Author's Notes

Hey everyone! Another chapter for you, again I'm trying to stick to less than 10k words now, but the next chapter might get close again.

As always, a big thank you to everyone who has read, favourited, favourited, followed and reviewed! It means a huge amount to know so many of you like my work, I can't believe we have nearly 500 favourites on this story and nearly 700 followers. It is way beyond anything I thought this story would gather but I am grateful to each and every one of you!

Please continue to review if you like my work, I love all the reviews even if you have criticisms, I like to see what everyone's opinions are. Even if its just to say you think my writing is awful, I want to know why and what I could do to improve so please keep it up!

Reviews

Griffin Blackwood – Yes its very sad I know, but Tom targets people who interact with Harry, he wants the suspicion on the Boy-Who-Lived so that he can see how he reacts. A big motivator for Tom is seeing what makes Harry tick, what is the boy who defeated Voldemort like.

PanFafel – This is down to a few things. Honestly, I struggle with the points system and am winging most of it so that's on me, but as you mentioned I haven't seen a good system for it yet either. McGonagall and Flitwick did demand repercussions "off screen" and his detentions with Snape will not be all that fun despite his favouritism towards Slytherin. Snape is a pure Slytherin, he believes in cunning and planning which Malfoy showed none of. So, Malfoy does have a proper punishment don't worry about that. As for the dragon tooth/potions incident, it is near impossible for Harry to prove who did it and at this point he just doesn't have the anger to do so.

I don't want to spoil it but no Tom is not the Fulgomancer that Dumbledore is talking about. Although Harry and Tom have some similarities like being Parselmouth's, Harry is actually proving to be more similar to another wizard Dumbledore knew (and feared).

Thank you, I am glad you love my fic!

Guest – Thank you, I do struggle with how to implement certain parts of the books/Canon and some bits just won't happen. However the hut scene is important for the story and not enough has changed yet that the Ministry wouldn't try to save face by arresting Hagrid.

FoggyMindOfMine – No. Harry's eyes were damaged by powerful dark magic and equally powerful ritualistic magic, even as an Animagus he won't be able to see normally. However, he will likely still be able to use his Fulgomancy. Also Harry MAY become an Animagus in this fic, its not set in stone yet but if he does it won't be a magical super-form that makes him invulnerable, it will be a reflection of his animalistic, primal side.

Mizzrazz72 – Lucius Malfoy is such an underused character, I love Jason Isaacs portrayal but I think they could have done so much more with him. This is a wizard who served in Voldemort's inner circle, fought against Mad Eye Moody and Aurors for years, and then orchestrated a defence so that he was seen as not only innocent but a victim by the end. Lucius Malfoy is a Slytherin of the highest order.

Spicyanimechick – Thank you! I hope you like this chapter as well!

Love Faith Embers – Thanks I'm so glad you liked it, I hope you like this chapter as well!

Chapter 19

The Daily Prophet was quick to praise the Ministry for their arrest of a "suspect" in the attacks at Hogwarts, but those within the school felt no relief at the news of Hagrid's arrest, especially when news of Dumbledore's removal broke. The ex-Transfiguration professor may have been over a century old but his presence in the caste had been a source of comfort to many. Knowing that the man who defeated Grindelwald, seen by many as even more dangerous than Lord Voldemort for his near-conquest of Europe, Africa and Asia, was ready to defend the castle and its inhabitants allowed most of the school to believe that they were safe despite the petrification's.

Now that the aged warlock was gone, the fear that filled the school was palpable, a tense atmosphere that snuffed any laughter and extinguished every smile, not even the Weasley Twins were exempt; the brash and jovial boys decidedly subdued in the following days. That it had been a Pureblood who was attacked, and one from a fairly well-respected family, had shifted the attitudes of the house of snakes as well. Their belief that they would be safe from their patron's heir was ruined when they realised that so far both victims had been descended from prominent Pureblood families; the Abbott's could trace their lineage back further than many of their own families and Luna's mother had been a Rookwood before she married.

