Harry Potter and the Book of Shadows

Lupin's Letter

Not surprisingly, Harry found Ginny at the top of the Astronomy Tower. She was pacing and muttering to herself. Harry knocked on the open door to alert her to his presence.

She turned around, obviously less than pleased to be found. "Did Ron send you after me?"

"No!" Harry said hastily, ignoring her glare. "No, he and Hermione went back to Gryffindor. Are you all right?"

"Fine." She stopped pacing and turned to face the window. Knowing that to be a lie, Harry waited a moment. She quickly added, "Who does he think he is?"

Harry came to stand beside her and look out at the frozen landscape below. "Your brother. He's just worried."

"Why?" Ginny demanded to know. "I was doing fine the first four years I was here. He barely noticed me at all. And now all of a sudden he remembers I exist and he thinks I'm some child he has to nanny?" She humphed in frustration.

Harry sighed. "He just wants you to be safe."

"Why now?" Ginny asked. "He didn't seem to care more after my first year." She stared out the window and added quietly, "No one did."

Harry hadn't realized it, but she was right. When school had started the following fall, it was almost like the Chamber of Secrets had never happened. Ron certainly never brought it up. Neither had he. Harry didn't know what to say. "Maybe he thought you didn't want to talk about it."

"Maybe he should have asked," she replied bitterly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked.

She didn't answer right away, and Harry thought she might not have heard. Turning slightly, she met his eyes for a long moment then looked back out the window. "Not now."

"He does care about you, you know," Harry said. "You should have seen him after the Slytherin game. He was ready to kill Malfoy. He just doesn't want to see you get hurt."

Ginny's shoulders slumped a bit. "I know. It's just...sometimes it's hard to be the youngest. Especially when you're the only girl with five older brothers. You're either ignored completely or everyone is hovering. There's no in between. I know they made mistakes. I just want the chance to learn from my own."

At her last statement, Harry didn't want to, but could help but ask, "You weren't going to-"

Ginny cut him off with a look. "I'm not stupid, Harry." She shrugged. "But I do think maybe he wouldn't be so bad if you gave him half a chance. And he got away from his horrid family. I think a big part of his problem is he doesn't know any better."

Harry didn't agree, but thought it best to just nod. "Will you come back to Gryffindor?"

She sighed. "Yeah. I'm sorry I ruined the lesson."

"You didn't," Harry replied. They walked back to Gryffindor Tower in pensive silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry was almost glad when the weekend ended and Monday's classes started. Ron and Ginny had only spoken to one another in short, terse phrases and only when it was absolutely necessary. Harry thought about explaining how Ginny felt to Ron, but ended up deciding they needed to work it out on their own. Likewise, Hermione refused to take sides when Ron grumbled about Ginny's behavior. Harry hoped concentrating on classes would help get things back to normal. Upon seeing Ron's murderous expression when he caught sight of Malfoy outside of Hagrid's, Harry thought maybe not.

Hermione, also noticing, grabbed Ron's sleeve. "Don't start. Ignore him."

Since they had met Medusa on Saturday, the trio was fairly certain of the subject the day's lesson. It seemed like as long as the weather remained relatively clear, they would continue to hold lessons outside. Luckily this time, there was a cheerful fire blazing by the wooden table, for which the students were grateful. They stood around it, as Hagrid lumbered out of his house.

"Well, I got a real treat fer yeh, today," Hagrid began. "Been tryin' ta get one fer some time. Yeh should count yerselves lucky yeh get to meet one firs' hand, as they're not very common." Carefully, Hagrid reached into his pocket, withdrawing a bright orange and black ball of snake. "Everyone say hello to Medusa."

Medusa curled around Hagrid's enormous hands, tongues flicking in and out as the heads bobbed up and down, surveying the students. The right head looked at Parvati curiously, stretched closer, and flicked his tongue out at her. She let out a barely audible "Eep!" and fainted dead away.

Several students snickered, but just as many backed away nervously. Lavender looked torn between helping her friend and staying as far away from the snakes as possible. Hagrid looked at Parvati, sprawled on the ground, and frowned.

Thrusting the snakes in Harry's direction, he said, "Hold 'im a minute, Harry."

Harry was unprepared, but managed to catch most of the four-foot snake, though it was much heavier than he expected. Slowly, Medusa began to curl around him.

"Harry..." Me greeted him.

