For those of you in our facebook group - Bubbleybear & Pienuniek's Story Nook - this news will come as no surprise. But I recently lost a very dear friend to cancer who was also an unofficial Pre-Reader for the Under Her Spell Series. Leonie Price, I miss you, so very much but I hope that you are free from pain, wherever you are.

In her honour, I am dedicating this entire book to her. Her enthusiasm helped me continue to write on many days where I felt ... lost. In fact, one of the last emails she sent me was that she wished that these books had been on the big screen; that they were better than the originals. I know it will never happen, but the thought was enough to encourage me. Please keep her in your thoughts as we continue with this story. Cheers.

I'm so glad that I can finally give you the next in the series. Just know I've already read Book Six and have taken my notes. Now ... I can say that I've started to write!

Thanks must go out to my team. My pre-reader Pienuniek and my Beta Alice's White Rabbit. I would be lost without the pair of you, truly.

I don't own Twilight, or Harry Potter, I'd be a richer person if I did. But I do so love to create my own places for them out in the world. No copyright infringement is intended.

See you at the bottom ...

Chapter Twenty-Seven ~ One and One Equals Mayhem

I held onto Bella's hand and towed her along, with Fleur bringing up the rear. We quickly made our way down the corridor and into the secret passage. Using our more natural speed, we zipped through the passage, up and down stairs, and around corners. We made it to the other side of the castle in record time.

The noise level was the first thing that hit us as we stepped out of the hidden passage behind yet another tapestry. There were exclamations of surprise and disgust. Squeals and shouts of awe and intrigue. The second thing to hit us was the smell.

"What is that?" Bella asked, reaching up to pinch her nostrils together.

"I've never smelt anything like it," Fleur groaned.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "The twins have really gone all out."

The three of us could hear the teachers talking and whispering among themselves. Some of them—meaning most—were very impressed with what we were walking up to while a certain couple were flabbergasted at what was now happening. And poor Filch was trying everything, in his limited capacity as a squib, to clean up the best prank I had ever seen.

I gave Bella a bit of an impatient tug, causing her to laugh at me as we sprinted around the last corner only to come to a screeching halt.

"Oh, my Merlin," Bella and Fleur exclaimed. Their mouths dropped open, and they stared shocked at the scene in front of us.

I snickered quietly. I couldn't decide what was better to look at. The shock on Bella's and Fleur's face or the large swamp that—now—decorated the better part of the corridor we were standing in. It was magnificent. I could see many different flora and fauna from vines, to trees, to water lilies. As well as frogs, crabs, and fish. But they had gone one step further than that.

We watched in fascinated horror as Filch stepped up to the swamp with a mop and broom only to have a frog that was sitting on the closest lily pad, puff up his cheeks like he was ready to croak, only to spit out a stream of bright, fluorescent yellow paint. Right into Filch's face. The entire student body—those who were standing in the corridor anyway—absolutely cracked up. Not just at the fact that the frog spat paint but at the look on Filch's face. It had to be the funniest thing we had seen this school year.

Filch wasn't the only one being targeted. Umbridge and Snape were also trying to clear the swamp away and were being attacked for their efforts. Crabs were climbing all over the vines and trees, snapping their claws at anybody who got too close. One of them even managed to grab the end of one of Snape's wands, almost pulling him into the swamp for his efforts.

"What have they done?" Bella whispered. "How much trouble are they gonna get in?"

I couldn't help the laugh that barked out of me. "None," I said with a chuckle lacing the word. "Umbridge suspects who released the swamp, but she has no proof. Of all the things she's confiscated from them, not one of them has been about a swamp."

The longer we watched, the more I realized that the only teachers trying to remove the swamp were Umbridge and Snape, as well as Filch. The only time the others attempted it was when Umbridge was looking in their direction, otherwise they were standing back to watch.

Fleur was shaking her head in disbelief before she whispered, "How do they come up with ideas like this?"

"I'm not entirely sure this was all their idea. I have a feeling the ghosts—specifically a poltergeist—may have been in on this one. It's too detailed, too large a prank, to have come up with it on their own," I murmured.

I caught wind of Umbridge's thoughts as she was looking around at the children laughing. She was going to try and make an example out of someone, or a couple of someones, and she was going to try that with Bella and me. I decided to urge Bella and Fleur to leave the corridor before Umbridge could even open her mouth.

The girls were quiet until we'd made it down a couple of floors. "You think that Peeves and some of the other ghosts were in on that?" Bella asked.

"I don't doubt it. Those frogs were right up Peeves' alley."

Fleur laughed as did Bella before she agreed. But I could tell from her thoughts that she planned to ask Fred and George when we were all seated down for lunch. In fact, that was the scene we walked into. Fred and George were surrounded by a group of students, all vying for their attention while asking them how they'd created the swamp.

For the most part, Fred and George were keeping quiet about it. They were smirking, but they weren't saying anything. Their thoughts, however, were hilarious. And I'd been right—Peeves had helped, just a little, with the swamp.

Bella and I sat opposite the twins while Fleur went to join Gabrielle at the Hufflepuff table. It took a few moments, but eventually when the others realized that Fred and George weren't going to give them the answers they were looking for, they moved off to their tables.

Bella was shaking her head at the cheeky looks on their faces. But it was me they were looking to.

"I'm not going to ask how you managed that up there," I murmured quietly, "because I'm not sure I want to know. What I want to know is … did you have help from a certain poltergeist?"

The smiles that bloomed on the twins' faces were hilarious. While they smiled, they never said a word, but their minds exploded. It seemed that the boys had been busy this year. Not only had they been experimenting with their Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes products, but they had been trying to figure out what had been happening with the ghosts of the castle.