Despite all of this, Harry had actually found a spark of hope. He had a clue. Hagrid's words had stuck with him, so along with feeding Fang and walking him around the Lake once a day with Kyrre flying overhead, he now devoted at least an hour a day to researching spiders in the Library. Every book he could find in the Braille section that even referenced spiders, he read with a hunger. He had learned a lot about arachnids over the past few days, both magical and mundane species, some of it was useless but there was the occasional nugget. Of particular interest to him was finding that there were several species of magical spider, but the most dangerous were the Acromantula; giant man-eaters that hailed from the jungles of Borneo. Hagrid had mentioned that there was a "small family" of the creatures in the Forbidden Forest, at the time it hadn't meant much to Harry but after reading some of the entries on them, he was very glad he had never come across them on his walks along the edges of the forest. They could grow to immense sizes, their webs were extremely strong, their venom could paralyse but only temporarily, the effect would normally fade within a few days, and their senses were excellent. They were apex hunters and only their remote home and their habit of killing and eating their siblings prevented them from expanding beyond their territories in South America.

One tome he found was written by a poacher from the 19th Century, the man had been a regular attendee of a magical creature arena where various beings were pitted against one another. While the writer was not a nice man, he was an expert on magical creatures and, amongst his derisive comments on half-bloods, he had noted down an entry on the one time an Acromantula had been brought into the arena to fight.

'The only time I was able to witness a live Acromantula in the arena, it was to fight a Griffon in Rookwood's pit. I put five Galleons down on the Griffon, I had captured plenty of the beasts by that point and knew firsthand their ferocity. The Griffon in question was young and underfed, but I still expected it to triumph over an overgrown spider with ease. The descriptions I had heard of the Acromantula did not do it justice. Twenty feet tall, it towered over the Griffon. It was barely a fight, the monster leapt across the pit in a single bound. At least sixty feet across and it took barely a second. I have seen Dragon's roast wizards and devour them whole but watching that hell-spider hunt … it will remain with me for the rest of my days.'

There wasn't a great deal else about Acromantula that he could find, but he did learn a lot of ways to keep spiders out of a home. It was odd that there were spells to create clouds of citric acid specifically to repel insects, but he had developed a habit of trying to master every spell he came across in his readings even in his first year. The twenty minutes of practice was immediately made worth it when he realised that he could cast the spell in Terry's direction and then watch in amusement as the boy tried to figure out where the eye-wateringly strong smell of orange and lemon had come from.

"I'm telling you Harry, I reckon you must have misheard him, there aren't any spider's than can petrify." Terry was insistent that Harry was wrong about Hagrid's parting words, after a second week of researching the eight-legged critters Terry and Susan had both all but given up hope on the clue.

Neville had joined them for a few sessions in the library, but his talents lay more with flora than fauna. After hearing about a species of magical spider from Greece that was known to implant its eggs in its victims, let them escape until the eggs hatched three days later and the spiderlings ate their way out from the victims, well Neville had instead given them each a cutting from a Witch-Hazel that repelled arachnids and then not joined them again.

"I know what he said Terry, it's a piece of the puzzle I'm sure of it, we just need to figure out how it relates to Slytherin and the Chamber." Harry argued as they made their way out of the Library after another fruitless research session.

"Either way, I think we've read every book that the Library has on spiders Harry. None of them have gotten us any closer to finding out who attacked Hannah!" Susan clenched her fist around her bag's strap as she sniffed, she had taken her fellow Hufflepuff's attack especially hard. "I'm sorry boys, I think I'm going to skip dinner and just head down to the common room. I'll see you tomorrow."

Harry nodded sadly as the normally bright and joyful girl turned away in the direction of the Grand Staircase, joining with the flow of other students leaving the Library.

"You heading down to walk Fang?" Terry asked as Harry led the way down to the entrance hall. "You mind some company?"

"Not as long as you promise not to attack Kyrre again." Harry laughed as Terry sputtered his denials.

"I did not attack her! The ruddy bird was on my pillow when I woke up, all I did was push her off."

