There was a brief stunned silence in the stands before Ron broke it. He crowed, "I freaking called it! Pay up!"
The Gryffindors burst into raucous cheers as they spotted the shiny new broom in Harry's hands. Madam Hooch shot the Firebolt a brief admiring look, before clearing her throat, "Wood, Davies, shake hands."
The two captains shook before mounting their brooms. Harry kicked off into the air and the Firebolt zoomed higher and faster than any other broom. It shot off the ground so quick, that he was very nearly unseated. Right off the bat, he recognised the problem, his plan to keep the broom a secret came at the cost of valuable practice time to get used to the speed.
He gripped the broom tighter and soared around the stadium, beginning his hunt for the Snitch. The good news was that Lee Jordan and Murphy McNully hadn't noticed his early struggles. The two were far too busy chattering and fanboying over his new broom.
Lee jabbered, "They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor."
McNully replied, "That's right Lee! According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship. If I'm not mistaken, about 45% of the teams will be purchasing one-"
McGonagall's exasperated voice cut in, "Jordan, McNully, "would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?"
"Right you are, Professor — just giving a bit of background information — the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and —"
"Jordan!"
"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor heading for goal . . ."
Harry half-listened to the commentary, and continued testing his broom. He gave it an acceleration test, speed test, manoeuvrability test and more. The demigod also noticed that Cho Chang was trying to tail him. He saw her pushing the limits of her own broom, while he was barely at top speed. Then a wicked idea formed in his mind and he allowed her to tail him.
Suddenly, he abruptly checked the broom's stopping ability, brake-checking Cho at the same time. The Anglo-Asian girl nearly smacked into his back, but dodged at the last second.
Later on, she got her revenge by cutting across him and forcing him to change direction. The Gryffindor Chasers were already on the scoring board, but Harry had his own problems. Cho had evidently figured out that this was his literal first time on the Firebolt. So she resorted to making a nuisance of herself.
Just then, he spotted the Snitch lurking close to the ground, flitting near one of the stands.
He promptly plunged into a steep dive, Cho tore after him but was too far behind. Harry clutched his broom tightly as he poured on more speed, excitement flooding him. He was ten feet away and could just taste victory within his grasp.
Suddenly, a Bludger came pelting out of nowhere and heading straight for him. He grit his teeth, 'Not this time!'.
With that, he executed a half barrel-roll, allowing the iron ball to fly harmlessly above him. Cho swerved to avoid it, and by the time the two righted themselves, the Snitch had vacated it's spot.
The Gryffindors let out a great "Ooooooh" of disappointment. Lee continued babbling, "Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn — Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision-balance is really noticeable in these long —"
His fanboying was interrupted by McGonagall yelling, "JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY OR MCNULLY WILL BE THE COMMENTATOR FROM NOW ON!"
The Ravenclaw team used this time to mount a comeback, scoring three consecutive goals. Once more, Harry had his eyes on the Snitch, but decided to hang back. Cho went off to search for the Snitch on her own and Harry tailed her. She went in the complete opposite direction, not that Harry was going to tell her that. Occasionally, he turned his head back to keep an eye on the Snitch. Just then, he was forced to swerve as she brake-checked him and shot him a cheeky grin. In the background, he heard Wood roaring, "HARRY! THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A GENTLEMAN! KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!"
By then, the score was 120-50, and that was when he decided that the fun and games were over. As they hovered in the air, he glanced at Cho again, and noticed her eyes widen and her face paling. She slowly pointed a trembling hand and stammered, "W-w-what's that!? I thought they all left."
He smirked at her, "Nice try, Chang. I've seen that trick in the movies, far too many times."
However, the crowd's audible gasp proved to him that she was not lying. He turned and spotted some familiar dark figures on the ground staring at them. Instinctively, he grabbed his Celestial Bronze wand and bellowed, "Expecto Patronum!".
To everyone's utter shock, a large white wispy blob burst from his wand and he was a little disappointed that the shape was not recognisable. However, to Harry's own horror, the Patronus did nothing. Then he spotted something about the Dementors, one had a hint of pale blonde hair peeking out. He turned back to the trembling girl and raised his hands placatingly, "False alarm. It's just some idiots' sick idea of a prank."