I instantly began to feel bad because with everything going on, I hadn't seen them. I frowned before I spoke. "How long have they been missing?"

"Who?" Bella's head popped up.

"Sir Nick, The Fat Friar, even Peeves. Have you seen them at all this year?" The question came from Fred, not from me.

Bella's mouth dropped open as if she was going to answer. I could see her thoughts flying as her mouth closed. Her memories were running a mile a minute as she thought over every second of the time we had spent at Hogwarts. She shook her head a few times only to look up at me with surprise on her face.

"I didn't realize it either, Bella."

"How could we not have noticed?"

I reached out for Bella's hand that was flailing around before she could knock something over. "We've been so busy, Bella. It really is no surprise." I turned back to Fred and George. "Where have they been?"

"Apparently, Umbridge has deemed them unnecessary. She's had them down in the absolute bowels of the castle since before the beginning of the school year," Fred said with a shake of his head. "We honestly think that if she knew where it was, she would have locked them in the Chamber of Secrets …"

"Or had them completely removed from the school itself," George finished with his own head shake. "Umbridge is a piece of work. The ghosts are a special part of Hogwarts history; they deserve to be here."

"More so than any of us," Bella murmured. "What can we do?"

George shook his head. "There's nothing we can do until Umbridge is out of power around here. Although Fred and I have a few ideas to keep the ghosts engaged because if they don't interact with real living people, we may end up with a few more poltergeists and not the good kind."

Fred elbowed George to grab his attention. "Speaking of. Peeves should be about to have a lot of fun."

I tried to read their minds but both were locked up tight. It seemed they had been practicing their occlumency more and more. I was forcibly removed from my thoughts by one of the loudest booms I had heard since we entered the wizarding world. Louder than Ludo Bagman's calls over the magical PA system last year.

My head spun around to make sure that Bella was okay, only to see her looking up at the roof with a look of awe on her face. I followed her line of sight only to see some of the prettiest fireworks I had ever seen. There were dragons of green and gold flying around the rafters at the top of the hall, occasionally coming down to roar at someone or letting out fire breath made of more sparkles. There were also rockets with long, winding, silver tails and large, pink Catherine wheels about five feet in diameter.

Well, they were pretty, right up until I saw the sparklers. At those, I couldn't help but laugh. Because the boys—and I'm sure they were Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes products—were currently writing swear words in front of every spare inch of wall they could find. From fuck, to shit, to some rather inventive ones that I'm positive Emmett must have had a hand in, like twatwaffle.

But the funniest part had to have been the look on Umbridge's face when she stepped into the Great Hall after trying—and failing—to remove the swamp from upstairs. Her mouth dropped open and turned the most satisfying shade of red I had ever seen. And her thoughts, while blank for a moment, exploded into all the many ways she would torture the Weasley twins because she just knew this desecration of her school had to be them.

Once Umbridge got herself back under some sort of control, she quickly made her way into the Great Hall, firing depulso—the vanishing spell—at the first few fireworks she came across. Unfortunately for her, one of them just happened to be a beautiful dragon that was attempting to make its way out of the Great Hall. And when her spell hit the dragon, not only did it not disappear, but the damn thing first duplicated, and then duplicated again, and again until there were ten more of them!

Umbridge froze for a second before trying the vanishing spell again on one of the swearing sparklers. Instead of duplicating, the sparklers changed their insults. They started aiming the insults at the spell caster. Instead of "shit" or "fuck", the sparklers began spelling out "TOAD". An insult that Umbridge knew the children used for her. She screamed loudly at the top of her lungs, causing silence to fall over the hall. The only sound you could hear was the bangs and pops from the fireworks exploding and the huffing anger and frustration coming from Umbridge.

It was with that sense of anger and frustration that she stormed over in our direction, heading exactly for the twins, her wand already out. "How dare you?" she exploded, pointing her wand at the twins. The attention included one centaur, one half-giant, and two professors. "These interruptions, these malicious acts of destruction, these unwanted distractions are destroying MY school. These are your products, and I will have your education for this. Clean them up now!"

Fred and George spun around in their seats to look up at the now puce face of Umbridge. "Do you have any evidence to back up your accusations?" Fred asked.

"Or is this all supposition on your part? You think that because we are pranksters, because we want to make a living creating pranks and party tricks, that we must be responsible for the things happening in the castle?" George waited until Umbridge nodded. "Then ask anyone here in the Great Hall … we were here … eating our lunch, when all the commotion started."

Fred turned to Bella and me to ask our opinions, but before the words were even out of his mouth, Umbridge interrupted. "Oh no, I'm not asking them." She stalked off toward the Slytherin table and spoke to Crabbe and Goyle, who unfortunately for Umbridge, didn't give her the answers she wanted. Even though they were in her very own house. So Umbridge scowled in the twins' direction before making her way to the teachers' table to stand in front of Professor McGonagall. "Minerva, you know how the Weasley boys can be. Can you honestly tell me that they didn't have anything to do with the swamp on the seventh floor and these … these fireworks?" Umbridge had to pause as one swooped at her head.

"Honestly?" Professor McGonagall asked, to which Umbridge nodded. "No, I cannot say that they didn't have anything to do with them …" At this, Umbridge had begun to smile "... but I can definitively say that they did not put the swamp in the corridor and didn't set off these fireworks. At the time of the swamp, they were in Transfiguration, and I've been in the Great Hall the entire time; those boys have been sitting at that table minding their own business."

Umbridge spun around so fast that she almost tripped over her own feet, having to grab the podium in front of the table to stop herself from face-planting. Oh, but the glare that she fired in Fred and George's direction caused several students—including Bella, Harry, Hermione, and me—to burst into loud snickers because we could just see the steam coming out of Umbridge's ears when she realized that she didn't have a leg to stand on.