"She's just curious that's all. Now be nice, she's waiting outside for us." Harry side stepped to avoid the limping Professor Kettleburn as he led his class in, though he did receive a nod of greeting from the gruff man. He had only shared a few words with the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, the man had wanted to check that Harry was looking after Fang properly and had asked Harry several questions before judging him not likely to kill the poor dog.

The path down to Hagrid's house was fairly empty and they walked down in a comfortable silence until there was a gentle caw and the sound of feathers rustling in the wind. Harry did his best not to grin at Terry's flinch as Kyrre alighted on his arm, instead greeting her with a whisper and a brush of his fingers across the back of her head. He had brief moment of dizziness as strange sensations and feelings flashed across his mind, Kyrre's method of communicating was jarring at first but he had grown used to it and could tolerate the process without losing his sense of awareness.

"Yes we are going to walk Fang, just around the lake." Harry snorted as another impression brushed across his mind. "No Terry won't be swinging any more pillows at you."

"I'm telling you it was the bloody bird's fault!" Terry argued.

He quietened down as Kyrre flared her wings and took off to circle above them, her ability to communicate was limited by distance but it had grown stronger. When he had first met her she could only send impressions and sensations from a few feet away, only a week later and she could manage it from twenty feet, though the messages became less distinct the further she was.

Fang was curled up in front of the fire in Hagrid's hut when they found him, he had several of Hagrid's shirts bundled up around him and he whined pitifully when they opened the door. He had not taken Hagrid's absence well, but they were able to entice him out of the hut and out onto the path around the lake.

They had only gone a hundred metres down the path when Terry let out a yelp and jumped backwards in shock, nearly knocking Harry over as he did.

"Hell's bells Terry, what was that for?" Harry asked as he steadied himself with his cane, the end sinking slightly into the soft earth.

"Sorry mate, just wasn't expected a bunch of – oh that must have been what Hagrid meant!" Terry pointed at the path, just ahead of where he had been walking.

At first Harry didn't notice anything unusual but when he focussed his awareness more closely, he was able to detect…something. No, lots of somethings. A line of insects, two or three thick and several dozens long was moving across the path.

"Follow the spiders?" Harry repeated as he turned his focus in the direction the little arachnids were marching, towards the Forbidden Forest.

"How much do you trust Hagrid?" Terry asked only half-joking as he took a few steps in the direction of the thick forest's edge.

"With my life." Harry answered without thinking.

"Good because the army of spider's has come to an end, if we're gonna follow them it needs to be now." Terry pointed ahead again and Harry didn't need to focus to know that his friend was telling the truth, now that he knew what the march of spiders felt like in his awareness he could also sense the end of the line had reached them.

"Oh bloody hell." Harry raised his hand to his mouth and, remembering Hagrid's impromptu lesson when he had learned about Kyrre, he let out a piercing whistle. In only a few seconds, Kyrre had descended to land on his arm again. "Please go to Professor Flitwick and let him know that me and Terry are following a lead about the Heir, if we're not back in a few hours then we're in the Forest."

Kyrre cocked her head before she nodded once and took off, flapping hard in the direction of the castle.

"Good idea that, come on then!" Terry led the way into the forest, with Harry following a little behind as he did his best not to trip on roots and uneven ground. Fang let out a mournful whine before he too followed, sticking close to Harry as they ventured deeper and deeper into the thick woods.

The previous times Harry had walked in the Forbidden Forest, barring the detention in his first year, had all felt relatively safe. He had always been with Hagrid and the man had a reputation as a friend to the residents of the forest, they were never bothered on their short walks as Hagrid pointed out the odd plant or particularly brave creature that would show itself to them. The half-giant's knowledge of the forest and its inhabitants was mightily impressive, and with him the forest had felt welcoming and magical.

Without him, it still felt magical but the welcoming atmosphere was absent. Now it was an old and bitter magic that filled the woods around them, as they walked deeper and deeper the sensation of being watched by unseen eyes, the prickle on the back of the neck as hairs stood on end, grew stronger. Where before, the tall trees and wide canopies had felt protective and comforting, now they felt oppressive, like the jaws on a trap about to snap shut.