"Hello," Harry said nervously. Catching sight of Malfoy's expression, he realized he was speaking Parseltongue. It made him feel a bit better to know Malfoy wouldn't be able to understand. Low hisses came from all three heads as Medusa curled more comfortably around Harry.

"Did we do sssssomething wrong...why doessss ssshe ssssleep now...it issss cold..."

"I think you just startled her. She'll be fine," Harry replied, moving closer to the fire. Several students quickly backed out of his way. Malfoy stood his ground, staring arrogantly at Harry.

Hagrid had managed to rouse Parvati, who now cowered behind Lavender, both eyeing the snakes fearfully.

"So who knows what this 'ere is?" Hagrid addressed the class.

Without looking away from Harry, Malfoy said haughtily, "Runespoor."

"Righ'," Hagrid replied, "and we're doubly lucky since Harry here can talk to 'im. So if yeh have questions, I'm sure Harry'll be happy to translate and find out whatever you want to know."

Harry caught sight of Hermione and Ron's expressions. He was pretty sure he looked as taken aback as they. Persephone had mentioned helping out with Hagrid's classes, but Harry wasn't prepared for the entire class to be staring at him expectantly. Or rather, half the class looked as though they were waiting for him to say something. The other half looked ready to high tail it back to the castle.

Malfoy grinned evilly. "Well, Potter?"

Three heads focused on Malfoy and let out a low hiss in unison.

"Well, come on, then Potty. What did it say?" Malfoy taunted.

Harry's expression darkened and he spoke low to the snakes. Their low hiss was purely of disapproval, Harry was sure. They hadn't actually said anything. He whispered to the snakes, "Can you pretend like you're going to bite him?"

"We could bite if you like...we do not mind...jussst a ssssmall bite..."

Harry looked at Malfoy. "They said they don't like you much. You might want to back up, they're thinking about biting you."

"They are no-" Malfoy took a step closer and the heads shot out and snapped, barely missing him. He stumbled backwards in fright, quickly trying to cover it up with a glare.

"I did warn you," Harry said mildly, thinking of Malfoy's ignoring Hagrid's many warnings in the past.

Hermione caught sight of Hagrid's dismay at the direction the class was headed and stepped in. "Was he...er, they born in the wild?"

The tension diverted, Harry asked Medusa Hermione's question. After translating Me's detailed answer, Harry added Medusa had decided they weren't going to bite any of them, hoping it would make the rest of the class less frightened. Slightly encouraged, the rest of the class began to think of questions until they started to ask them faster than Harry could translate. Harry's attention was momentarily distracted when he caught sight of Hagrid scribbling into a book.

When the class was over, even Parvati didn't seem quite as frightened as she had been at first, though she still stayed on the outer edge of the group of students and behind Lavender. The other students headed back to the castle as Harry waited for Medusa to slither back into Hagrid's pocket.

One head poked back out after Medusa had disappeared into the depths of Hagrid's coat. "Harry...thanksss..."

"You're welcome," Harry replied with a smile.

"If you ssssee her, tell Basss we ssssaid hello ..."

Harry assured Me he would. Glancing up, he saw Hagrid looking a bit sheepish, but quite pleased. "Didn' mean ta put yeh on the spot like that, Harry. Persephone said yeh seemed interested in helpin'. Shoulda given yeh a bit more warnin'."

Harry smiled reassuringly. "It's all right, Hagrid. Were you taking notes?"

Hagrid picked up his book. "Yeah, not often yeh get a chance at first hand accounts like this. There's lots 'o people who'll be very interested." Hagrid paused. "Of course, if yeh want yer name on it as the translator-"

"Oh, no. No, that's okay," Harry said quickly. He already had enough notoriety he didn't want. "Glad to help."

"Yeh don't mind if I use this fer my next class, do yeh?" Hagrid asked, tapping the book.

"Of course not," Harry said.

The trio bid Hagrid farewell and made their way back to the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An owl Harry didn't recognize arrived the next morning with a letter for him. Ignoring the others' inquisitive looks, Harry took it. With a flurry of wings, the owl took off, leaving Harry to stare curiously at the cream-colored envelope.

The handwriting looked familiar, Harry thought as he opened it. As soon as he began to read, Harry realized why. He read the letter quickly at first, then again, more carefully. Putting it down, Harry frowned at his breakfast, lost in thought.

Ron cleared his throat. When Harry didn't look up, he did it again. Just before he could try it a third time, Hermione stopped him with an exasperated look. "Harry, is everything all right?"

Harry finally noticed Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all looking at him, concerned. He glanced back at the letter. "Yeah, fine. Everything's fine."

