Foreshadowing the Past

Chapter 32

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." - Henry De Bracton

The Chameleon Cloaks arrived three days after Connor sent the order with the money they had pooled together. The deliveries came to the common room as requested, and so there were no suspicious teachers to ask pesky questions about a large order from the infamous joke shop. Ivy had also sent an order of her own, and it took two very large owls to deliver the package that she received in reply. Both packages were accompanied by a note from Fred and George Weasley asking for the details of their prank once it was all over, making them all grin when they read it. When the Connor asked Ivy about her own delivery, she simply said that it was for the April Fools day prank that they were going to need to pull to throw anyone who was suspicious off of the scent of their real plans, and that she was still working out the details.

As it was Saturday, it was very difficult to find a vacant spot on the grounds to practice the spells that Rachel had decided they needed to learn before their sojourn into the Ministry in just nine days. They had improved on the stunning spell, and moved on to the full body bind. Today, though, it seemed that the entire population of Hogwarts was out on the grounds or milling about the common room, forcing them to take an unwanted break from their 'studying'. They were sitting under the large beech tree again, a large hamper of food (procured from some obliging house elves) in front of them, watching as some fourth year girls flew multicolored kites in the air over the lake. The kites changed color as they floated on the breeze, and were really quite pretty to watch as they munched on apples and biscuits and talked quietly.

"Well I did some reading on magical law enforcement," Rachel told them quietly. She had already looked carefully around for signs of known eavesdropping devices, and found none. "And Quentin is right. If they were to try to expel us, we'd have a very good case against it, because the law wasn't broken on school property, and the rules that we'd break here wouldn't be severe enough to warrant expulsion."

"Are you sure about that?" Connor asked anxiously.

"Almost positive," Rachel confirmed. "In fact, I think that we can count on it, since Connor's and my parents, and Ivy's dad, all did pretty much the same thing back when they were at Hogwarts, and none of them were expelled. I don't know how, or even if, they were punished otherwise."

"That was the night Sirius Black was killed in a duel with Bellatrix Lastrange," Connor said. "What could be worse punishment than that?"

"Well none of us are going to be killed on this trip," Rachel said firmly. "Because there's not going to be a battle, and so we're probably going to end up being punished in one way or the other if we get caught. Now from what I've read, be could be summoned to a hearing, which would most likely take place at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, in the Head's office. From there they would decide if any further action was warranted."

"And if we're found guilty?" Ivy asked. Suddenly the sandwich she had been eating seemed much less palatable. "What would happen to us then?"

"I think that it would depend on the severity of the crime," Rachel said. "If we just get caught in there, but we haven't hurt anyone, stolen anything or committed any vandalism, we might get off with a simple trespassing charge. Then again, this is the Department of Mysteries we're talking about here; if we see something we're not supposed to, they may actually modify our memories."

They looked at each other uneasily. Memory modification didn't sound like a very pleasant thing to endure. "What's the punishment for trespassing?" Connor asked.

"Well I haven't found any guidelines for how they might punish a minor for it," Rachel said. "An adult found guilty could end up in Azkaban for up to six months, or be given as little as a month of community service."

"Six months in Azkaban!" Quentin's eyes were as round as saucers.

"Yes," Rachel confirmed. "But that's for an adult. We would never be sent to prison. And if we're successful, and we end up actually catching Mrs. Tillman and preventing her from escaping, we may actually be rewarded. There was a reward for her capture twenty years ago."

"Or at least we may not get punished," Zack said practically.

"Maybe not punished by the Ministry," Ivy said. "But I reckon my parents won't be as forgiving."

"Nor mine," Quentin said.

"Look, guys," Connor said for what felt like the hundredth time. "You don't have to come with me! You'd all be better off staying here!"

"I'm going," Rachel said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"I am too," Quentin confirmed.

Ivy and Zack looked unsure, and the others didn't press the issue.

"Well coming or not," Connor said to them all. "You can all help me get ready. I still have to learn the binding spell so that I can tie her up, and I think that Rachel is right about trying to tackle the silencing spell, in case Mrs. Tillman starts shouting or whatever. We'll need time for you guys to get away after we catch her, and before any of the security wizards show up."