The gap between Terry and Harry had grown slightly during their efforts to follow the spiders, but as night fell and a chill began to leech into the air, Harry found Terry waiting for him by the edge of a gap in the trees.

"Good news and bad news mate." Terry chuckled nervously as his eyes darted around them. "I've lost the spiders trail, but I'm fairly sure I know where they've gone."

"Okay so where then?"

Terry shook his head and walked up to the gap in the trees, stepping close to the edge as the ground beyond seemed to drop steeply. Harry joined him and with a push, extended his awareness out ahead of them. They were stood atop a small hillock and past them was a drop before the trees continued, but stretched between each and every tree were strands. Some seemed to be as thin as hairs, others nearly as thick as Harry's finger, but all were woven into complex nets and webs that shrouded and encompassed all of the trees and ground for at least two hundred metres. Beyond that, he couldn't tell but it didn't matter.

"He did say to follow the spiders." Terry muttered as he let out another nervous laugh.

"I knew there some here, but I didn't think they would be this close to the castle." Harry shook his head as he focussed on the web covered area ahead of them. The thickest of the webs had traces of magic in them, flickers of greens and browns, and they formed strange shapes among the trees. It took a few moments but he recognized one of them, it was an old rune he had read about in Spellman's Syllabary, one used by Druid's of Britain, though it didn't look exactly the same as the one he had read about. It made sense though, the Druid's had learnt their runes from magical creatures so of course the creatures themselves would be able to use them in some way.

"I'm going to try something, be ready to run just in case." Harry whispered to Terry who nodded, he didn't seem to need much encouragement for that.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Terry asked as Harry pointed his wand at the nearest cluster of webbing, still a good thirty feet down and away from the edge they were stood on.

"I'm going to knock."

With a breath and a thought, a wave of magic rolled out from his wand to brush up against the webs. The primitive rune closest to them shivered and that shiver ran along the webs, much like when he had knocked on Percival's wards. The sound was new though, like a taut string that had been plucked, the vibration built and built until suddenly it stopped.

The silence that followed was deafening as Harry did his best to hear or sense anything moving or responding from the area ahead of them. At first there was nothing, but after a few minutes a sound began to echo around them. A faint chittering. Then the vibrations, like someone had taken a tuning fork to the ground beneath them, it trembled and shook in pulses and waves. Harry had to take a few steps back from the edge as loose earth and stones fell tumbling down the side to rest against the closest of the webbing. The vibrations lasted a minute before they stopped.

When the first enormous leg stretched out from behind the webs, Harry almost thought it was a tree moving. Thick, black and hairy it reached to just out of the webs before settling against the ground near silently, an impressive feat for something of its size. The next came more quickly and an enormous head followed it, eight eyes each the size of Harry's own head and below were two smaller appendages that twitched and moved in the direction of Harry and Terry.

The drop from the edge Harry was stood near was nearly twenty feet of not quite sheer earth, but even with that drop the massive spider's head was level with them when it finally spoke. It's voice was low and rasping, like wind blowing over sand, the ground vibrated with each word and Harry absently realised that the vibrations from earlier were likely it trying to communicate from within its nest.

"WHO DISTURBS ME AND MINE?"

Terry let out a choked whimper but stood firm behind Harry, his wand gripped tight in his hand. Harry didn't think it worth mentioning that there wasn't any chance they could defeat this creature with their magic. Fang seemed surprisingly unconcerned by the appearance of the Acromantula, but he was sniffing the air and looking past the massive spider anxiously.

"We are sorry to disturb you, we were told by our friend Hagrid to come here." Harry explained as he did his best not to think about everything he had read about Acromantula and how deadly they were.

"HAGRID SENT YOU? WHY HAS HE NOT COME HIMSELF?"