Umbridge looked up and spied Filch coming in the Great Hall through the doors. "Argus!" she screamed so loud that a few people covered their ears. "I need you to stop these fireworks … now!"

Filch had frozen in the doorway, looking from Umbridge to the fireworks. "Uh … headmistress, how? I can't cast the necessary spells."

"I don't care how you do it! Just figure it out!" Instead of continuing to make a fool of herself, Umbridge reined in the need to stamp her foot and scream before she stormed off out of the teachers' door once more.

"She's gonna have grey hair by the time this year is done." Hermione snickered from next to Bella.

"Well, it would certainly be an improvement over the mop on her head now," Harry murmured his agreement, causing us all to laugh harder than before.

~*~UHS~*~

Fleur spent the afternoon with Opi, continuing going over the spells and potions that she had been taught, or that we had taught her, so that he could create a detailed learning plan for her, while Bella and I continued to work with Newt and Moody. Remus had been called back to the paper for an emergency meeting with Sirius and had left just after lunch.

Remus did promise to fill us in on it the next time we saw him.

"I think you're more knowledgeable than any of the young wizards I've come across in a long time. Most older wizards only have their knowledge because of the years they've put in. Are you sure you don't just want to test out this year and be done with school in case Umbridge is still here next year?" Newt asked as he looked over some more of the essays Bella and I had been handing in to Opi this year.

Opi had shared a great amount of our work with the other three who were going to be teaching us, but Newt wanted to see exactly what Opi had been teaching us and just how detailed our knowledge was.

Bella shook her head. "We talked about this earlier; it just isn't possible. There's no way Umbridge would let that happen. She would rather have us here in the school where she can keep an eye on us than letting us test out."

I nodded in agreement. "And really, it's safer for us to be here with Harry and the others next year, especially considering that Voldemort knows we're alive and coming for him."

Moody scoffed. "That boy would walk right into the first sign of trouble. He needs all the help he can get."

I chuckled, looking up at Moody. "He does have a knack for getting himself into situations whether it be his fault or not. While he's at school, he needs us."

"Then why are you doing sixth and seventh next year and not staying for Harry's last year?" Newt asked, putting down my latest piece of Transfiguration homework.

Bella and I looked at each other. We knew what was going to happen at the beginning of what would have been our seventh year. She would be turning seventeen. I looked back at Newt. "We aren't going to be in any fit state to be here seventh year. Bella's second scent change is due to happen around her seventeenth birthday."

Newt tilted his head and looked at us curiously for a moment. I could hear Moody snickering from next to me. He knew what was going to happen. Bella looked up at Newt as the lightbulb went off over his head. "Oooohhh." The blush that covered Newt's face rivaled one of Bella's. While she didn't blush often, she was certainly red when she did. "That's why you're testing out next year." Newt was nodding almost like he was talking to himself. "That's probably really smart."

"Indeed." Moody laughed at his friend. "Can't have that happening around impressionable teenagers."

I snorted aloud. It was ugly, and it was loud, causing Bella to laugh. I couldn't help it though. They had absolutely no idea … none … about what the teenagers in this castle got up to at night when they were supposed to be in bed. Let alone what they talked about. I smirked in Bella's direction. Not that I hadn't benefited from the way the girls talked in the Gryffindor dormitories.

But at my snort, and Bella's laugh, Opi, Moody, and Newt all looked in my direction. "What?" Newt asked when I didn't offer an explanation.

I shook my head. "Nothing. Not a damn thing. Are we done for the afternoon?"

It's been a long time since they were teenagers, baby, Bella thought to me when Opi indicated that we were done, and she had started to pack her bag. Though, you'd think they'd remember some of how they felt then.

I couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "Not something I want to think about, Bella."

Me either, she said with a laugh. "So, who have we got tomorrow?"

Opi looked at us from the corner of his eye. "Me, Bella. You and Edward will continue as you have today. And Fleur will continue with me. Until I have her lesson plan ready, we'll keep going. Hopefully next week we can get into the swing of things."

"Sounds good," Fleur said as she picked up her bag. "Let's get out of here. I'm starving."

We waved goodbye to our professors and managed to keep straight faces until we were down a couple flights of stairs. But once we reached the third corridor that had been out of bounds during our first year, we couldn't hold our laughter in anymore. We practically fell over each other as we doubled over, holding our stomachs.

"Promise me … Bella … that we never … get so old … as to forget …" I took a deep breath, trying to quell my laughter. "Phew … that we never forget what teenagers, and their hormones, are like."

Bella snorted as she and Fleur stood upright. Bella looked at the ceiling as she took a few deep breaths, noting that some of the fireworks from the Great Hall had escaped to the top of the stairway. "Considering there is no end to how many children we can have for the rest of time, I don't think we'll have a problem."

"Babies … for the rest of time, huh?" I smirked in her direction, causing Bella and Fleur to laugh. "Just how many are you planning on?"

Bella laughed with a blush that rivaled Newt's, causing Fleur to chuckle. "That, Edward, is something we'll talk about, a lot, over the years. I have no doubt about that."

~*~UHS~*~

The castle had been in a state all afternoon. Umbridge had been blaming Filch for the swamp and the fireworks, mostly because he couldn't get rid of them, and they were still in the castle. Most of the fireworks were still in the Great Hall, but a lot of them had escaped and were currently flying around the castle.

The funny part was that the students had discovered that if they hit the fireworks with a curse or charm, the fireworks built up in intensity and kept going longer. So, for all that Filch, Snape, and Umbridge did to clean up the fireworks, and even the swamp, the students stealthily undid it by firing spells at the fireworks. The funniest part was the three of them couldn't figure out how it was happening.

