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Chapter 15: The Vanishing Cabinet

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The two of them were breathing heavily, still wrapped around each other and still in no capacity to talk about what had just happened. Sirius was leaning on to her with his head pressed against hers and looked like he might pass out any second from exhaustion.

As for Isabella, she held on to him as if her whole life depended on it, on this moment where all was perfect with the world—this moment where she didn't have to pretend to be someone she was not; a world where she got to be held right; a world where there was no need for words at all because he GOT her.

"Don't let anyone talk to you like that ever again," she heard him whisper, his voice quivering feverishly. "Not even me…"

Isabella looked up.

"Even if you're absolutely right?" she asked woefully.

"Even if I'm absolutely right…" he replied, and she thought she heard a slight smirk in his voice. Everything was quiet around them, as if a storm had just raged and blown itself out mere moments ago.

And for a fleeting second, Ryan's face flashed before her eyes causing her to drown in instant panic.

As if he had read her mind, she felt him comfortingly wind his hands tighter around her body. "Stop overthinking. Evantrap can be handled," she heard him mutter, her head still tucked comfortably under his chin. "I'll talk to him. Explain the whole thing, tell him what happened — I'll take full responsibility for this mess, and if we're lucky, he —"

"— I'm just as responsible," she blurted out stiffly, cutting him short. "I dragged him needlessly into this muck and now I'm paying for it, aren't I?" she said, feeling weaker and weaker at the mere thought of letting him know this was over.

Sirius's body stiffened at once, as if hit by a shock wave. "What?" he said pulling back and staring curiously down at her. He frowned. "What do you —?"

"You heard me..." she said, looking up weakly at him.

"Wha — Blimey —" he stuttered, completely thrown for words now, even as realisation sunk in. "Merlin's beard..." he swore under his breath. "Why'd you do it?" he asked severely, releasing her slowly. "What the damn hell was the point of all this, eh...?"

Isabella didn't say anything. She knew EXACTLY what he was referring to and was, regrettably, far too embarrassed to admit the truth, even to herself! And even as he stood there towering above her, she could feel the pressure of the moment build up with every passing second, making her head hurt in agitation.

The sun was slowly starting to come up now, swathing the corridors with the cool morning light.

"Izzy..." he pressed on, now with one hand on the wall behind her and the other dug deep in his jeans pocket, waiting in an interrogative-sort-of-way. "Why were you monkeying with Ryan?" he repeated, as if she hadn't heard him the first time.

A tense moment passed where she nearly wished she got hit by a Horn-Tongue Hex that she could use as an excuse to escape his penetrating eyes and this rotten situation.

Pursing her lips fearfully, she stared blankly at him, hardly breathing.

"I just..." she sighed and closed her eyes in complete disgust, "I wanted to make you jealous," she finally said it, out loud — finally admitting it to herself. And the longer he stood there dumbstruck, the stronger became her desire to hurl herself off the tower. "Well, at least I hoped you'd be... Does that make me pathetic?" she asked after what seemed like forever and stared into his dumbstruck face.

He smirked, but his eyes were wide and unmoving as if they'd frozen in place in shock. "Not if it worked..." he simply replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

Time stopped that second. A numbness as though she'd suddenly been plunged into a bucket of ice-cold water crept up her face, making this moment seem far from reality. "Drove me crazy," he admitted, letting his hand resignedly drop to his side, as she stared on wide-eyed. "I don't think I'd ever get used to seeing you with someone else. Not with Malfoy and definitely not with Evantrap and I don't even know why that is," he said, defensively pocketing both his hands now and looking sightly as ever in his high-collared khaki jacket and white T-shirt.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "That's funny because you set us up," she reminded him.

Sirius smiled handsomely and rolled his eyes. "Well, of course... ALL of us knew how insanely far-gone he was about you. He was about ready to bite his arm off for you after he saw you flying for the first time."

Isabella frowned even more now. "So..." she began, slowly putting two and two together, "you decided to gift me to him?" she asked, starting to feel a tinge of annoyance rise inside of her.

Sirius shifted uneasily at the sudden change in her stance. Defensively chewing on his lip, he tossed the question over in his mind for a bit.

"Of course," he finally said matter-of-factly, and Isabella's eyebrows travelled further up in her forehead. "Izzy, he was — and perhaps still is — as good as it can get..." he reasoned. "Of the lot of blockheads out there, me included, he's the one lone decent lad to exist, so when he told me he fancied you, I had to do the right thing…" he said, and although his voice seemed steady, his eyes were saying a whole other story.