"He has been…taken away, the Ministry think he has something to do with the attacks. With the Heir and the Chamber of Secrets." Harry couldn't help but take several steps back at the monster's reaction to his words. Legs the size of trees slammed into the ground, gouging great furrows in the earth as the Acromantula raged, a dreadful vibration thrummed through the earth as it did so.

"DO NOT SPEAK OF THE BEAST! HAGRID WOULD NOT HARM YOUNGLINGS, IT IS NOT HE THAT CONTROLS THE MONSTER!"

"We believe you, we just want to find out why he has been taken, why do they think it's him behind the attacks?" Harry felt Fang bump into his leg as the boarhound growled lowly in the direction of the web-covered trees.

"WHEN HAGRID WAS IN THE CASTLE AS A YOUNGLING THERE WERE ATTACKS. THE CHAMBER WAS OPENED. THE MONSTER UNLEASHED. A GIRL DIED AND THE SCHOOL WAS TO BE CLOSED. THEN I WAS DISCOVERED. HAGRID SAVED ME AS AN EGG AND RAISED ME IN THE CASTLE. THEY BLAMED ME AND EXPELLED HAGRID. I FLED HERE AND THE ATTACKS ENDED." The Acromantula actually shrank inwards slightly as it spoke of it's history, trembling in fear or anger Harry wasn't sure. "BUT I DID NOT ATTACK THE GIRL. HAGRID FED ME RATS FROM THE DUNGEONS, I NEVER ATE HUMAN FLESH. THE MONSTER STILL RESTS BENEATH THE CASTLE."

It was a lot of information to absorb but it made sense as Harry turned it over in his mind, Hagrid had a different idea of what was a safe pet to have and they had already ruled out Acromantula venom as the cause of the petrification's, although seeing the size of the specimen in front of him, Harry suspected its venom could well paralyse for several days at the minimum.

A part of him wanted to ask more questions but as Fang growled again and Terry grabbed his arm, he noticed the disturbances at the edge of the Acromantula nest that had his companions worried. Dozens of spiders had gathered at the edges of the silken forest, most were only as large as a dog but there were several that looked to be at least the size of a horse and all of them were tapping the ground with their legs. Several books mentioned that spiders communicated using vibrations, it made sense that Acromantula would do the same.

"Okay well thank you very much, we'll be sure to tell Hagrid who helped us when we next see him but we had best be going." Harry called out as he began to step backwards, the smaller Acromantula grew more agitated as he did so and he had a sinking feeling that if they didn't leave immediately they would end up strung up in webs themselves.

"I AM SORRY YOUNGLINGS." The colossal spider actually did sound somewhat regretful as it slowly retreated towards its home, the spiders around it chittering and stamping excitedly as it did so. "MY FAMILY DO NOT HARM HAGRID AT MY COMMAND. HE HAS PROVEN HIMSELF A MIGHTY HUNTER. BUT I CANNOT DENY THEM FRESH MEAT WHEN IT COMES SO WILLINGLY TO OUR HOME. I WILL ALLOW YOU A FAIR CHANCE TO FLEE BEFORE THEY BEGIN THE HUNT BUT THEY ARE HUNGRY AND THEY ARE QUICK. GOODBYE FRIENDS OF HAGRID."

As the last long leg of the Acromantula disappeared behind the curtain of webs, the smaller spiders began to tap their feet and hum. The vibrations shook the ground and the trees around them, the whole forest coming alive with their unholy chorus as the vibrations grew louder and louder.

"Run!" Harry shouted as he turned and pushed Terry onwards, they had been given a head start and against these monsters they couldn't afford to waste it.

Terry and Fang sprinted ahead with Harry doing his best to keep up, he held his cane in his hand not bothering to hold it out, he was more likely to trip up or lose it than anything else. As they ran the vibrations followed, the trees around them groaning and humming in a terrible melody. Nothing Harry had read had detailed how to defend against Acromantula, mundane spiders and a few other magical species had weaknesses, but Acromantula were Wizard-killers. They were not meant to be fought, they were to be avoided, observed only from a very great distance.