The plus side to that was the students were practicing their spells both verbally and non-verbally. All to continue to annoy the crap out of Umbridge.

I rolled over slowly, careful not to disturb Bella's sleep. She slept less now than before, and I wanted her to rest. I reached out and gently tucked her hair behind her ear. She really was beautiful, and I was a lucky bastard that I got to keep her. Forever.

Edward? A small quiet voice called from the small cupboard next to the bed. I looked up to see the small picture frame we had placed there. It was an idea of Bella's. The kitten in Umbridge's office had switched sides, and we knew that she would need a place to come and visit us.

"Hey, sweetheart, what can I do for you?"

It seemed the kitten wasn't used to terms of endearment because she stiffened before she relaxed with a large shiver. She settled down in a much more relaxed manner. What happened today? she asked. The big pink lady was really annoyed.

I smirked with a chuckle; I couldn't help it. "I'll bet." I spent a few minutes explaining all the things that had happened around the castle.

No surprise then. She was ranting about having students thrown out of school, most of them in Gryffindor. But she couldn't do it … has no proof? The kitten phrased it like a question. I could hear in her thoughts that she wasn't sure. The bit that caught my interest was that she also ranted about not being able to get into the headmistress's chambers. The gargoyle won't move for her.

My eyebrows shot up at that bit of news. "That is interesting. I wonder why."

Don't know. She said that she should be allowed in there now that she is headmistress. The elves in the kitchen aren't listening to her either. There were a few other things, but those intrigued me the most.

"Thank you …" I paused for a minute. I couldn't ever recall the kitten telling me her name. "What shall we call you?"

The kitten looked down once more. Embarrassment flooding her thoughts. I have no name. Nobody gave me one.

"Well, that's just unacceptable. Bella and I will have a name picked for you by the time you come see us again. I appreciate you coming to tell me these things." Ideas for making this kitten feel more at home flooded my head as I watched the gratitude flit across her face at my thankfulness.

You're welcome. I should go before she misses me. The kitten turned to leave. Just keep an eye on her clothes. They seem to be darker than before.

I frowned as the kitten disappeared from the frame. I wonder what she meant. I'd have to watch out.

~*~UHS~*~

The night had been exceptionally quiet. All the teachers were exhausted from the day's hijinks. I knew Umbridge was looking for ways to have the twins expelled, even with the lack of evidence she had against them. The other professors had been exceptionally quiet and had snuck away at the first opportunity. They didn't want to deal with Umbridge's tantrums any more than the students did.

I was just letting my mind float around as the castle and, more importantly, Bella slept the night away. Some nights, I longed for sleep. Something so peaceful but often taken for granted that everyone else just drifted off into. For now, sleep wasn't something I could afford. I needed to be able to monitor the castle around me. The teachers. The students and especially the minds of those visiting the castle.

I sighed in resignation. Maybe that was something I could work on after we'd won the war that was intent on coming down on our heads.

I was grateful for the reprieve from the many thoughts that I filtered through during the day. Having to listen to the minds of Umbridge, Snape, or Filch all day, every day, could become … tedious.

I closed my eyes and relaxed further into the bed as I pulled Bella closer. I wished that things could be this easy always. It was at that moment Harry's dreams caught my attention. He had been having a very peculiar dream as of late. I wasn't sure what these dreams meant. Were they dreams? Or were they memories from Voldemort?

I watched in fascination as Harry approached a door. One that we had seen before—which is why I questioned if this was a dream or a memory—at the Ministry of Magic. It was the same door that had been at the end of the corridor when Harry had his trial. The door that the Unspeakables would enter, looking straggly and worn down only to come back out a few minutes later looking clean pressed and dressed immaculately once more. The ominous black door, with the silver handle in the middle, seemed to be emphasized in Harry's dream. It stood out with a more sinister air than it ever did when we were there.

I waited with bated breath as the person Harry was dreaming about paused in front of the door. It was almost like they could tell they weren't alone. Like once they reached out, the person watching would know if it was a dream or a memory.

It felt like an eternity later, although it was only a few seconds, a hand—one that was older, yet more delicate and decidedly not Harry's—reached out for the door handle.

"Shit," I breathed out almost imperceptibly so as not to wake Bella. "This isn't a dream," I muttered to myself.

Voldemort's hand—because that's who I knew it was now—grabbed ahold of the handle and turned. I don't know what I expected, but a round room with many, many doors wasn't it.

For the next several hours, Harry and I watched as Voldemort, with increasing agitation, searched through many of the doors, several different rooms—with many interesting artifacts—and even a few corridors, trying to find something. Something that he needed. Something that he hoped would tip the tide in his favor.

He was almost at the end of his rope. We could tell he was getting more and more frustrated with every wrong room because his hands would flail everywhere, and his hands were landing on the doors and pushing with more force with each one he approached. But that all changed after he reached out for a door only to step through into a large rectangular room. In fact, this room was so large I couldn't see the end of it in either direction.

There was one thing that stood out more in this room than any of the others that Voldemort had passed through. It was filled to the brim with rows upon rows upon rows of shelving units. Taller than I could even fathom through Voldemort's eyes. But it was what was on those shelves that caught my attention. Small, dusty glass spheres. There were more spheres than I could count. I was about to at least attempt counting one shelf of spheres when Harry was abruptly woken up by cheering throughout the room.

Harry sat up panting, his heart pounding in his chest. He was looking around, trying to figure out what had woken him up, only to be jolted by Seamus calling out to him. "Harry, come look! One of the piggy fireworks is going nuts outside our window."

"Yeah … uh … no, that's okay. I … uh … I'll be right back," Harry stammered as he climbed out of bed and headed toward the door rather than the window. Edward, can you meet me, please?