They spent the rest of the day fine-tuning the plan to get into the Ministry and find the clock room in time. By nightfall, Connor was sure that they had planned for every possible contingency, and he tried to calm his nerves by playing chess with Aiden just before bed. He was unsuccessful, as the other boy kept up a constant barrage of questions about what Connor and the others were planning, and what they had received from WWW. Still, when he finally retired for the night, he lay awake in his bed worrying, and hoping fervently for more dreams that might give him a better idea of what to expect at the Ministry.

However, his dreams did not cooperate that night, nor for any of the nights that followed. The next week was a busy and stressful one for all of them as they practiced spells, went over and over their plan obsessively, made copies of the map of the ministry, all on top of trying to keep up with their homework. They had also taken their new chameleon cloaks outside to test them for effectiveness, as a sort of trial run before they actually needed them. At least they had been pleased with them, and felt confident that they would actually come in handy. It had not escaped any of their notice, either, that Professor Lupin had taken to watching them speculatively, as if he could read their minds and knew what they were planning.

Finally, March thirty first arrived, a sunny, if somewhat windy, Tuesday. Aiden was driving Connor mad at lunchtime with demands to be let in on their secret. Ivy, fearing that Connor might actually use his newly acquired stunning skills, pulled Aiden into a seat with their group, and let gave him an 'assignment' to help them with their prank. Aiden grinned widely as he listened to her plan, and agreed to meet them all in the common room at seven o'clock the following morning. Connor had actually been impressed with Ivy's plan, and they had all quickly agreed that it was mischievous enough that others would believe that it was what they had been planning all along, but not so horrible that they might be severely punished for it if they were identified as the guilty culprits of the prank, somehow.

Connor was feeling particularly jittery, and had found it nearly impossible to eat a proper lunch. It wasn't until Defense Against the Dark Arts class that he forced himself to pull his head together. Professor Lupin had been watching him keenly all through another practical lesson on dueling, and finally snuck up behind him in class and murmured, "What are you and your friends up to, Connor?"

Connor had nearly jumped put of his skin, making the professor chuckle merrily. "Nothing!" he said too quickly, making Zack glare at him in warning.

"Really," Lupin drawled, not missing the subtle looks that Ivy and Quentin were sending at Connor, telling him to calm down and act normal. "So even though you lot have been huddled together in the library and out on the grounds and in the Great Hall for the past two weeks, whispering and poring over a certain map, you're not actually planning anything; say in honor of a certain upcoming holiday?"

"You mean Easter?" Connor asked weakly, knowing that he was a terrible liar when it came to his uncle.

Remus Lupin snorted inelegantly at Connor's response, and let the matter drop with a simple, "I guess I'll find out soon enough."

'Poring over a certain map,' the professor had said. He must have seen them looking at the map of the Ministry and assumed that it was the Marauder's Map! He was now more grateful than ever that Ivy had come up with a good plan for April Fools day, to throw everyone off the scent.

Finally, after dinner, Connor settled himself down at a table in the common room to do his History of Magic essay on the giant wars of the 1200s, and tried desperately to focus. He did not know how he was going to make it through his classes and Quidditch practice tomorrow without cracking, and wondered if he should eat some fever fudge around lunchtime for an excuse to skive off of his classes. With his luck, a raging fever would only draw unwanted attention from Professors Lupin or McGonagall, and he'd find himself with a bed in the hospital wing, with the matron hovering over him.

Knowing that he would not have the opportunity tomorrow to work on any homework, Connor mentally shook himself, and finished his essay, then pulled his Herbology book forward to get started on the assigned eight inches of parchment on the care of Venomous Blood-Pod plants.

"I just hope I'm around to hand them in," Connor thought pessimistically as he set to work.

It was past midnight when Connor finally dragged himself up to bed, hoping he would be able to sleep, nervous as he was. He lay down and closed his eyes, and it felt as though he had only been in bed for a few minutes before Zack was shaking him awake.