Her eyes focused and then burned with rage before she calmed down and a wicked smile plastered itself on her face. She spoke, "Want to give them a scare?"
In unison, the two of them dived for the figures, trying to buzz them. Cho swooped in, a few feet from the figures' heads. However, Harry dipped even lower, causing one of the 'Dementors' to flail and topple down, bringing down the other two. The hoods flew off, revealing Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy and three members of the Slytherin Quidditch team.
The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws roared in fury, the Hufflepuffs booed, and more than half the Slytherins were facepalming. Harry spotted the Snitch a few meters ahead, glanced at Cho and quipped, "Back to business. Race you!"
He accelerated, as did Cho. He was winning, gaining on the Snitch with every second. He was nearly there. He stretched out the hand still grasping his wand in the other, and just managed to close his fingers over the small, struggling Snitch.
On cue, Madam Hooch's shrill whistle sounded. Harry turned around in mid-air and saw six scarlet blurs bearing down on him; next moment, the whole team was hugging him so hard he was nearly pulled off his broom.
Down below he could hear the roars of the Gryffindors in the crowd.
"That's my boy!" Wood kept yelling. Alicia, Angelina, and Katie had all peppered Harry's cheeks with kisses; Fred and George had him in a grip so tight Harry felt as though his limbs would break.
In complete disarray, the team managed to make its way back to the ground. Harry got off his broom and looked up to see a gaggle of Gryffindor supporters sprinting onto the field, Ron, Hermione and Neville in the lead. Before he knew it, he had been engulfed by the cheering crowd.
"Yes!" Ron yelled, yanking Harry's arm into the air. "Yes! Yes!"
"Well done, Harry!" said Percy, looking delighted. "Ten Galleons to me! Must find Penelope, excuse me —"
"Good for you, Harry!" roared Seamus Finnigan.
"Ruddy brilliant!" boomed Hagrid over the heads of the milling Gryffindors."
Then, Harry remembered Malfoy and his ilk, and pushed everyone aside. The sight that greeted them was absolutely glorious. The six guilty Slytherins tried to desperately wriggle out of the large black robes, while McGonagall stormed towards them with fury etched on her face. Snape followed her, and he looked just as pissed as the Deputy Headmistress.
She shouted, "An unworthy trick! A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"
The Gryffindor tsunami steadily made its way back to their Common Room and the party began. Fred and George vanished for a couple of hours, only to return with a crate full of butterbeer, pumpkin fizz and loads of Honeydukes Sweets.
The party lasted pretty much all day, until an irate McGonagall turned up at one in the morning to yell at them to go to bed. Sheepishly, they all went to bed in their respective dorms.
Nearly a couple of hours later, Harry's eyes snapped open. He heard some shuffling around in his dorm room and a low growl. The growl grew closer and that was when he acted. Quicker than the eye could blink, he seized his hunting knife from under his pillow and flung it in the direction of the growl.
There was a loud thud and louder swear, before a scream from Ron's bed ripped through the dorm room. Then there was a loud ripping sound and a large figure bolted out of the room. By then, every boy in the room had woken up. Seamus' sleepy voice called out, "What's going on?"
On cue, the dormitory door slammed open and Percy Weasley entered in his pyjamas, clutching a lamp. He called out sternly, "Who shouted? What's all the noise?"
Ron's frantic voice rambled, "Greyback! I saw Fenrir Greyback!"
Percy looked alarmed, "What?"
Ron gesticulated wildly, "Here! Just now! I heard a thudding sound! Woke me up!"
All the boys were ushered down to the Common Room in the chaos. By then, the girls had also joined them.
"You sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?" asked Dean warily.
"I tell you, he was here!"
Percy retorted, "Preposterous! It must have been a nightmare!"
"I'm afraid it wasn't a nightmare, Mr. Weasley", Professor McGonagall was back and she was as white as a sheet. She pointed to the portrait of Sir Cadogan, where the canvas had been ripped by five large gashes. The knight himself was on his knees and moaning, "I've been bested."