Ginny looked at him skeptically. "Who's the letter from?"

Harry didn't answer right away. After a moment he said, "Lupin."

"Oh." Ginny, at least, seemed to have some idea of what that might mean. "What did he say?"

"He wants us to come to Number Twelve for Christmas. Like last year."

"That sounds nice," Hermione said cautiously, not sure what was bothering Harry except it probably wasn't that. "Anything else?"

Harry's eyebrows drew together and he picked the letter back up. "He wants to talk to me about...you know."

"Oh." Hermione took the proffered letter from Harry and read it. What it actually said was there were 'matters they needed to discuss', but Hermione understood Harry's interpretation. "Well, I'm sure it's nothing terrible."

"We'll be there," Ginny quickly added.

"Of course," Ron said, reading over Hermione's shoulder. "We are invited."

"That is, if you want to go," Hermione said.

Harry pushed aside his guilt and doubts. "Yeah. I'll write him back tonight." He paused. "When Hedwig comes back."

The others murmured in encouragement, sensing Harry still wasn't entirely sure he wanted to go at all.

Harry was distracted all through Potions, wondering what Lupin would say once they finally did talk. Would be blame Harry? Would he lie and say he didn't? What other 'matters' could he have meant? Harry kept losing track of what he was doing, drawing Snape's unwanted attention.

"Potter!" Harry jumped as Snape barked his name from directly behind him. "If you cannot pay attention, you will remove yourself from the class."

Harry clenched his teeth and made a show of stirring his cauldron slowly and carefully. He knew better than to reply.

Snape didn't give up. "This potion requires precise and accurate execution. Failure at any step will result in a ...less than desirable result."

His tone made it clear Harry would have first hand knowledge of his potion's failing should his inattention continue during class. Still refusing to be baited, Harry focused on the decoction he was making of the Blarrkop flowers they'd gathered and dried in Herbology. Seeing as Harry was now concentrating on his work, Snape moved on to bully Ron about his.

From what he'd overheard the year before when Umbridge had demanded more Veritaserum, Snape hadn't lied to her when he'd said it would take a month. Each component had to be prepared separately first, then combined over time. It was probably the most complicated thing they had ever done at Hogwarts.

Struggling to make it through the rest of the class without drawing Snape's attention kept Harry's thoughts from drifting back to Lupin's letter. As he, Ron, and Hermione left, his worries returned. For the remainder of the day he was preoccupied to the point he couldn't even sleep through History of Magic.

Later that night, Harry sat at one of the tables in the common room, fully intending to write his reply to Lupin. Ten minutes into staring at the blank page, he sighed and got up. He didn't know what to say. The others had assured him they would accompany him to Number Twelve for the holidays. He was glad they had, sure it would be far more awkward without his friends as a buffer. Still, he wasn't sure how to frame his answer. Sure, let's chat over Christmas goose about how I caused the death of your best friend? I'd love to hear how you think it's all my fault and by the way I think you're right? What a jolly holiday it's going to be, Harry thought.

Harry sighed heavily and sat back down. Picking up his quill, he dipped it in ink, determined to write something. Several crumpled sheets of parchment later, Harry read the reply he'd written. The overall tone was pleasant and only slightly formal. The letter didn't relate anything but Harry's acceptance of the invitation along with the inclusion of his friends and a mild inquiry about travel arrangements. He concluded with assurances that nothing out of place had happened in the past few weeks (well, nothing out of place for Hogwarts, anyway) and that he was looking forward to seeing Lupin for the holidays. Rereading to make certain the letter was suitable, Harry sealed it and headed to the Owlery.

As soon as it was sent and Harry was on his way back to the common room, he began to doubt if he should have accepted and just stayed at Hogwarts after all. By the time he was at the portrait of the Fat Lady, he had convinced himself it would be fine, as he couldn't avoid Lupin forever, anyway. That argument settled, Harry started fretting over his final wording of the letter. It was almost as if his mind demanded he agonize over something. Entering the common room, he wished the holidays would just start so he could just get the whole mess over with.

Hermione, spotting him from her vantage by the fire, grabbed a sheaf of papers and walked to meet him.

"Here're the History notes you wanted."

Harry smiled to himself. He'd been meaning to ask her for them but only ever remembered when she wasn't around. Trust Hermione to be right on top of things. He took them. "Thanks."

They sat at the table Hermione had claimed.

"You sent the letter, then?" Harry nodded, looking over the notes. Hermione hesitated. "You know it'll be all right, don't you?"