She paused, quite unsure of the direction this conversation was heading in. "You still feel the same way?" she asked, and for some reason, her eyes were now permanently narrowed at him.

He didn't say anything at first and simply stared down at her, hardly breathing.

"How do I put this...?" he muttered to himself and nervously ran a hand through his long, black hair. "You — Izzy, you deserve the best... the very best," he started, hardly having the courage to look at her. "And it's no secret that I was — and still am — a dickhead of epic proportions... I've done nothing but cause you pain..." he said and shakily ran his hand through his silky locks once again. "I'm not worth it... Honestly... Not then, and definitely not now..." he said, shaking his head pathetically.

Isabella was glaring daggers at him now. "You know, you MIGHT just be right about that," she spat out so scathingly, he almost winced at her tone.

"— I'm just saying, at the time, I loved the idea of the two of you getting together!" he cut in desperately. "And he's a good lad! You keep saying that yourself!"

She was all of EXPLODING on the spot now. "So, what the HELL are you saying now...?!"

"I'm saying I'm bad news!" he finally blurted out, his voice echoing all around. "I'm saying I'll ruin everything between us because that is what I do! Whatever little respect you have for me will dissipate in MONTHS if we... well, if 'we' happen..." he said, taking in her shocked stance.

"What?" Isabella said, finally understanding what he was saying.

And all of a sudden, the mad rush of cold water seemed to sting her BLOODY.

"WHAT?!" she repeated, glowering at him this time. "Why'd you do it then, Sirius...?" she muttered, inching dangerously close to him. "Why'd you come after me today?!"

He mutely gazed down at her, almost as if at a complete loss for words. The sun had fully risen now, revealing his once handsome features now looking haggard and beat, with dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. "I — Izzy, I couldn't help myself... I mean, I... I hurt you..." he whispered, running his finger along the side of her face, trying to make her understand. "And I had to make it right, look —"

But Isabella didn't have time for his bullshit anymore. "— Are you HONESTLY saying what I think you are?!" she yelled reproachfully.

"What — Babe, I don't even think I'm right for you —!"

But Isabella wasn't even listening, drained of all energy as reality shook her giddy. "You are such a coward, Sirius," she finally managed to say.

"Izzy, no, look!" he started, and scooped her face up with both his hands, as if desperate to make her understand, but she swiftly slapped him away. "No, you listen to me," she said, a fire burning in her eyes. "I'm done. You and I, it's over, it's finally over!" she hissed, tears pooling around the corners of her eyes. "I'm not letting you toy with me like this ever again," she said and hotly swung around to leave the place.

"What?! Izzy, NO!" he said and pulled her back by the hand. "This was EXACTLY what I was trying to avoid... I can't lose you, Iz! You're my BEST FRIEND, you're too important!"

She paused and stared at him incredulously. "Do you realise, that after today, we will NEVER see each other as 'friends' again?" she retorted. "We will never be friends again, Sirius... We've both ruined it... Forever!" she yelled and yanked her hand out of his grip.

There was so much truth in her words that it hit them both equally, rendering them absolutely speechless—and the two of them simply stood there, staring at each other for several minutes, allowing the silence to embrace them.

"BLACK!" a voice suddenly echoed through the corridor, making them both crash-land back to earth. "There you are! I was just going to pop by the Gryffindor tower" said a very cheerful Frank, jogging up to them from the East Tower.

"Ah! Cousin Frank!" said Sirius, swinging his head around and forcing a smile on his face as Frank neared them. Still holding her tight by the arm he quickly recovered and tried to look as nonchalant as possible.

"Wuss goin' on?" asked Frank, watching the pair curiously.

"Oh, nothing fancy. You just caught us breaking up!" he guffawed bitterly, managing to make even the raw truth sound like a bleeding, sarcastic joke.

"Wow! Excellent news!" he chuckled, fully buying into the joke and shining brighter than the sun. "Congratulations! I couldn't be happier for you, Williams!" he laughed sarcastically, thumping Sirius painfully on the back. "I hope he at least made up good for that, if you know what I mean!" he said, teasingly nudging Sirius on the side, forcing him to break into a coy grin.

"Sure did..." Sirius muttered, sounding more regretful than Isabella had ever heard him before.

"Boy never disappoints!" said Frank, thumping him in mock pride before breaking into a grin once again. "Anyway, where be the lads?" Frank asked, throwing his hand over Sirius's shoulder.