McGonagall cleared her throat, "Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?"
He wailed, "Yes milady! He didn't have a password, so I naturally challenged him to a duel. Sadly, I was bested, and was forced to let him pass."
Sirius was called and he investigated along with McGonagall. The only thing that they could find was a chunk of clothing that was pinned by a hunting knife. Sirius carefully pried off the knife from the wall, turned it back into a earring and pocketed it. He sniffed the patch of clothing and spoke, "Yep! Definitely Greyback's. Will have to take it back to the Ministry for further analysis."
Just as he was leaving, he stealthily passed Harry's earring back and whispered, "Good shot."
Harry congregated with Ron, Neville and Hermione. The terrified girl asked, "Are you three okay?!"
Harry whispered, "I was actually the first to realise that he was in the room. I'm a light sleeper and I've started sleeping with a knife under my pillow. Almost got him. Ron, that thudding sound you heard was probably my hunting knife."
Neville whispered, "Why did you need to sleep with a knife under your pillow?"
"Whenever I'm out with the Hunters, most nights, we're camped in the woods. Now, a bunch of demigods in the open forest with monsters lurking around, you do the math. We're always light sleepers, so that we don't get attacked by monsters in our sleep."
Ron nodded, "Yeah, that makes sense."
No one else had a lick of sleep that night, and the next morning, the security was tightened. Professor Flitwick was spotted teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Fenrir Greyback; Filch was suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes.
Meanwhile, Sir Cadogan had been relieved of his duty. His portrait had been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat Lady was back. She was understandably extremely nervous, having heard what happened to Cadogan. So she agreed to return to her job only on condition that she was given extra protection. A bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to guard her. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs.
Meanwhile, Ron was busy recalling the tale, though he tried to spin it around to make himself the hero. Harry was only too happy to let him take the credit, all the better to keep his demigod status a secret.
That morning, a letter arrived for Harry. It was from Hagrid, saying that he wanted to meet them and discuss last night's events. Later that day, after classes, the four of them went with Sirius to Hagrid's hut. Over there, they briefly talked about the attempted break in. Harry also revealed that he attacked Greyback and forced him to flee.
For the next couple of weeks, no students ventured out alone. Gryffindor in particular, always moved in one large group before smaller clumps broke off to enter their respective classes.
One day, Harry and Ron trooped up the stairs for their Divination class. Together they climbed the ladder into the dim, stifling tower room. Glowing on every little table was a crystal ball full of pearly white mist. Harry and Ron sat down together at the same rickety table.
The redhead grumbled, "I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term."
Harry whispered back "Don't complain, this means we've finished palmistry. I was getting rather tired of her constantly harping about my burden, whatever that is."
Just then, Trelawney shuffled in and the class quietened down. Her misty voice spoke up, "Good day to you! I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I had planned. The fates have informed me that your examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you sufficient practice."
She continued, "Crystal gazing is a particularly refined art. I do not expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's infinite depths. We shall start by practicing relaxing the conscious mind and external eyes. So as to clear the Inner Eye and the superconscious. Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of you will See before the end of the class."
Then she shuffled off to look at another table's crystal ball. Ron leaned over and murmured, "Man, I'm kind of glad that Hermione isn't here. I reckon she would've scoffed at this and stormed off in a huff."
They both choked down their laughter and the class continued as normal. All the while, Harry and the others kept shooting pitying glances at a mortified John Silvertongue.
The Easter holidays soon arrived and it was far from relaxing. The exams were rapidly approaching and the workload had increased. As the Third-Years studied in the Common Room as one big group, Harry quipped to Hermione, "Bet you're glad that you didn't follow through with that hare-brained plan to take all the Electives at the beginning of the year."
Lavender, Seamus and Parvati's heads snapped up with abject horror. Seamus whisper-yelled, "You were going to take all the bloody electives! Madness! We know you're brilliant, Hermione, but taking all the electives, is insane!."
She meekly confessed, "Y-yeah. I see it now. I thought I could handle it, but Katie talked me out of it. Now, I see her point. Anyway, what's the incantation of the Porcupine to Pincushion spell, again?"