Harry stopped reading, but did not look up. Without a word, he reached for the quill and parchment he had left earlier and began to write. Hermione watched for a moment then returned to her own work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Though he had sort of hoped for it, the end of November came more quickly than Harry expected. As December, and therefore the holidays, loomed closer, he began to wonder if maybe instead of wishing time would speed up and get the holidays over faster, he should have gone the other way and wished to hold it off as long as possible. In either case, he entered Dunn's classroom with Ron and Hermione, hoping the class would help divert his futile circular thoughts. Trying to boost his spirits, he told himself even if his classes failed to hold his attention, whatever mysterious event beginning December first Hermione and Ron kept having meetings about was about to happen. If nothing else, that should prove a distraction. That, and the treat Dunn kept hinting at would supposedly happen sometime soon as well.

When everyone was suited up and ready, Dunn addressed the class, "Well, today we will continue our practice with the combination defenses, but first I would like to make an announcement."

The class buzzed with expectation. Finally, Dunn was going to tell them what he'd planned as a surprise.

"On the evening of November thirtieth Miss Hade and I will be coming to your common rooms to discuss a special event we've arranged. It will begin December first at exactly midnight and will continue for as long as is required." Dunn allowed the confused chatter to run its course before continuing. "Everything will be explained at the House meeting. I will be speaking to Ravenclaw and Slytherin and Miss Hade will be speaking to Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."

"What does Persephone have to do with this? McGonagall never said anything about her," Ron whispered to Hermione. Hermione was about to answer when she caught sight of Dunn watching them. Harry tried not to act like he had heard. So the prefect meetings and Dunn's surprise were about the same thing?

The lesson didn't go as smoothly as it had previously, probably owing to the fact Dunn's announcement had brought up more questions than it had answered and no one seemed able to focus. Watching several students limping slightly as they left the classroom, Harry hoped whatever surprise was planned wasn't too much more difficult than Dunn's class.

As they left, he eyed Ron and Hermione suspiciously. They tried not to notice. Halfway down the hall, Ron opened his mouth, but Hermione spoke before he'd even taken a breath.

"You've kept quiet this long, you can't break your promise now!"

Ron looked back at her, annoyed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. How do you know that's what I was going to say?"

"You've been dying to tell Harry ever since we found out about the game!" Hermione's hand flew to cover her mouth as soon as she realized what she'd just said.

"And she thought I was going to be the one to crack." Ron rolled his eyes at Harry.

Harry tried not to look surprised. "So we're playing a game? What kind of game?"

"You'll find out at the House meeting, like everyone else," Hermione declared, then marched down the hallway.

Ron held up his hands when Harry cast a look his way. "Don't look at me. I'm not saying anything."

Luckily, Harry didn't have to wait long for the House meeting. On the morning of November thirtieth, the announcement appeared on the common room bulletin board stating Persephone would be speaking to them at eight o'clock that evening. Similar announcements had been posted in all the Houses, and so, much to the disgruntlement of many professors, no one was able to concentrate on their classes all day.

That evening Harry and Ginny sat on the couch by the fire, among the rest of the chattering, speculating Gryffindors. Ron and Hermione stood off to one side, surveying everyone and pretending they didn't hear when people kept asking them what was going on.

"How was working with Medusa?" Harry changed the subject, having had his fill of conjecture.

Ginny tipped her head to the side. "Interesting. I think Persephone was right, runespoors don't deserve the reputation they have. For the most part, he was very sweet and even almost...cuddly." At Harry's skeptical look, she tried to explain, "He really liked to curl around my neck. Persephone figured he liked the warmth of long hair and guessed from what you said, he can feel the vibrations when people talk. Too bad you didn't get to spend more time with him. I bet you would have learned much more than I did."

Harry frowned. Hagrid had said Medusa was on his way back home. They'd only had him on loan long enough for each class to have a look at him. Thinking about it now, Harry thought maybe he should have helped more.

Breaking into his thoughts, Ginny added, "Not that anyone expected you to drop everything and translate all the time or anything."

Their conversation was halted when someone entered through the portrait hole, a large box floating along in front of them.

"Good evening, everyone," Persephone greeted the assemblage as the box settled by her feet. Everyone stopped talking. "So at last you find out what Professor Dunn's mysterious event is."

Harry recognized the symbol on the side of the box, remembering the day it had arrived with three companions.