"Come on, Con," Zack was saying with a yawn. "It's almost time to meet the others."

Connor groaned into his pillow before rolling out of bed and sliding sleepily to the floor.

Ten minutes later, Connor, Zack and Quentin had joined Aiden and the girls in the common room. Aiden was pacing impatiently, and Ivy was carrying the large box that she'd had delivered from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. The common room was pretty much deserted, as most of the students who were awake this early were showering or getting ready for their day to begin. There was no one to witness their suspicious behavior, and so they clambered out of the portrait hole, and set off for the school kitchens.

"Okay," Ivy said when they reached the portrait of the bowl of fruit that guarded the entrance to the kitchens. "You all know what to do, right?"

Everyone nodded. Connor reached up and tickled the pear in the portrait, and it gave a squeaky little giggle before the frame of the picture separated from the wall to reveal the entrance to the cavernous kitchens. There were house elves everywhere, carrying crates full of eggs, long strings of sausage links, huge slabs of bacon, and all sorts of assorted foods that were to be prepared for the morning meal. The long tables that mirrored the ones above in the Great Hall already had some baskets of muffins and breads arranged on them, with charms to keep them warm until they were sent up to the students in an hour's time. There was a huge skillet full of eggs being scrambled, and cauldrons of bubbling porridge cooking over glowing embers in the long fireplace, and a general flurry of activity that made the children's arrival go unnoticed for long enough for Ivy to distribute four bags of pastries to Connor, Rachel, Quentin and Zack. She herself took a small bottle from her pocket and pulled the stopper out before turning to Aiden.

"All right, Aiden," Ivy grinned at him. "Do your thing!"

Aiden returned the grin and pulled a handful of strange round pellets from his robe pocket, then pointed his wand at them and muttered, "Aquula!" A trickle of water shot from the end of his wand and doused the pellets, and then Aiden immediately scattered them in a wide arc over the floor. It was instant pandemonium. Aiden watched with glee as the pellets rolled every which way and blossomed into full-grown, live chickens, which began to cluck and run about in alarm.

"The chickens!" Aiden yelled loudly, causing almost all of the House Elves to spin in fright and stare wildly at the scene before them. Aiden then proceeded to chase the nearest fat hen around as if trying to catch it, thus stirring the others to action.

Ivy nodded to the others, and Connor took his bag of pastries to the furthest table on the left, and, under the pretense of helping to round up the chickens, quickly and efficiently emptied the pastries into the baskets on the table, a few in each one. He looked around to see house elves scattering about in the melee, and noted that Quentin, Zack and Rachel were distributing their pastries at the other tables as well. While all of this was going on, Ivy managed to sidle up to the skillet full of cooking eggs and surreptitiously poured half of the contents of her little bottle inside, then stepped sideways and emptied the rest into the porridge.

Aiden was still causing as much of a distraction as he could; he had a chicken under one arm, and was chasing another while muttering loudly (and brilliantly) about Peeves and his stupid tricks. Connor quickly stuffed the empty pastry bag into his pocket and scooped up a chicken that happened to be running past him. Soon the children had gathered up all nine of the chickens and left the kitchen assuring the elves that Peeves had been the responsible party all along, and that they would return the chickens to the gamekeeper's coop right away.

They hurried up to the nearest door that led outside, and followed Aiden's example by tossing the birds unceremoniously out into the morning air. Connor was very happy to see his captive go, as it had been pecking viciously at his hands, and he asked, "Won't someone notice these things running around?"

"Nah," Aiden said with a laugh. "They'll turn to dust in about twenty minutes. Poultry Pellets from my dad's shop! They're brilliant - no trace of them at all after thirty minutes once activated with just a bit of water."

"Well they certainly did the job," Rachel said approvingly. "Now we need to get back up to the tower so that we can go down to breakfast with everyone else."