"Resting," Sirius simply replied, but for some reason Isabella thought he was implying something more. "Was just headed down for breakfast, care to join us?" he added. Isabella, although gutted, could not help but appreciate the sly, non-declinable invitation that Sirius had just extended her.

"Absolutely," said Frank, and led the way to the Great Hall with Sirius under his tow. "You know, you look like you're dying from Dragon Pox, mate! Shouldn't you be resting as well instead of snogging Williams in deserted corridors at such odd hours?" he said with a chuckle, completely oblivious to the impact his words were having on the two fifteen-year-old's.

"Well, when the girl's this irresistible..." Sirius joked back bitterly, as the three of them climbed down the stairs, his hand still stubbornly wrapped around Isabella's wrist.

"Speaking of snogging, you 'KNOW', right?" Frank asked Isabella, suddenly nudging her out of nowhere and grinning silly. "Alice must have told you..."

And for the first time that morning, a genuine smile broke on her face. Nodding enthusiastically, she said, "In fact, she extended me the pleasure of being one of the privileged few to know about it!" she said, weakly. "Lily and Clay still don't know. And, you goose! You two have been sneaking behind our backs all this time?" she asked, playfully punching him in the arm.

Frank's grin grew wider. "WHAT?! We weren't sneaking at all! In fact, we made it so obvious, LUPIN noticed and confronted me almost a year ago!" he laughed, as they entered the completely deserted Great Hall. The ceiling was a light shade of blue with white blotches for clouds peppered throughout. "So, yeah, I'm the reason she couldn't come over to your place for Christmas this year. Decided to introduce her to my family, you know?" he said, sitting opposite to her and Sirius on the Gryffindor table.

Almost instantly, their plates filled with an assortment of delicious food including toasted bread, bacon, boiled eggs, fried sausages, kippers, a whole jar of pumpkin juice and some corn cobs. Having no appetite herself, she wistfully watched the boys chomp down their breakfast like they'd been starving for days.

"I know, I reckoned something important must've come up," she lied, smiling weakly.

Frank nodded, still sporting a sheepish smile and stuffing his already full mouth with more bacon. "So, er, mate," he said, turning towards Sirius this time and lowering his voice down to a whisper for some reason. Isabella looked around curiously at the fully empty Hall, and back at the two boys who were alert as gundogs now. "Did he show up last night too?"

Sirius suddenly looked indignant now. "Yes! At least, James thought we were being followed and you know how sharp his instincts are!" he spat out, looking sicker than ever.

"You've got to be JOKING!" Frank yelled back, looking flabbergasted. "'Cause I've been up all night patrolling the dungeons and I DID NOT SEE THE COOT SNEAKING OUT!" he whisper-yelled, and a sudden sense of horror descended on the two boys.

"Are you telling me he knows about the secret passage under the dungeons, then?" asked Sirius, growing paler and paler than ever.

A form of undiluted fear crossed Frank's eyes. "Mate, I'm not sure..."

Sirius paused in absolute disbelief. "Frank! There's NO other way he could've left the dungeons and still followed us without being spotted!" he hissed through gritted teeth, fully managing to grip Isabella's curiosity now. "James was a hundred percent confident we'd been followed last night and that only means one thing," he said, clenching his fist furiously. "Bugger me. He knows about Remus."

"And he wants him expelled and GONE!" Frank finished, shuddering dreadfully. "What an arsehole..." he exclaimed, sounding too blown away for words.

"WHO ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT?!" Isabella yelled, finally losing all patience.

Frank looked up at Sirius as if asking him if it was safe to tell her, to which he simply nodded. "Snivellus," he whispered at last.

Isabella's eyebrows shot up at once. "Why is Snape trying to get Remus expelled?" she asked, eyeing Sirius curiously. "More importantly!" she yelled, prompting the boys to gesture wildly at her to keep it quiet. "What is he doing SO BAD that could guarantee EXPULSION?!" she hissed.

"We can't tell you," Sirius said flatly and resumed chomping down his breakfast.

Isabella glared at him in disbelief. "Sirius, I overheard Severus and Lily arguing in the library a couple of months ago," she whispered, her voice shaking in contained anger. "It was about Remus," she finished, making both of them jump up in their seats. "He knows something about Remus and he was expressing his desire to expose him and Lily tried to talk him out of it. Yes, Lily knows too!" she shot out, when Sirius opened his mouth in surprise.

"HOW does Lily know?"