I carefully rolled Bella out of my embrace and over onto her pillow, giving her mine to hold, before I climbed out of bed and pulled on a shirt and pants. By the time Harry had made it down the stairs, I was sitting on the lounge in front of the fireplace. Harry almost slid to a stop in front of me, panting hard.

"Did you see? The dream? Did you see?"

I nodded, urging Harry to sit down. "I saw, Harry, but I don't think it was a dream."

"No." Harry huffed, taking deep breaths and slowly calming down. "No, me either. That has happened or was happening as we watched it."

"You did really well not tapping into his emotions. You were able to be an observer but not alert him to the fact that you were there."

"You think?"

"Oh yeah. But …" I sighed. "It seems Voldemort has found his way into some type of hall. It's where they've been keeping whatever it is he's after."

Harry finally relaxed in his seat, slumping backward. "We should ask someone what those things were. But who?"

I tilted my head back and rested it on the back of the lounge I was sitting on. "Dumbledore isn't going to help us."

Harry snorted. "The only time he ever helped us was getting us into Hogwarts."

"True." I shook my head. "He's held things close for so long that it's become a way of life for him. Maybe Opi can knock some sense into him while he's here."

"What about Opi? Can he tell us what that place is?"

"No, Opi, and the others, have gone home for the weekend. There's not anyone else here in this castle I'd ask, except maybe Professor McGonagall, but she's not involved with this yet."

"What about Aberforth?" Bella's voice sounded from my corner. I'd been so absorbed in my talk with Harry that I hadn't even noticed she'd awoken. Harry jumped at her voice, but we both turned to face her. "If you draw what you saw in Harry's dream, we can take it to Aberforth this weekend. We're due for a trip to Hogsmeade." Plus, we can ask about the prophecy. We've been meaning to since the beginning of the year.

I held my arms open, and Bella came to sit on my lap. "That's a very good idea. How does that sound to you, Harry?"

"Yeah, that's good for me. But I have a feeling Umbridge will try and stop me from going. She's had the Inquisitorial Squad following me around." Harry gave us a smirk. "On the plus side it's Draco so he tends to let things slide."

I snickered. Having Draco join the Inquisitorial Squad was a boon for us. While he did it because Daddy wanted him too, he joined for us. Over the last few weeks, Draco had passed on some excellent information about what Umbridge had been doing. Everything from talking with Fudge, to trying to keep Bella, Fleur, and me from completing our exams, to chucking a complete fit when the head examiner said there was no way she was excluding anyone because all those who were accepted into Hogwarts were entitled to a magical education, including passing their exams.

Bella smiled at my reaction. "Maybe it's best you do stay here," she said quietly. "You and Draco could lead Umbridge on a merry chase around the castle. Maybe Hermione too. It would give Edward and I the chance to slip out undetected because she's had them watching us too."

"Only"—I laughed—"it's been Pansy and Goyle. Their thoughts are so loud and clear that Bella and I have been able to outmaneuver them easily."

Harry and Bella snickered. While Pansy and Goyle were Slytherins, they weren't the smartest in the bunch.

"I'll get with Draco and Hermione." Harry stood with a smile. "We'll have a ball. Maybe I'll get the others involved too. Good luck with Aberforth. I'm sure he'll be a well of information."

I smiled. "He always is."

Harry waved as he wandered back to the stairs to make his way up to bed. He was relieved that all the work he had been putting in with Jasper and me was working. He was wondering if he would be able to access Voldemort's thoughts without being asleep or if this was the only way he would be able to work it.

"Wanna go back to bed?" Bella whispered in my ear. "We've got a few hours before we can leave for Hogsmeade."

I kissed her hard as I shot up from the lounge and bolted to my trunk. I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to show my girl some love.

~*~UHS~*~

Later that morning while we were eating breakfast, Harry and Hermione began—what they were dubbing—operation lead Umbridge astray. Between them, Draco, and the twins, Umbridge was going to be getting reports of incidents all over the castle that would require her undivided attention.

They gave us a smile before holding hands and leaving the Great Hall.

"They're gonna have a lot of fun today," Bella whispered, watching them. She was so happy that Harry hadn't held off on getting together with Hermione. But she was worried about how he was going to have to take out Voldemort and what that would mean for our sister.

"It'll be fine, Bella." I held her close to me. "We'll help them deal however it needs to be done."

"And if we lose one of them?"

I cupped Bella's face before resting my forehead on hers. "We're going to lose people in this upcoming war, Bella; there's nothing we can do to prevent that. We can only give them the tools to do the best they can. Nothing more. Afterward, we'll mourn, and we'll honor them. That's all we can do."

I know, I know, I know. Bella changed silently. I just don't want to lose anyone.

"Me either, beautiful girl. But … and it seems cruel to say it, if it was you or someone else, I'd save you … every time."

"Me too, Edward." Bella placed a desperate kiss on my lips before pulling back to settle herself. "Sorry. Minor freak out."

"That's okay." I kissed her forehead and pulled back to look her in the eyes. "We will, no doubt, have more of them between now and then."

Bella nodded but curled into me, much to Umbridge's consternation, and we waited for the fun to begin. It didn't take long for one of the Inquisitorial Squad to come careening into the Great Hall at almost full speed. When Cassius Warrington realized that everyone was watching him, he slowed to a walk as well as flushing almost bright red.

Cassius continued up to the table where Umbridge was sitting and leaned over to whisper to her. "Headmistress?"

"Yes, Warrington?"

"Uh … there's something that needs your attention."

"And you can't deal with it? Isn't that why I created my Inquisitorial Squad?"

Her Inquisitorial Squad? Bella snorted. Wow … conceited much.