The Great Hall was quite full by the time the pranksters arrived and took their seats. The effect of the pastries and the potion in the eggs had not yet become apparent, but it only took about a minute for the fun to start. A girl at the Hufflepuff table gave a loud shriek when her friend suddenly turned into a crow. This was followed shortly thereafter by a Ravenclaw boy turning into a lemur, and a Gryffindor girl becoming a large, shaggy Irish setter. In fact at least a dozen students, including Ivy, had suddenly transformed into some sort of animal, causing the others to laugh uproariously at them. The head table was full of concerned teachers who had leapt to their feet at the commotion, and it only took about eight other students transforming for them to identify the pastries as the cause of the changes. It didn't escape the staff's notice that no one at the Slytherin table had seemed to be affected by the hexed pastries, even though many of them had been eating pastry at the time. Soon everyone who had put a pastry on his or her plate had hastily put it back or dropped it in their haste to avoid becoming an animal.

Once the furor died down a bit, and the laughter began to fade, the students who had become animals began to change back into their previous forms with loud a 'pop'. The Slytherin table, which had perhaps laughed the loudest was just now beginning to realize that theirs was the only table unaffected by the sudden plague, and began to look at each other speculatively. Ivy hid her grin behind her hand as she continued her meal. Breakfast continued on in relative normality, though a little louder than usual as everyone discussed the first of what was sure to be many practical jokes that day.

"Ivy," Rachel murmured as they began to collect their schoolbags and prepared to leave the Great Hall. "You did put that potion in the eggs, didn't you?"

"And in the porridge," Ivy agreed.

"But nothing's happened," Rachel said.

"Not yet," Ivy grinned. "I won't take effect for an hour or so after it's ingested. It's brilliant, because no one will connect it with breakfast right away."

"You do know that Quentin and Connor both ate the porridge, don't you?" Rachel asked with a grin.

"I know," Ivy smiled fondly. "They're really good sports; I almost hate to remind them that we have potions this morning, so when it hits, we'll still be in Snape's class."

Ivy didn't have to remind the boys about where they would be when the potion took effect, however, because Zack beat her to it. Connor and Quentin looked horrified, then simply shrugged and bravely entered the dungeons ten minutes later, trying to act for all the world as if they had no idea as to what was coming. It wasn't until Connor was skinning his Shrivelfig for a sleeping draught that he noticed a change in his skin color, but remained silent as his hands took on a distinctly purple hue. He could hear Ivy behind him, trying to stifle a giggle as she noticed that almost every student in the class was beginning to look very colorful indeed. A glance over to his right told Connor that Quentin was turning an unattractive shade of orange, and the Hufflepuff boy beside him was turning violently magenta.

In fact, there were only four students in the class who were not turning various colors, and Snape seemed to realize what was happening about the same time that his own skin took on a sickly green tone.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded harshly, as students began to exclaim at their predicament and rub uselessly at their skin. But no one had an answer that they were willing to divulge. With a heavy and long-suffering sigh, Professor Snape said, "Well since this ailment does not appear to be causing any pain or discomfort, we will continue this lesson in silence. You will complete your potions, clean up your workspace, and bring a sample flask to me by five minutes to the hour. Your finished product, should you manage to brew it correctly, should be faintly orange, the consistency of honey, and completely odorless."

When Professor Snape said the words 'faintly orange', several people snickered, but quieted immediately under the professor's menacing glare. Connor bit his lip to hide his laughter, and carefully measured out the essence of lavender before adding to his cauldron. He needed to get this potion exactly right, because he was going to be keeping a sample of it himself for later that night. When it came time to fill a flask of potion for examination, Connor was pleased to find that his sleeping draught was exactly as Snape had said it should be, and surreptitiously filled another and slipped it, carefully and tightly corked, into the inner pocket of his robes.

The noise in the hallways was almost deafening as multi-colored students emerged from their classrooms and saw that they were not the only class afflicted. Connor and the others all headed up to the transfiguration classroom for their double lesson, and laughed along with everyone else when they spotted several of the professors looking like a rainbow had exploded over them, discussing how to put the situation to rights.

"In the pumpkin juice?" he heard one of the teachers saying quietly, and slowed his pace to hear what the other had to say.