Harry wasn't sure how long he stumbled through the trees for, it felt like an age, but his lungs were burning and each breath hurt as he staggered forward. Up ahead Terry was also struggling, he had slowed to a shambling walk as he heaved in breaths, and all the while the ground beneath them shivered, the trees humming in anticipation.

"This isn't going to work Terry, quick grab Fang and come here." Harry half fell to the ground among the thick roots of one of the enormous trees, he couldn't sense any Acromantula within fifty feet of them but with how fast the things could move, they would surely be upon them soon.

"Harry you better have a plan that's more than just hiding next to a tree mate." Terry gasped out between breaths as he crouched next to Harry and wrapped his arms around Fang to hold the slathering boarhound in place.

Harry did have a plan, it relied on the Acromantula being more similar to mundane spiders than they were suspected of being, but after seeing and hearing how they used vibrations to communicate, he had a strong hope that it would work. Despite the fear of being found any moment, he took a few slow breaths to try to settle his mind and his racing heart.

"Vox locum obruo" He would need to remember to thank Professor Flitwick, the enchantment that prevented sound escaping their room in the Charms corridor also stopped vibrations, because what else was sound but vibrations in the air. He just had to twist his understanding of the spell slightly, when he had practiced it he had only ever pictured the spell affecting stone walls and a wooden door, now he needed it to quieten soft earth and living trees around them. It took a few seconds longer but he felt the magic settle into place around them as the tree they were huddled beneath stopped its faint humming, falling still and silent.

"Mutatio nebula citrum" He hadn't expected to need to use this transfiguration any time soon, apart from messing with Terry it had very little practical use but if the Acromantula were anything like normal spiders, they would hate being anywhere near the heavy cloud of citric acid he was creating around them. It was a tricky spell and even as he finished creating a thick fog of the citrussy air around them, the first Acromantula entered his awareness.

It should have been something of a relief to at least know where the monsters were, but as he felt them climbing across the boughs of trees a dozen feet away, the only feeling he could summon up was a deep-seated dread. There was a primal part of his brain that recognised the creatures approaching as predators, and every instinct in his body was telling him to run far far away from them. He did his best to quash the urge to sprint screaming away, knowing that he would be caught within a few steps by the apex hunters that now surrounded them.

One of the spiders crawled slowly down a nearby tree, tapping the earth with its front legs as it descended to the forest floor. It made no noise as it moved its hulking body across the soft ground, only putting weight on a leg when it was sure there would be no sound, no snapping twig or crunching leaf. It slowly crept closer and closer to the now extraordinarily fragile looking tropical cloud that surrounded their hiding spot, the only barrier between it and a juicy meal was heavily scented air and the fact that it could not feel that they were there. Harry was relying on what he had read; most spiders despite their eight eyes had very poor eyesight, they could see movement, but fine details were difficult for them. Although Acromantula were magical, they could well have excellent eyesight and as the spider inched closer, its fangs unfurling, Harry began to doubt his plan.

However, as the spider reached the edge of the cloud and extended one of its long hairy legs into it, the reaction was immediate and quite satisfying to Harry. The fine hairs that covered the spider's legs had begun to burn and shrivel, the black chitinous shell beneath them seemed unblemished by the cloud but the loss of the hairs on its leg was enough to send it scrabbling backwards, keeping its now hairless leg curled up beneath its body. The reaction wasn't quite what he had expected, but he knew that the hairs on spider's bodies were not for warmth, they were connected to the spider's sensory system and were extremely sensitive, having them burned up would be immensely painful and the use of the citric acid would overload the chemical sensors in the hairs before they burned up.

"The hairs are used for sensing changes in temperature, air movement and chemical changes around them. The citric acid will overload their senses and burn the hairs, like squirting lemon juice into a cut inside your nose but a hundred times worse." Harry explained to Terry as he pointed his wand towards the far side of the group of spiders that now surrounded the injured one. "Mutatio lignum. Animato fugo"

The cracking of twigs echoed through the forest as a short spindly figure made from a cracked branch began to stagger away from the gathered spiders, crunching through dry leaves and brush as loudly as it could. The Acromantula immediately followed, the unearthly chorus of chittering and vibrations picking up as they renewed their hunt. The injured Acromantula left followed at a slower pace, although it eyed their direction malevolently as it did so.