"I DON'T KNOW! But, that's not the point! Point is, he could've gone to Dumbledore a long while back with Remus's secret and done him over, but if he's following you to gather more dirt, it only means he suspects something else about the REST of you and wants to expose you all AT THE SAME TIME! So, then, out with it! You three doing something supremely forbidden too that I need to know?" she asked, fire blazing in her eyes.

Frank and Sirius stared at each other as if a fog had finally been lifted. "That gormless little wanker," Sirius cursed under his breath. "This is revenge for when James humiliated him in front of Lily, then, isn't it?" he said, clenching his teeth in anger. "And he DARES to ruin Remus's life?!"

"Sirius, getting expelled means YOUR life is ruined too!" said Frank.

Sirius stared blankly at him. "And that's worse than what could happen to Remus?!"

"What's worse than getting expelled?!" bellowed Isabella, but the boys didn't answer and simply glared at each other, exchanging a million thoughts that she was not at all a part of.

"Speaking of," she started, gritting her teeth in anger, "where IS Remus?"

Frank said, "Hospital Wing," while Sirius said, "The dorm," at the same time.

All three of them froze, a look of horror playing on Frank's face at his mistake—and Isabella could not have been angrier.

...

She didn't know what to feel—or how to feel about all that had taken place this morning as she, Sirius and Frank made their way back up to their Tower and in through the portrait hole. She didn't even remember giving the password when the Fat Lady cursed them all for waking her up so early on this glorious Saturday morning, almost as if all her senses had been numbed temporarily.

She couldn't think at all.

Or see.

It looked like the room was spinning all around her peppered with flurries of anxiety shaking her up every now and then.

And it wasn't about what Sirius and the boys were doing last night that needed Frank, a very well-meaning and well-behaved PREFECT, to patrol the castle corridors and keep watch all night or WHAT sent Remus to the Hospital Wing or why Snape thinks he can get them all expelled (and possibly even thrown into Azkaban) OR the fact that there's a secret passageway under the dungeons that the boys were somehow aware of—no.

It was still all about the kiss.

And her knees almost gave away.

"This is not over," Sirius said, suddenly grabbing her by the arm and completely knocking the breath out of her lungs. "We're not done talking about this, so no stupid decisions, alright?" she heard him say from under a well before Frank dragged him off towards the boys' dorms to get their much-needed sleep.

They slammed the door behind them, leaving her alone in shattering silence.

The rhythmic beating inside of her chest rang in her ears, getting louder and louder with every passing second until her whole body started to sway with heaviness.

And no matter how hard she tried, her mind wouldn't stop replaying the moment when her lips had made contact with his, getting more and more creative than the last; the imagery changed so much, she wasn't even sure if it happened in the first place now!

One time, he grabs her face with only his right hand, another time, he pulls her close with both hands, and yet another time, she herself is hurling her body headfirst towards him, grabbing him by the collar and attacking his face like some sort of a—

"Izzy?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin.

She was looking at her, but not really seeing her because she couldn't shut up the thoughts that were jarring Grunge inside of her head. In all honesty, she knew how important it was to respond to Lily right away instead of standing there shell-shocked in the middle of the Common Room and practically screaming for help in this fashion.

"Isabella Williams, what's happened?" Lily asked, watching her friend looking shell-shocked in the middle of the room, not even realising the wide neck of her sweater had slipped down her left shoulder. "Why do you look like that?" she pressed on.

Isabella didn't respond immediately, allowing the blood to flow into her face and un-blurring her vision once again. She didn't know why or how, but having Lily there seemed to calm her down exponentially…

And before she knew it, she'd taken two swift steps towards her and thrown her hands around her best friend.

"Izzy, what the hell?" she heard Lily say, clearly panicking beyond measure. "Are you alright?" she said, wrapping her hands comfortingly around Isabella. "Did someone hurt you?"

"I've been keeping things from you and Clay, Lily," were the first words she managed to say, still feeling too numb to even cry. "And I can't do it alone anymore…" she sighed, finally feeling her body relax after Merlin knew how long. "And I'm terribly sorry for not—"

"No, we knew," Lily said, still hugging her tight. "We wanted you to come to us whenever you were ready," she said, rubbing her back. "Ever since Christmas, you've been so aloof I almost felt bad for you, Iz. But, surely, whatever this is about can't be as bad if we tackle it together, you know?" she said, finally releasing her and holding her at arm's length. "That's what friends are for... To help you through it, Izzy! Let me in," she pleaded, looking wide-eyed into her face.