"That shouldn't surprise you," I whispered in her ear.

True.

Cassius looked over his shoulder, flushing an even brighter red when he noticed everyone still staring and trying to listen before he turned back to Umbridge. "We were trying to remove the swamp, per your specifications, but something went wrong."

Umbridge frowned. She was ever so pissed off that she couldn't get the bloody swamp removed from the seventh-floor corridor. "What happened?"

"A piece of it was successfully broken away from the rest," Cassius replied only to get interrupted by Umbridge.

"That's good. So, what's the problem?"

I snorted into Bella's hair. "Oh, this should be good. Keep listening."

Bella looked up at me but went back to watching the scene in front of us when Cassius began to talk again.

"Uh … the piece didn't disappear. It … kind of … grew legs and walked away."

"WHAT?" Umbridge yelled, catching everyone's attention. "Where did it go?"

Cassius groaned quietly. "It's made a new swamp on the fifth floor. But that's not the biggest problem."

Umbridge's head fell forward into her hand. She was tired and stressed, and she really didn't like kids. "What else?"

"When the swamp broke off from the rest of it, a rather large and quite territorial crocodile crawled out. It's attacking anyone who comes within ten feet of it," Cassius finished quietly. He wasn't happy about being the one to tell Umbridge about it. In fact, he had lost a hand of rock, paper, scissors—magic style—and had to come and let her know.

"Ugh." Umbridge groaned as she stood from her seat and made her way out of the Great Hall without another word to Cassius. But she was mumbling all the way. "I don't know why I have you half-wits. How can you manage not to get rid of a prank swamp is beyond me?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "And now we've gone from conceited to hypocritical. She couldn't get rid of the swamp either."

"No, but she's your typical narcissistic bully. Nothing is ever her fault; it's always the fault of others," I rebutted. "But now, we have a clear means of escape to get to Hogsmeade. Up for a day out of the castle?" I asked as I stood and offered my hand.

"You bet. Let's go see what Aberforth can tell us." Bella smiled and linked her hand with mine.

~*~UHS~*~

The trip into Hogsmeade was quieter than normal. It seemed that most of the students weren't going to risk the wrath of Umbridge even though the trips were mandated by the school. That just meant we were there sooner rather than later.

Bella and I climbed off our carriage at Hogsmeade Station and meandered our way through the small town. We didn't head straight for the Hogs Head but made several stops along the way there. We bought some candy from the sweet shop and even picked up a new practical joke for the twins from Zonko's. Bella thought it could come in handy pranking Umbridge around the castle.

We even had a quick look at the Shrieking Shack where Bella quietly remarked that the house would have been absolutely stunning in its day.

"Maybe we can look into restoring it," I said as I pulled Bella's hand to get her moving again.

Bella looked up at me. "What? Like buy it and make it look new again?"

"Sure. Why not?"

Bella giggled. "Because then it wouldn't be the Shrieking Shack. What would Hogsmeade claim as their haunted house?"

I opened my mouth, only to close it again. "What if we just renovated the inside? We could use it as a getaway next year."

"'Cause the trunk isn't enough?" Bella asked with a smirk before asking more seriously, "Are you afraid we might wake the others?"

I snorted with a shake of my head to clear it of the images she'd put there. "I'm surprised we haven't already. But what do you think?"

"I love it. Let's do it." Bella's smile turned into the sultry one when she got a naughty idea. "Besides, we may need a place to escape our own kids one day."

I couldn't help the low groan and throaty chuckle I let out. I kissed Bella on the head as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "Naughty, Bella, just naughty."

We continued walking, slowly making our way out to the Hogs Head. We had just turned down the road that led to our favorite pub when we came across Aberforth. It seemed that he was heading back to his pub himself.

"Aberforth!" Bella called. "Wait up!"

"Well, if it isn't some of my favorite patrons." Aberforth smiled at us as he slowed down and waited for us to catch up. "Haven't seen you in a while."

I shook my head, a frown appearing on my face. "Umbridge has been keeping a closer eye on us since we returned from Christmas. The only reason we got out today was because some of our friends were creating many distractions in the castle."

Aberforth chuckled. "I have no doubt they are creating all sorts of mayhem. You'll have to tell me all about it next time you're here." We walked in silence for a few minutes. "Are you here just for a pint, or is there something on your minds?"

I pulled the sheet of paper from my back pocket and handed it over to Aberforth. Aberforth stopped and looked at us before unfolding the picture I had drawn. He simply glanced at the page before his eyes snapped back in our direction. "Where did you see this?"

"What is it?" Bella and I asked together.

Aberforth looked around to see who might be nearby before looking back to Bella and me. "We shouldn't talk about this here. Come. We'll talk in my place around back." We followed Aberforth toward the Hogs Head, but he stopped at the fork before the pub. "I need to go inside and talk to my employees, but I'll meet you there in a minute."

"Okay," Bella answered. She leaned up and kissed his cheek before we made our way around the back of the pub. "I didn't even know this house was here."

"Me either. But the man can't reveal all his secrets to us; he has to have some for himself."

Bella blew a raspberry at me before we walked into a clearing. "Oh wow. Totally didn't expect that."

I was going to give Bella a witty reply, but I was stopped in my tracks at the house we could now see. In the meadow in front of us was a really pretty single-story house that reminded me of an old English cottage. The gardens were spectacular, but the large array of plants made me wonder if they were being maintained with magic. I was pretty sure that some of them couldn't grow in the European countries at all.

But what we saw in front of us wasn't what caught my attention. It was the sounds coming from the pasture in front of the house. It was just a cacophony of noise. It seemed that Aberforth liked goats because the small pasture had all different kinds, bleating at the same time, trying to be heard. But it was the big one—staring at us from in front of every goat—that was being the absolute loudest.

