey-green eyes that stared confidently into his own.

'That's none of your business, brat. Stow your wand and get lost!'

'Your English is rather decent for a foreigner,' Harry remarked loudly. And it was. You could pick up on the slight irregularity of the vowels, but he seemed fairly used to the language.

'Bugger off, pipsqueak!'

Harry glared up at the man who effortlessly towered over them. Pipsqueak?

'Foreign wizards aren't allowed at Hogwarts without the express invitation of the Headmaster,' stated Harry calmly, treading on Daphne's foot to get her out of her stupor. She winced a bit, then drew her own wand. 'So unless you want to get into real trouble, I suggest you tell me exactly who you are.'

The freakishly tall one eyed him suspiciously. Then, as if choosing every word with deliberate care, he said, 'ICW, designation zero zero three. If you know what that means, I suggest you clear off now!'

'Do you have some form of identification?' Harry demanded distrustfully, nudging Daphne again when she began to lower her wand.

The man gave a nasty little smile, producing a necklace that held his dog tag with his free hand. 'I'm not in the business of entertaining nosy brats. If you say one more word, I'll consider your actions obstruction of justice. So, for the last time, remove yourself from my presence at once!'

With a scowl, Harry took a step back, his wand a bit lowered but still very much pointed in the direction of the two foreigners. Then, he grabbed his cousin by the sleeve and rushed around the corner whence they came – nearly bumping into their detestable History of Magic teacher.

He stared at them, one hand raised, his happy-go-lucky smile slowly slipping from his face like Stinksap. Awkwardly, he put his hand down again, apparently unsure what to do with it now that waving was out of the question.

Harry, meanwhile, pushed Daphne, who had visibly stiffened, behind him.

Without a word – without a sound in the world – they passed each other, each party staying as close to one side of the corridor as humanly possible, as if the middle of the hallway was polluted by the other's presence, as if even the most insignificant of greetings or even the mere acknowledgement of their counterpart would herald the inevitable confrontation.

Fabric scraped against the stone as Harry slowly manoeuvred them both away from the man he tried with all his might to resist pulling his wand on. Harry's eyes never left Prewett's right hand; there was nothing in the man's eyes he wanted to see.

Eventually, finally, they had passed him. When Prewett vanished around the corner, they didn't fail to pick up on the voice of the leather-clad man greeting him. 'Ah, Herr Prewett. Good to finally see you again, though I don't care for the circumstances...'

But Harry and Daphne didn't even remotely feel the urge to tarry.

'Who were they?' Daphne croaked when she was calm enough to raise her voice again.

'Special Aurors from the ICW.'

'The tall one was freaking rude! What are they doing here?'

'Well, I will find out.'

'We will,' Daphne corrected him sharply.

'That's what I meant to say,' amended Harry smoothly.

AN: Hope my rusty German didn't fail me here. It took me about ten minutes to write those two pitiful sentences :D. Please pm me if I made a mistake.