Unfortunately for Harry, he also had to deal with a hyperactive Oliver Wood. This was his last year at Hogwarts and word in the corridors was that there was a scout from Puddlemere United who was going to attend the final game. Apparently, their Keeper from Ireland had announced that he planned to retire after the Quidditch World Cup in a few months' time.
At each practice, Wood badgered Harry, "So you must catch it only if we're more than fifty points up. Only if we're more than fifty points up, Harry, or we win the match but lose the Cup. You've got that, haven't you? You must catch the Snitch only if we're —"
An exasperated Harry yelled, "I KNOW, OLIVER! I ALSO KNOW ABOUT THE SCOUT! DON'T WORRY!"
The small mercy was that the remaining games of Capture the Flag were over. Gryffindor had made mincemeat of Hufflepuff and barely got beaten by Ravenclaw. Turned out, the Weasley twins were carrying the flag when they got caught up in a trap sprung by Tulip Karasu and Zenobia Noke. By the time Nelly Oggspire grabbed it and sprinted for their Common Room, Ravenclaw's Andre Egwu had built up a lead and made it back, two seconds before Alicia. As a result, Ravenclaw became the first champions of Capture the Flag.
Coming back to Quidditch, the build-up to the game was pretty electric. Slytherin were leading, and Gryffindor had to win against Hufflepuff to beat them. If Hufflepuff won, it would not have been enough to beat Slytherin.
By the time the holidays were over, tension between the Gryffindor and Slytherin was at the breaking point. A number of small scuffles broke out in the corridors, culminating in a nasty incident in which a Gryffindor fourth year and a Slytherin sixth year ended up in the hospital wing with leeks sprouting out of their ears. Hufflepuffs often came over to break the fight and heal the Gryffindors.
On one occasion, Harry was even jumped by six Slytherins while rounding a corner. Fortunately, he had learnt the art of pankration from Clarisse and defeated all of them with his bare hands. When Wood found out, he congratulated him for protecting himself, but still ordered him to move around with a few bodyguards. Katie even cast a few Anti-Jinx spells on his Firebolt.
The day of the match dawned bright and early. Wood gathered the team and they discussed strategy against the Hufflepuffs. By then, the rest of the House had trickled down. After exiting the Fat Lady's portrait, the entire House surrounded the team, as if to protect them from any jinx or hex.
Luckily, there were no incidents from there to the Great Hall. As they ate, the Hufflepuffs slowly made their way to them and wished them luck. The captain had insisted that they highly disapproved of the Slytherins' actions, as that was not in the spirit of the game.
Soon, everyone was out on the Quidditch pitch and the captains performed the customary handshake. After mounting their brooms, Madam Hooch blew the whistle and they were off in the air.
Lee Jordan began his rapid fire commentary, "And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Hufflepuff goalposts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no — Quaffle intercepted by Chauncy. Wow! Chauncy passes to Philip and he is really tearing up the field — WHAM! — nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Philip drops the Quaffle, it's caught by — Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina — nice swerve around Dunn — duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger! — SHE SCORES! TEN–ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"
Just like that, the game was on. Harry and Cedric Diggory flew around each other, just watching the game and waiting. Katie managed to score two more, before the goals began to dry up. Wood pulled off a string of fantastic saves, keeping Gryffindor in the game. At one point, Harry spotted Dunn making a play for goal. She aimed and flung the Quaffle to the left of Wood. Harry noticed that with its trajectory, the Quaffle would be just out of Wood's reach but in line with the goal.
Coming to a decision, Harry rocketed towards the Quaffle, pretending as though the Snitch was in the same direction. The ball deflected off his back into the waiting hands of Oliver Wood. As he flew past his Keeper, Oliver gave him a salute and punted the Quaffle towards Katie. She passed the Quaffle to Alicia, who managed to score, making it 40-0.
All the while, Harry performed a few dummy runs, fooling Cedric each time. The game of cat and mouse carried on for some time, while the battle around them raged fiercely. Just then, Alicia and Katie scored a goal each, while Chauncy finally put Hufflepuff on the board. Locking his focus on the Snitch, which was hovering just above the grass, Harry shot downwards. Cedric reacted immediately, but the Firebolt proved its mettle as the fastest broom.