"What in the world?" Bella asked from next to me. "How does he sleep at night?"

I snickered only to be interrupted by an extraordinarily loud "baa" that sounded suspiciously like "hello", coming from the very same goat still staring at us.

"Did that goat say 'hello'?" Bella asked incredulously.

"I … I have no idea. You're the animal whisperer."

"And you read minds!"

I opened my mouth to argue but what could I say? Bella was right. I opened my mind to the goats in front of us and started cycling through the frequencies used by animals until I found the one I was looking for. At first, all I could hear was just a din of echoing noise because they were all thinking, all talking, all at once. It was like when I had first been turned and couldn't separate one mental voice from another.

I shook my head to clear some of the noise. It also gave me the chance to focus on one goat at a time, slowly clearing them from my mind, until I could only hear the one that was still staring at us. Once I heard the goat and her thoughts, I broke out into laughter. I just couldn't help it.

Bella looked all sorts of confused, amused, and absolutely adorable as she took in my reaction. "What?"

I snorted a few times before I could get the words out. "Each time that goat bleats a word is said in its head."

Bella still looked confused.

"Listen." The goat bleated. "Hello." Another bleat. "Name." Yet another bleat. "Daisy." The goat let out a really long bleat. "What you want?"

By the time I had finished translating what the goat was saying, Bella was in near hysterics. She was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face. And I wasn't much better. Aberforth found us collapsed on the ground, still laughing, several minutes later because each time the goat would bleat, Bella and I would begin laughing all over again.

"What in the world?" Aberforth muttered as he walked past us. "Are you two coming in or what?"

Slowly Bella and I picked ourselves up off the ground, although we had to pause just about every time the goat bleated to dissuade the giggles, and followed Aberforth inside. He just shook his head at us as he poured some butterbeers and gestured to the living room for us to have a seat.

"Are you gonna tell me what that was about?" Aberforth asked after placing the butterbeers on the coffee table in front of us. Bella snorted into another giggle, causing me to smile as I went to answer. Aberforth shook his head and held up his hand. "You know what, never mind. I don't want to know."

I snorted as Bella tried to settle down. "That's probably a good idea. Not sure I could explain it again anyway. Everything okay?" I pointed in the direction of his pub.

Aberforth nodded. "Just had to let them know that I would be out for a while, more than likely the afternoon." He looked at the pair of us. "So, this drawing. Is this where you want to start?"

"No," Bella answered before I could. I spun around to look at her in surprise. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you since before school started back this year."

"Oh?" Aberforth looked surprised.

Bella looked at me meaningfully. Remember at the meeting we were asking about the prophecy and Snape? I nodded in response to her thoughts. "We attended a meeting with the Order earlier this year, just before Harry was nearly expelled. Did you know about that?" Aberforth nodded. He had been informed by Newt and Moody. "Well, we were talking about the prophecy Professor Dumbledore managed to collect before the First World War."

Aberforth sucked in a gasp. "How did you know about that? I thought only those there in the beginning knew about the prophecy."

"We've known for a while. It's been part of our research into Voldemort. But some who didn't know about it were told at the meeting," I continued. "The problem was that Bella and I had questions that nobody could answer, and Professor Dumbledore has been rather illusive in meetings and at school, so we haven't been able to ask him."

"I'm not surprised. Albus doesn't like it when his plans are derailed." Aberforth snorted. "Add in the fact that Opi stopped him from recording Alice's prophecy for the hall, and he's been on a right tear ever since." He looked out the window, contemplating if he wanted to know our questions and whether he could answer them. He knew his brother was too close and would never tell us what we wanted to know. "Could this help in anyway?"

Bella nodded while I answered. "Possibly. It could help us decide who to trust and what information to give to specific people."

"There's someone you don't trust?" We nodded to his question. "Who?"

I looked over at Bella, only to find her looking at me. The question was all over her face—"Should we tell him?"—I shrugged but my question back was "If not him, then who? Nobody else knows the answers to our questions."—I'd never had much of a silent conversation. Bella talked to me with her thoughts all the time, but we'd never had this kind of silent communication.

In the end, Bella nodded to me before leaning her head on my shoulder. It seemed we would be trusting one more with our thoughts and secrets. With a deep sigh, I turned back to Aberforth. "Snape. We don't think we can trust Snape. We aren't even sure if he's on our side, to be perfectly honest."

"Ah." Aberforth nodded and leaned back. "Then you are not the only ones who disagree with Albus. You are in good company."

"You?" Bella asked, not lifting her head.

It was Aberforth's time to sigh. "Yes, me." He paused but ultimately decided to go ahead. "I didn't agree with bringing him in the first time, and I certainly don't agree with him now. He's always been slimy. Always blamed others for his behavior. First, it was the children in school and how he was bullied—James and Sirius especially—then it was the fact that the only person he ever 'loved' began dating his school nemesis." He paused for a minute before continuing. "I'm not sure he ever loved Lily the way that, say, you love Bella, or even Arthur loves Molly. I think it was more of an obsession than love. Lily was the first person to ever show Severus care or compassion, even friendship. I believe he mistook that for love.

"So, when she started showing interest in someone instead of him, he began to lash out. Sure, Sirius, James, and even Remus to some extent, did bully Severus, but he certainly didn't help the matter." I listened to Aberforth as he remembered a time he visited the school to see his brother. He had brought some supplies because the school had needed something they couldn't get a hold of. "Severus would instigate the instances. He'd say or do something to garner the negative reaction from the others, and they would run with it. Sometimes—not all the time, mind you—but sometimes they took it too far, and Severus was hurt, or the other children joined in, but it was never as bad as he made it out to be."