"Mate you are kind of scary sometimes." Terry muttered as the trees around them began to settle, the hunt moving away from them as the animated stick figure led the predators as far as it could. The magic holding it together would fade after twenty minutes or so but hopefully it would be long enough for them to get out of the forest. Harry decided not to respond to Terry's comment, instead grabbing his arm before he could walk through the lingering mist around them.

"Hold on, it won't hurt that much but it will definitely burn your hair off if you walk through that, I made it about a thousand times more concentrated than the one I cast on you for a joke." Terry took a small step backwards and shook his head.

"Scary mate, very scary."

"Ventus." A gentle wind carved a hole in the cloud, and it quickly separated, the magic holding it together broken to leave a sweet-smelling breeze the only trace it had ever existed. "Right come on, we need to get back to the castle before curfew, unless you fancy sleeping out here with them."

"That's not funny Harry."

Although the Forbidden Forest had answered a few of his questions, the most important ones still eluded him. They were no closer to finding the Heir or the Chamber, and Hagrid's trial had been delayed due to 'administrative demands'. The only light on the horizon was that the petrified students would be revived in a few days, Professor McGonagall had announced that Snape was almost finished with his restorative over breakfast and now the castle was filled with excited chatter. Harry was pleased that the petrified students would be revived soon, though not as pleased as Susan who was elated at the prospect of having her best friend back. The now cheerful Hufflepuff was planning to collect notes on all the lessons Hannah had missed for when she woke up, her and Neville were both meeting in the library to work on it.

Unfortunately, Terry and Harry would be unable to help, both of them had encountered a furious Professor Flitwick when they returned from the forest, and both had detentions for the next week with the usually cheerful Charms master. Thankfully, he had accepted their fabricated stories and believed that they had not found anything in the forest, likely believing that they would not have returned unscathed if they had. So far they had each been instructed to arrange feathers by the number of barbs on each, teacups by weight and most recently, crystal balls by their roundness. They had inevitably been incorrect in their arrangements so far and Harry was beginning to realise that Professor Flitwick had a devious streak in him when it came to punishments, it wasn't as torturous as Professor Snape's were reported to be, but they were immensely frustrating in their own right.

As Harry and Terry stepped out of the Charms classroom and began to head towards their common room, Professor McGonagall's voice echoed through the corridor and all around them.

"ALL STUDENTS REPORT TO YOUR DORMITORIES IMMEDIATELY."

The door behind them opened as the echoes faded and Professor Flitwick stepped out, pointing to Harry and Terry when he spotted them still stood there.

"Get to the common room, now." He instructed as he turned and raced in the direction of the main staircase, leaving them in the charms corridor.

For a brief moment, Harry almost followed him, but then the image of a giant spider its fangs dripping with venom flickered across his mind and he dragged Terry the opposite way, towards the other end of the corridor and the stairs that led up to the third floor.

"What do you think is going on? Do you think its another attack?" Terry whispered as they ascended the stairs and then cut across to the shortcut behind the painting of the sleeping monk, it was well known and well used for getting to a corridor just a few minutes from the Ravenclaw Tower.

"I don't know but it can't be good if they're sending us all to our dorm rooms, last time they did that it was for the Troll." The mere mention of the lumbering Ogroids was enough to send a shiver down Harry's spine, he still had the occasional nightmare about the towering Troll from his first Halloween at Hogwarts.

They were almost to the stone guardian of the Ravenclaw common room when the sound of wet squelching footsteps echoed on the stone floor behind them as a small girl rounded the corner and skidded to a halt at the sight of them. She was short with long hair and was gripping her wand in one hand and a book in the other, Harry didn't recognise her as a Ravenclaw and tensed slightly. He didn't point it at her, but he carefully retrieved his wand and held it loosely by his side as she opened her mouth to speak.