The Snitch made a break for it, but Harry bore down on it at breakneck speed. Everyone in the stands watched with bated breath as Harry went for the divebomb. The ground rapidly approached as gravity did its work. Diggory followed right on Harry's heels, but soon pulled away, but Harry kept going. The grassy pitch loomed bigger and bigger, until he levelled out a few inches from the ground, and with an outstretched hand, he swiped the Snitch.
Right on cue, Madam Hooch's whistle blew shrilly, but was soon drowned by a roar from the grandstands. Then Wood was speeding toward him, half-blinded by tears; he seized Harry around the neck and sobbed unrestrainedly into his shoulder. Harry felt two large thumps as Fred and George hit them. Alicia, Katie and Angelina also slammed into them, followed by Robyn, who mounted her own broom and joined the group hug.
Tangled together in a many-armed hug, the Gryffindor team sank, yelling hoarsely, back to earth. Not a moment later, a crimson tidal wave descended upon them and swallowed them up. Gryffindor supporters poured over the barriers onto the field. Hands were raining down on their backs. Harry had a confused impression of noise and bodies pressing in on him. Then he, and the rest of the team, were hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd. Thrust into the light, he saw Hagrid, plastered with crimson rosettes — "Yeh beat them, Harry, yeh beat them! Wait till I tell Buckbeak!"
There was Percy, jumping up and down like a maniac, all dignity forgotten. Professor McGonagall was sobbing harder even than Wood, wiping her eyes with an enormous Gryffindor flag; and there, fighting their way toward Harry, were Ron, Neville and Hermione. Words failed them. They simply beamed as Harry was borne toward the stands, where Dumbledore stood waiting with the enormous Quidditch Cup.
As he was being carried over to Gryffindor Tower, he hollered to Katie, "Bloody hell! This reminds me of the time Sirius took me to Old Trafford when Manchester United won the Prem for the first time! Thought the roof was going to be blown off!"
Celebrations lasted well into the night, until McGonagall forced them to go to bed. Unfortunately, that was the only time they got to celebrate, because June approached and the final exams drew closer. Everyone got serious and Hermione even formed a study group among the Gryffindors.
Even Fred and George Weasley had been spotted working; they were about to take their OWLs. Percy and Oliver were getting ready to take their NEWTs, the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, so he needed top grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy, and gave very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common room in the evenings. Oliver also had to study because the Scout told him that he needed at least four Outstanding marks in order to make it into the Puddlemere United squad.
Exam week began and an unnatural hush fell over the castle. The Third years emerged from Transfiguration at lunchtime on Monday, limp and ashen-faced, comparing results and bemoaning the difficulty of the tasks they had been set, which had included turning a teapot into a tortoise. Hermione irritated the rest by fussing about how her tortoise had looked more like a turtle, which was the least of everyone else's worries.
Just like that, more and more tests fell on the students' heads. On the first day, Professor Flitwick tested them on the Cheering Charm, Snape ordered them to brew a Confusing Concoction, and Hagrid tested their knowledge on kelpies at the Black Lake. Safe to say, he and the students got a bit of a surprise when Harry's kelpie approached him immediately and began nuzzling him. It even took him for a lap around the lake. Astronomy was the last exam of the night and Harry was able to identify most of the constellations.
The next day was History of Magic, Herbology, Mortal Studies and Defence Against the Dark Arts as the penultimate exam. Professor Lupin set up an obstacle course outside in the sun. The students had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing a Grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, squish their way across a patch of marsh while ignoring misleading directions from a hinkypunk, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new boggart.
Harry made short work of the Grindylow and the Red Caps. He also ignored the Hinkypunk and relied on his tracking skills. When he faced the Boggart though, Scylla greeted him once again. Harry had a minor flashback to the real Scylla, but fought down his initial terror. With a bellow of Riddikulus, he turned the sea monster into a snail.
Meanwhile, Ron was doing fine until the Hinkypunk directed him into a bog. Neville did decently, until the Boggart Snape showed up and he shut down immediately. As for Hermione, she was close to rivalling him until she reached the trunk with the Boggart. A minute later, she staggered out in tears. As he comforted her, she blubbered about Professor McGonagall failing her and sending her back to First Year.