The relief that washed through her was almost inexplicable because, she knew from this point on, she didn't have to fight alone—she had Lily sharing the burden.

"Let's take a walk," said Isabella locking her hand in Lily's and dragging her to towards the portrait hole once more.

As soon as the two girls were out of their tower and out of earshot, Isabella turned towards Lily. "Tell me about Remus and I will tell you my secret," she said, instantly managing to drain all the colour from Lily's face.

"Wh—About Re-Remus?" she stuttered, shifting uncomfortably on the spot. "What's that got to do with any of—"

"He's in the Hospital Wing, Lily," said Isabella. "And by the looks of it, Snape is trying to out him, so I need to what you know."

"Severus?!" she yelled. "Why is he...? But I thought I asked him to... How do you know that...?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me."

The two girls stared into each other's faces, knowing fully well that the outcome of opening this can was going to send them on a whirlwind down the drain.

"Okay, fine!" Lily finally gave in, "But!" she said, putting her hands out decisively, "What I tell you now shouldn't reach Claiborne's ears..." she said, both of them thinking the on the same lines. "Not till she's ready."

Isabella nodded grimly, mentally crossing her fingers for Claiborne.

And the rest was history.

Isabella, much to her HORROR, learnt for the first time ever that Remus was a werewolf, that Lily had known since their second year after she'd researched about Lyncanthropy for fun, and that, she was in complete awe of James for embracing Remus despite this fact whilst turning a questionable shade of red in the face as she said it.

Lily learnt that Sirius has cursed blood, that he's probably the direct descendant of Gryffindor and that all this somehow relates to the whole world coming to an end if he united with his Pair for the seventh time according to the legend (and Isabella's stomach did an instantaneous somersault as she said it).

Isabella also learnt in the scheme of things that Lily and James were at their awkward worst at the moment, not knowing what to say or where to look when they bumped into each other or found themselves alone in a room, making Lily wonder if their friendship had finally ended, prompting Isabella to point the absurdity of the statement, asking if there really HAD been any friendship there to begin with.

Oh, also, Isabella learnt that the mind-reading journal that Remus had got Claiborne for Christmas had caused quite a ruckus outside the girls' bathroom when the beautiful Nabirye Eesuola, a seventh-year student, accidentally read a page when Claiborne was calling her a 'self-involved, shallow seacow.' Apparently, Claiborne surprised Lily quite a bit when she very bravely called Eesuola a 'slag' to her face when confronted, which eventually resulted in the very public catfight.

The two girls were so engrossed in the conversation, they hardly noticed the sun shining down on them or the empty grounds sloely filling up with students excited about getting their first break to Hogsmeade.

Still laughing and wiping the tears off her face and having completed their second round around the lake, Lily looked at Isabella and frowned a bit. "There's something else you're not telling me," she said.

Isabella froze in mid-laugh and looked at her even as the morning's events flashed before eyes making her stomach squirm guiltily.

It had been one of the strangest mornings in Hogwarts history for Isabella. Little did she know that when her alarm clock woke her up at 4 o'clock this morning, she was merely an hour away from getting kissed by Sirius Black, two hours away from learning that the Marauders were not just idiotic pranksters but LEGIT outlaws of the third kind, and three hours away from lying to her own best friend about the first incident. She didn't understand why she wasn't telling Lily. Maybe she didn't want her to think she cheated on Ryan or worse, if she thought she was better off with Ryan, but she was sure she was going to regret the decision quite a lot in the future.

"Nothing else, Lily," she said, without even blinking.

"Oh, alright," she sighed, buying into her lie entirely. The buzzing from the castle in the distance had a strange kind of hum to it, one only Hogsmeade can bring about. Looking up nervously, she said, "That leaves us with Severus."

Before Isabella could so much as nod in acknowledgement, a distraction arrived in the shape of Hagrid, their gamekeeper. He looked immensely pleased to have run into two of his favourite fifth-years from Gryffindor.

"Lov'ly mornin', innit?" he roared happily, striding his large body towards them and carrying a great big spade on his shoulder as if he had just shoveled up the pumpkin patch. "Perfect weather ter help 'em hatch!" he said, grinning broadly and looking happier than usual.

"What's hatching, Hagrid?" asked Lily, walking up to him.

"Ah, yeh must see 'em, dear! The teenies' lil blue eggs ye'll ever see an' they're about ter hatch into beautiful lil magical Sea Horses!" he said, gleaming down at them in joy.