"I didn't have any pumpkin juice," said Professor Flitwick, who looked cheerful enough, despite his peacock blue skin.

"All I had this morning was porridge." Professor Lyra, the Divination teacher, rubbed firmly at her arm, trying in vain to eradicate the reddish hue it had taken on. She looked like she was suffering from a rather bad sunburn.

"I didn't have any porridge," Professor McGonagall said with as much dignity as someone the color of a daffodil could. "But we must find a remedy to this. I have to be in Edinburgh this evening, and I can't very well arrive like this."

Professor Lupin approached the group with a jovial smile, hands in his pockets, looking completely normal. When questioned, he cheerfully informed the group that he had slept a bit late, and hadn't had time for breakfast. His eyes had strayed to Connor and his friends as he said this, and they quickly fled toward their next lesson.

By the end of their double Transfiguration period, the students had begun to worry aloud about how long they would look like they'd been painted, but Ivy calmly went about copying her homework assignment onto a piece of parchment. As they left the classroom and headed up to Gryffindor Tower, Quentin asked, "How long does this stuff last?"

"Until nature takes its course," Ivy said cryptically.

It wasn't until they had nearly reached the Great Hall that a girl coming out of the toilet exclaimed, "I'm back to normal!"

"If you'll excuse me?" Quentin said upon hearing this. He made a straight line for the loo, and joined them a few minutes later at the lunch table, sans the orange that had clashed so horribly with his silvery blonde hair.

Connor finally realized what Ivy had meant, and excused himself as well. One or two people demanding to know how he had rid himself of the purple waylaid him, but he merely shrugged and said that it must have worn off. He rejoined his friends; just as Ivy was about take a bite of shepherd's pie.

"Wait!" Connor said, holding up a hand to halt her fork's progress to her mouth. He looked toward the head table to find that Professor Lupin was looking at him with a smile tugging at his lips. "Professor Lupin's not eating."

"So?" Zack said, biting into an apple from a bowl on the table.

"So he should be hungry if he missed breakfast," Connor said. "He could be up to something.

"Now you're just being paranoid," Ivy said, but she put her fork down for a moment.

"You don't know Uncle Remus like I do," Connor said suspiciously. "He once snuck in and put makeup on my dad while he was sleeping and let him go to a Quidditch match still wearing it."

Zack and Quentin laughed loudly at this, and Rachel smiled at the memory of her Uncle Harry's shouts when he'd realized it. Ivy stomach growled loudly, however, and finally she just shrugged and said, "If he did do something to the food, how bad could it be? He wouldn't do anything that could actually hurt us, right?"

"I'm not risking it," Connor said firmly, and chose an orange from the bowl of fruit, examining closely before peeling it.

The funny thing was, many of the students were behaving in a similar manner, sniffing their food and examining everything on the table closely before daring to eat. Though still hungry, Connor refused any of the prepared foods, and went to charms class wondering if he could sneak down to the kitchens for something un-tainted later.

Their earlier prank had been a successful one in more than one way. Connor had already made it through a good part of the day without feeling overly anxious about their upcoming escapade. It wasn't until he was sitting in History of Magic class that the butterflies in his stomach returned full force. It didn't help matters at all when a piece of wadded up parchment landed on his desk with a note on it from Ivy. "Zack and I are in." Connor looked up at them, and they nodded back. They were really going to do this.

After class, Connor, Quentin and Ivy headed down to the Quidditch pitch for practice, but their rhythm was way off. Mariah kept glaring at them, and even shouted once when Quentin missed an easy goal through an unguarded hoop. At the end of practice, she warned them that if they had another practice as abysmal as this, they might just be shunted the reserve team to make way for players who could focus. Duly chastised, the boys promised to do better next time, silently added to themselves, 'if there is a next time.'