The final exam for Harry was Divination. He and Ron trudged up the stairs to the seventh floor. In the classroom, he slotted next to Parvati who told them that Trelawney was seeing everyone separately. Soon, they sat and waited until their turn came. Ron went up and when he returned he groused, "Rubbish! Couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff up. Don't think she was convinced, though..."
Finally, it was his turn and with shaking knees, climbed up the ladder. The tower room was hotter than ever before; the curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made Harry cough as he stumbled through the clutter of chairs and tables to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for him before a large crystal ball.
"Good day, my dear," she said softly. "If you would kindly gaze into the Orb. . . . Take your time, now . . . then tell me what you see within it. . . ."
Harry bent over the crystal ball and stared, stared as hard as he could, willing it to show him something other than swirling white fog, but nothing happened.
"Well?" Professor Trelawney prompted delicately. "What do you see?"
He carefully gazed in "Er —, a dark shape . . . um . . ."
"What does it resemble?" whispered Professor Trelawney. "Think, now . . ."
Harry squinted and then spoke hesitantly, "Some kind of scorpion-like creature."
"Indeed!" whispered Professor Trelawney, scribbling keenly on the parchment perched upon her knees. "My boy, you will face several enemies. Your heritage speaks for itself, and the danger isn't over. Thank you, you may go."
Harry got up to leave when a familiar green mist wafted across the floor. He whirled around to see some of the mist waft into a stricken Trelawney's mouth and she spoke, "The time is close at hand! The Crooked One is steadily rising. So many players will play a vital role in the struggle ahead. Death lies ahead and two shall be snuffed out!"
Professor Trelawney's head slumped forward onto her chest. She made a grunting sort of noise. Then, quite suddenly, Professor Trelawney's head snapped up again. She dreamily murmured, "I'm so sorry, dear boy. The heat of the day, you know . . . I drifted off for a moment. . . ."
Harry wisely chose not tell her about what happened. Five minutes later he was dashing past the security trolls outside the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, Professor Trelawney's words still resounding in his head. People were striding past him in the opposite direction, laughing and joking, heading for the grounds and a bit of long-awaited freedom; by the time he had reached the portrait hole and entered the common room, it was almost deserted. Over in the corner, however, sat Ron, Neville and Hermione.
They looked at his freaked out face and gathered around him. Ron asked, "What's up?".
He breathed, "I think Trelawney just gave a real prophecy! Said something about the Crooked One rising. Mentioned many players playing a big role in some kind of conflict. But the worst part is, she said that two people might die."
They walked out and headed to the Great Hall. When they reached, they saw some frantic activity by the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. Spotting Sirius and Remus there, they shifted closer out of curiosity. They heard a tearful Penny frantically say, "I don't know Mr. Black, Professor Lupin?! She said she was just going to the courtyard for some fresh air. But that was two hours ago?"
Harry nudged Susan's shoulder, "What's the matter?"
She turned to him and spoke, "It's Chiara. She's missing. We don't know where she's gone. Auror Black suspects that she may have been kidnapped by Greyback. So far she's the only one missing."
He pat her back sympathetically, "I hope she's found. I trust Uncle Sirius. I'm sure he'll find her."
At that moment, Sirius and Remus took him aside to a corner of the Great Hall. Sirius said, "Listen kiddo, I've got a horrible feeling that Greyback's got the Lobosca kid. Tonight's going to be a full moon, so Remus is going to be with me. Who better to fight a werewolf than another werewolf. There's me also, I can take him in my Animagus form. Do you want to tag along? I saw the Prophet the other day and saw a tiny snippet in the Animagus Registry section. Old Fenrir won't know what hit him."
They ventured out into the Courtyard to begin their investigation, as that was the last place where Chiara was seen. For five minutes, there was no sign of her. However, Harry spotted something on the ground near the fountain. It was a small note and it read, "Shrieking Shack, 10PM tonight. Bring Potter or there will be a new addition to the werewolf population."