A wide smile broke out on Isabella's face as she beamed with excitement at this news. "Oh, how wonderful!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Oh, I can't wait to drop by your hut and watch them hatch, Hagrid!" she cried excitedly, making him chuckle with pride. Isabella had always been mighty fascinated with animals and creatures from both the Muggle and the Wizard world, and oddly, really, really appreciated Hagrid's choice of beasts!

"Ah, yeh know yer always welcome, Izzy!" he grinned back, but his smile vanished almost immediately, as if he'd suddenly remembered something very important. "Oh, er, an' I hope yer don' tell Filch abou' these eggs, by the way," he said, looking as guilty as a child with candy. "He's er... He's a bit snarky terday ever since he caugh' that Black boy smgglin' the bunch o' Dark Objects..."

A streak of panic ripped through Isabella as she and Lily exchanged glances, aghast at the very least.

"One wouldn' want ter get inter Filch's bad books now, would we?" Hagrid continued on, smiling defensively.

"Which Black, Hagrid?" Lily asked timidly, making him freeze in horror this time.

Blinking rapidly, they watched him smack his own head in frustration. "Oh, er, no un!" he stuttered, flailing his massive hands agitatedly. "Nuthin' happened!" he screamed, failing miserably at covering up his own tracks.

"Merlin's beard, Hagrid, was it Regulus?!" Isabella yelled. "Is he in trouble?"

"Blimey, I shouldn've!" he roared, absolutely mortified at his mistake. "Oh, fer the love o' Merlin's over-sized knickers, I hope yeh don' repeat tha' ter anyone! I did not tell yeh nuthin'!" he added with a growl, trying to sound as intimidating as possible but unfortunately for him, it only made Lily that much more stubborn.

"Hagrid, please, this is about our friend!" yelled Lily. "Are you ABSOLUTELY sure it was a 'Black'?" she asked, but Hagrid had already turned around to escape the scene. "Regulus is only thirteen, you know?" she yelled after him, making him stop dead in his tracks. She ran around his massive frame to stood in front of him, looking determined as a buck in rut. "Do you actually believe that that little boy tried to smuggle Dark Objects into the castle?!" she cried, sounding reasonable enough to make even Dumbledore seem like a pathetic idiot!

"Oh, he did alrigh'!" Hagrid growled back, forgetting that he was divulging confidential information yet again. "The boy's in big trouble, BIG! Four pieces o' innocent-lookin' artifacts tha' Dumbledore believes is actually very dangerous! Poor boy, none can blame 'im, yeh know? His family's li' tha'! All them purebloods..." he said, shaking his head in absolute disgust.

Lily glanced at Isabella, this time looking positively terrified at what she was hearing.

"But... But... Hagrid, how did he try and smuggle them in?" asked Isabella, running up to them as well.

Hagrid looked like he was torn between wanting to tell them everything and not wanting to break the teachers' code at the same time.

"Look, Hagrid, I've known Regulus all my life! He's almost like my own brother and I need to know what he's got himself into!" Isabella pleaded , but trying to keep her voice calm at the same time. "I promise, we won't do anything stupid!"

"I dunno 'bout tha', Izzy," said Hagrid, worriedly scratching his big mane-like hair. But looking down at the eager eyes of the two girls, he decided to finally give in. "Oh, alrigh'! I'll tell yeh, but no monkey business, understood?" he asked, wagging his massive finger at them. When the two of them eagerly nodded their heads, he put his spade down and moved close to them lest they'd be overheard. "He tried ter get them in through the Vanishing Cabinet in one o' the secret rooms up in the castle," he said, lowering his voice dramatically.

Isabella and Lily looked stunned.

"Poor boy, must'ah used the spell wrong, 'cause Dumbledore claims the Cabinet is now officially broken..." he said, feeling pitiful for Regulus.

"When did this happen, Hagrid?" Isabella asked, trying to ignore the squirming in her stomach.

"Around 4 o'clock this mornin'."

"How many students were out of bed last night?" Lily grated, annoyed at this new rule-breaking culture.

"Hagrid," said Isabella, cutting Lily's rants in short, "d'you know what these objects were?"

Hagrid scratched his head once again trying to recall what he'd seen. "Well, one was a ship in a bottle, one was a miniature chess board, a tiny Wiggentree inside a circular terrarium case and the last one was... oh yeah, a dagger."

Isabella looked at Lily, her mind racing. "Whoever was behind this must be stupendously mad that the Cabinet is broken..." she said even as a deadly silence took over.