"S-sorry I was sent by Professor McGonagall for H-Harry Potter?" She explained with a minor stutter and a heavy blush as she spoke his name.

"Professor McGonagall wants me? Why? I thought we were meant to go to our dormitories?" Harry asked, his suspicions were somewhat alleviated by the knowledge that if it was a trick, he could defend himself against a first year.

"I'm not sure, she just sent me to fetch you and take you to her and then I'm to go to the Gryffindor common room as well." The girl looked nervous and leaned in towards them before she added. "I think there's been another attack, I heard another Hufflepuff girl was petrified near the bathroom on the second floor."

"What?!" The girl stepped back at his shocked outburst, afraid of his reaction and it took several deep breaths for Harry's panic to settle. If another Hufflepuff girl was attacked, what if it was Susan?

"Okay lead the way, Terry you better head back into the common room, I'll let you know what's happened when I get back." Harry pushed Terry towards the waiting stone eagle, and he reluctantly nodded his head, muttering an answer to the eagle's riddle and stepping past it into the tower.

"So where are we supposed to meet Professor McGonagall?" Harry asked as the first-year girl led him down the corridor and towards a tall suit of armour stood in front of a tapestry. At a whispered word, the suit of armour bowed to the girl and stepped aside, lifting the tapestry to reveal a hidden passageway behind it. Harry resolved to find out the password for this secret passageway, the few he had found so far were tremendously useful for navigating the castle.

"The second floor, in the bathroom, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick should be waiting there for us." The girl stepped through a seemingly solid patch of stone wall and as Harry followed, his wand held aloft and ready to defend himself, he stepped out into … an ordinary corridor. Although they were now two floors down and halfway across the castle despite only having walked for twenty seconds in the secret passageway. Definitely one to remember.

The door to the bathroom was closed when they arrived but the girl seemed unsurprised, she pushed open the door and led Harry inside before it closed slowly behind them. Instead of Professor McGonagall waiting for them, the bathroom was empty apart from some puddles around the sinks and a few wet footprints leading to the closed doors.

"I thought Professor McGonagall was meeting us here?" Harry asked as he moved slightly further into the bathroom, expanding his awareness as much as he could for any signs of an ambush. So far there was nothing, the usual enchantments that filled the school and the girl were the only things in the room with him.

"That's what I was told yes." The girl stepped closer to the sinks and inspected her reflection in them for a few moments as Harry continued his wary examination of the room.

There was something strange about this room, maybe it was paranoia taking hold but something about the sinks wasn't right, the enchantments that threaded through them were almost entirely green and red. Not the green and red he was used to from the rest of the school enchantments either, this was a deep green, almost like his own magic, and a dark blood-red. It was only a small difference, the rest of the enchantment looked identical to the rest of the castle's magic and despite his lessons with Castamir, he couldn't decipher the meanings of the enchantments nor translate their runes. It was well beyond his current ability, but it still raised his suspicions further and as he turned to warn the girl to step away from the sinks she struck.

"Open!" The shock of hearing parseltongue from the girl slowed his reactions just enough that as he raised his wand, he didn't have time to cast before the doors behind him shot forward to collide with his back. He barely kept a grip on his wand and cane as he felt himself be forced forward and down as the sinks separated to reveal an open tunnel leading down into the depths of the castle.

Whatever was down there would be bad, of that he was certain but as he cast a transfiguration at the wall of the tunnel to create a platform, the spell struck against the stones and washed away across the enchantments embedded in them.

"What is going on here?!" Echoed from above him as he fell tumbling down the nearly sheer tunnel, bouncing and rolling down the smooth stone. He scrabbled for a handhold, a jutting stone or a crack he could grip to slow himself, but the tunnel was perfectly smooth and there were no flaws he could exploit.

The last thing he heard from above, before the sound of grinding stone drowned it out, was a male voice crying out in pain and a vicious cackle that triggered faint memories in his subconscious, buried deep.

A flash of green.

A woman's scream.

Darkness.

END