Aberforth stopped remembering the past and looked back at Bella and me. "The day he joined Voldemort and the Death Eaters was the day Lily married James. Lily—and I have to give her credit—she tried to keep Severus as a friend. She didn't want to see him suffer, and she loved him as a friend. But as time went on, she continued to see James, and Severus had to watch as they fell deeper and deeper in love; he pulled away from her. In one last desperate attempt to keep him in the light, Lily sent him an invitation to their wedding."

"Ohhhhh," Bella and I said together. Bella shook her head but continued. "She tried to keep him as a friend, hoping that he'd be happy for her, but instead, he pushed her away and did the worst thing possible."

"Joined the mad man who was trying to destroy everything everyone held dear," I finished.

"Exactly." Aberforth sighed again. "When James and Lily found out, Lily was devastated. She did the only thing she could do and that was cut Severus from her life. And while it hurt her, she knew she had made the right decision, especially when she found out she was pregnant with Harry."

We stayed quiet for a moment just absorbing the story that Aberforth had laid on us. It was Bella who broke the quiet. "Was it during her pregnancy that Professor Dumbledore recorded the prophecy?"

Aberforth nodded after he'd picked up his butterbeer and taken a sip. "He did."

"When did Snape join the order?" I asked.

"I'm not sure exactly. I know it was sometime after he learned that Voldemort was going after Lily and her child." Aberforth narrowed his eyes at us but waited to see what our next question was going to be. We could see, though, that he was insanely curious.

"He joined after the prophecy?" Aberforth nodded to Bella's question. "But was he told about the prophecy before he joined?"

"What are you asking?"

Instead of answering that question, I posed another. "The prophecy was recorded in your pub, correct?"

Again, Aberforth narrowed his eyes. He wanted to know why I hadn't answered his question. "Yes. Why?"

"Can you do me a favor? Can you try to remember who was in the pub that night?"

"Oookay. Sure." As Aberforth started describing who he remembered at the pub, I looked through his memories. I knew he would only describe those who he thought were important at the time, those he could remember details about, his visual memory would have more detail. It would remember everything he saw that night.

As I watched the memory play out in his mind, Bella was taking notes. We wanted to compare afterward what he told us and what he actually remembered. What I noticed in his retelling was that he missed the gentleman who was sitting at the table behind Albus. The gentleman was shrouded in darkness, almost like the flickering candlelight couldn't light the corner he was in, and he was covered in a hooded cloak so you couldn't see his face. But his body language was telling.

He was sitting stiffly but leaned toward the conversation happening at the other table. When the person sitting with Dumbledore slipped a little in her seat and her head tilted to one side, the man in the cloak leaned in a little closer. I watched as—Trelawney of all people—slipped into a trance and began repeating the prophecy Dumbledore was recording with a small glass ball. The balls from my drawing.

Once the prophecy was halfway recorded, the man who was shrouded stood from his table to leave the room. He hadn't heard all of it, which would explain why Voldemort was after it now, and started winding his way between tables. That was when Aberforth really took notice of the man because the man was trying his very best not to touch anyone but especially not the creatures that were drinking at the pub that night. It was almost as if he was disgusted by him.

Aberforth didn't see the man's face because he kept it down and out of view, but this person had the most recognizable black, stringy, dirty hair I'd ever seen. It was hair we saw at school every day.

I came out of Aberforth's memory with a gasp, only to look down at Bella.

"What, Edward? What did you see?"

"See?" Aberforth asked, confusion coloring his tone. "What do you mean?"

"Snape was there that night. He heard the first half before he left the pub," I said, scrambling for some paper and pencils so I could draw it for Aberforth. I looked up to see our friend was very confused. I hoped he'd take my news okay. "I'm sorry we haven't told you this before, but we had taken Professor Dumbledore's word that we should keep it a secret." Aberforth nodded. "As a human, I always had a knack for knowing what other people were thinking. It was like I could anticipate them and just know. When I woke up as a vampire, that talent had followed me across, only now …"

"You could actually read minds," Aberforth finished. "Right. So just then?"

"You aren't mad we kept this from you?"

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I live in the magical community. There's a lot of weird stuff out there. But what did you see just now?"

"As you were talking about who was there in the pub the night the prophecy was recorded, I noticed that you didn't talk about the person sitting at the table behind Professor Dumbledore. In fact, you didn't really see him until he was leaving."

I watched as Aberforth thought back to find the one I was talking about. "This guy? You think this guy was Snape?"

I nodded. "I do. And if that's the case …"

"Then he's possibly the one who told Voldemort about the prophecy to begin with," Aberforth finished. "But why change sides if he was the one who told him?"

"That's easy." Bella looked at the both of us. "At the time, he didn't know Lily was pregnant. The prophecy was vague enough. 'Born to those who have thrice defied him … born as the seventh month dies.' It would have only taken a little bit of investigative work, some bribery, to find out who was pregnant and due when."

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "And when he found out that Lily was one of two, and that she was going to be targeted, he went to Albus. Once he found out that Lily was the focus, and not say, Alice Longbottom, he changed his allegiance. His obsession wouldn't have left him alone otherwise."

Aberforth grumbled under his breath before saying, "So he never swapped sides to stop Voldemort; it was only about Lily. And now that Lily isn't here for him to obsess over …"

I snorted. "He may very well continue to be a death eater from here on out. And your brother is putting his faith in that very same man."

~*~UHS~*~

I believe the twins ... and everyone else ... are having fun at Dumbridge's expense. I don't think she's going to feel the same as the rest of them. And what about our revelation at the end there? I have a feeling that I may upset some Snape fans with this chapter.

Let me know what you think. See you in a fortnight!