Though hungry at dinnertime, Connor found that he was too nervous, and too suspicious (Professor Lupin was not eating again) to be able to eat much. He risked a plain dinner roll and some more of the fruit, but didn't trust Ivy's insistence that nothing had happened to her after eating lunch, and that they were probably safe. Most of the other students were back to their normal colors, and were daring to eat their evening meal, but a glance at the innocent look that Professor Lupin was sending him was enough to keep him wary. He knew that Professor Lupin was probably just winding him up a bit to make him paranoid, but Connor's stomach was warning him not to eat too much, as it was feeling decidedly weak at the thought of what they would all be doing in just a few hours.

After dinner, the five of them claimed a table in the common room and set about doing their homework assignments. O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students seemed to have realized that, it being April first, their end of year examinations were very close now, and the room was packed with students who glared menacingly at those who were not studying or anyone making noise. As the clock crept toward ten, there was still a larger number of students than normal still studying, and they began to wonder if they would need to use their dung bombs to clear the room out if everyone didn't begin to turn in for the night.

Much to their relief, Andrew decided to go to bed at half past ten, and all of his friends went as well, thinning the crowd at bit. It seemed that seeing a group of eight students retiring for the night made the other students realize that it was getting late, and more began to pack up their things and slip up their staircases for bed. Fifteen minutes later, Connor and Zack excused themselves and went up to their dormitory, where Andrew was just getting settled for the night. Connor bid the other boy good night as casually as he could, and made a show of getting a drink of water from the pitcher that was always kept in their room. While doing so, he dumped the flask of sleeping draught he had made that morning in potions into the remaining water of the pitcher. He grabbed his toiletry bag from his cabinet and left the room, leaving Zack to do his part.

When Connor returned from brushing his teeth, Andrew could be seen sprawled across his bed, snoring slightly. "It worked then?" he asked Zack, who was watching the other boy sleep with a grin.

"Perfectly," Zack confirmed. "That little thirst charm had him all but tripping over his own two feet to get a drink. He must have drunk half the pitcher before he stumbled over to his bed and crashed out."

"Good," Connor said, feeling slightly guilty. "One less obstacle, then. Snape told up that the sleeping draught should keep him knocked out for at least eight hours, by which time we'll have been long gone - hopefully we'll even be back by then."

Zack nodded, and the boys headed back down the steps toward the common room. As Connor reached the bottom of the steps, Aiden pulled him aside and said quietly, "Listen Connor, I, er, I lost my beater's bat. You know the one my dad gave to me that used to be his? Do you think you could try to 'see' where it might have gone?"

At the stricken look on Connor's face, Aiden laughed and said, "April Fool, Con!" He punched him lightly in the arm and said, "Don't think much of me, do you?"

Aiden walked away chuckling at his final April Fool joke of the evening, and climbed the stairs to the boy's dormitories. He didn't notice that Connor still looked disconcerted, but Connor's mind was reeling. In his dream, it had been Quentin that had said such similar words to him, right down to the punch in the arm; what did it mean that it was Aiden who had actually done it? Granted, he had told the others about how he had known that April first was the date that everything would start to happen, so Quentin was hardly going to bother trying to prank him now, but...it was still unnerving.

"Hey Connor," Zack called to him. "Looks like we won't have to break out the dung bombs after all." He gestured to the now empty common room. "Everyone gone to bed, and its just barley eleven."

"You know it might not hurt to set off a few anyway," Connor said, "To make sure no one comes back down."

"I don't want to sit down here in that stench for a half an hour," Rachel complained.

"I think Connor just likes that smell," Zack teased. "Reminds him of his sweaty Quidditch uniform after practices."

"Oi!" Connor complained, jumping up to grab the taller boy in a playful headlock and ruffling his hair violently.

Zack returned the favor by wrestling Connor to the ground where they started the beginning of a good wrestling match before Rachel intervened.

"Cut it out you two!" Rachel scolded.

"I'm still worried about breaking into Lupin's office to use his fire," Ivy said nervously. "How can we be sure it'll take us to the Ministry of Magic?"

"I told you," Connor said, feeling an immense relief at the deja vu washing over him. The details of his dream were beginning to right themselves, despite the change in who had pranked him. "Lupin's fire is connected to the Floo so that he can get home to the Shrieking Shack every night."

"I'm not sure..." Ivy said.

"Look," Zack interrupted. "Connor has already said that he's going no matter what. I'm not letting him go alone."

"Besides, he's been having dreams for months that we're all there with him, so that means that weo actually get there." Quentin pointed out.

"Yes," Ivy said, "But we still need to be really, really careful!"

"Ivy's right," Rachel said. "Let's make sure we all have everything we're going to need. We won't be able to come back for anything we forget!"

They all made certain that their chameleon cloaks were folded up in their pockets, and that they all had their maps to the Ministry. Zack made certain that the extra items he thought might come in handy were stowed away, and Connor made sure that he had some of the Weasley's Wizarding Whiz Bangs, and his drawing of the round room pocketed. They all made sure that they were each wearing a watch, and that they all read the right time.

They were all beginning to feel anxious now that the time to put their plan into action was fast arriving. Connor had pulled out the Marauder's Map and given it to Quentin, who was monitoring the corridors and Lupin's office. The professor was in his office unusually late tonight, and they had been worried about it until Rachel pointed out that Connor had already 'seen' that he would leave in time, but they were still feeling edgy.

"It's nearly 11:30!" Rachel whispered urgently. "If we want to get there by 2:58, we need to hurry; we have no idea how long it's going to take to find the right room."

Connor was just about to reply, when Quentin looked up from the map and announced, "He's gone! Let's go!"

"What was Lupin doing here so late anyway?" Ivy asked as they all stood from the table where they had been sitting in a shadowy corner of the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Maybe he suspects something," Zack said.

"How could he?" Connor asked, heading for the portrait hole. Things were happening very much along the lines of his dreams, except for a few minor alterations, and now that they had given Andrew a sleeping draught, the way ahead should be clear.

"I hope you're right about this," Rachel said nervously. Connor held up a piece of paper that had a drawing on it that looked like a wagon wheel before stuffing it in his pocket and said, "I've got the directions right here. Now let's go!"

"Go where?"

Everyone gasped in surprise and shock as Victoria Weasley stepped out f the shadowy stairwell from the girl's dormitory and confronted them. Connor looked around at the others wildly, but it was Rachel that took matters into her own hands.

"Tori," she said with a shaky voice. "I'm really sorry about this. Petrificus Totalus!"

Victoria looked stunned an instant before her arms and legs snapped together and her body went rigid. Quentin and Zack hurried to catch her before she fell to the floor, and carried her over to the couch by the fire. Rachel looked upset, and leaned over her cousin and whispered, "I swear I'll explain everything later and you can hex me into next week, but for now we're running out of time. Try to sleep until we can come back and unjinx you."

She spun around and motioned to the others to follow. Ivy stood staring for a moment at the petrified red head, thinking this was eerily similar to the tale her father had told her about when he had caught Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley trying to sneak out of the Gryffindor common room when he was a first year. Hermione had been the one to put her father in the full-body bind back then, and now her daughter was doing the same thing to a fellow Gryffindor so that they could sneak out to do something dangerous. Somehow Ivy doubted that this was going to end with her earning Gryffindor points as it had when her father has been in school.

Ivy, let's go!" Rachel beckoned from the portrait hole. With a swish of her long blonde ponytail, she turned away from Victoria, and followed the others out. None of them noticed a figure in the portrait of the first Gryffindor Quidditch team that was hanging against the far wall disappear from the frame.

The Corridors were deserted, and with the help of the Marauder's Map, they made their stealthy way toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. The door gave way with a simple unlocking spell, and they crept inside. Rachel pulled a jar from her pocket that was full of Floo powder and offered it to Connor. "See you in a minute," she said. "Good luck."

Connor took a generous pinch of the powder, and stepped into the large, empty grate. He threw down the powder and called out, "Ministry of Magic, Atrium!"

The flames rose up green to engulf him, but died down almost immediately, dissipating to nothing. It hadn't worked.

"Oh no!" Rachel said with wide eyes. Professor Lupin's Floo was blocked.