"Starting at midnight tonight, you will begin a game of survival. It will continue until there is only one person in your dorm left standing. Your goal in this game is to be that person. When only one person remains, the game is over." The room went absolutely silent at the pronouncement. Turning to see Ginny's widened eyes, Harry felt chills run down his spine.

Persephone smiled at their apprehensive faces and bent down to open the box. "The name of the game is Dorm Assassin. You will each get one of these wands." She held up a bright scarlet wand. "They are specially designed and charmed so they perform only four spells and only on someone carrying an identical wand. Those four spells are: confuteo, interimo, protego, and expelliarmus, which, except the first two, are spells you should be familiar with from Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

Katie Bell raised her hand. "What do the other two do?"

Persephone went on, "You will each be given a target, a person in your House. Your goal is to eliminate that person by hitting them with the "eliminate" spell, interimo. This inactivates their wand and they are out of the game. When you eliminate your target, you take on their target and so on and so forth until there is only one person left. You can attempt to defend yourself with the Shield Charm and the Disarm Spell. If you manage to find out who has you as a target, you can neutralize them with the confuteo spell. When you hit them with it, they won't be able to use the interimo spell for one hour, though the other three will still work. You'll have a chance to practice the spells in the time before the game starts."

Excitement began to build as Persephone explained the rules, "You are to use this wand and this wand only, during the game. You are not, under any circumstances, to use your regular wand to defend yourself or disarm, attack, or eliminate your target. If you do, you will be immediately disqualified, given a week's worth of detentions, stripped of fifty House points, and assigned a rather long and tedious assignment over the winter holidays."

Murmurs rippled through the students. Persephone continued, "The game does not have a time limit, and you may eliminate a target at any time of day or night. However, normal curfew hours remain in effect so you should not be out and about during those times. Playing Dorm Assassin will not be a valid excuse."

"So we can get each other in here, then?" A third year piped up.

"You may attack your target in the common rooms, hallways, and of course, anywhere you are normally permitted on school grounds. Off limit areas will be dorm bedrooms, all classrooms, the library, the hospital wing, and the Great Hall. Do not attack your target in these areas, they are your safe zones. This also means you cannot attack from these areas."

Neville's hand shot up. "There's no magic allowed in the corridors."

More than one person noted Persephone's slow smile. "That rule has been temporarily lifted for the duration of the game."

Much to Filch's frustration, Harry bet. He exchanged a grin with Ginny.

Another student raised his hand. "What about Hogsmeade?"

"Hopefully, the game will be over before the next visit. However, if it is not, Hogsmeade itself is a safe zone. The road leading to and from is not," Persephone replied.

Lavender raised her hand. "What if someone does get you in a safe zone?"

"You'll have to depend on the honor system for that, but if there is any serious dispute, come talk to me or Professor Dunn and we'll work it out."

"What do you win?" a voice called.

"The game, stupid," was the quick reply.

Everyone turned to see a pair of students bickering with one another. It was a brother and sister pair Harry recognized as a second and fourth year.

Persephone raised an eyebrow and they sheepishly stopped swatting at each other. "When there is only one person left, the game is over and the awards will be handed out."

"There's more than one?" A voice exclaimed from somewhere in the back.

"There are five total awards. The last person left is the overall winner of the game. They will be awarded the Black Wand." Persephone reached into the box and held up a sleek black wand made of ebony wood, held upright in a golden stand. "And a prize of twenty-five galleons."

There were exclamations at the announcement. When the noise settled, Persephone continued, "There are four other prizes, receiving ten galleons each. Whoever gets the fastest first elimination will receive the Fleet Award. The Wildfire Award goes to the person achieving the highest number of eliminations in the shortest amount of time. The most eliminations overall, which by the way is not always the overall winner, gets the Extermination Award. And finally, an award that is not always given out, the Lightning Award, goes to anyone who manages to survive against all odds." There were snickers and glances in Neville's direction, though Ron and Hermione looked at Harry. "They don't necessarily have to win the game, but they do have to get out of a seemingly impossible situation with their wand still functioning."

"Can you imagine winning more than one and the Black Wand?" Ron whispered to Hermione.

Persephone, having overheard, said, "These four awards do not always, and in fact rarely, go to the overall winner, but they can. A single person can win all of them, but it's highly unlikely. "

"Where did Professor Dunn get this idea? Have you played this before?" Lee called out.

"Professor Dunn asked for help in designing a practical defense event. I suggested this game. Originally, at Fulton Academy, where I went to school, we played every year in the fall as a way for everyone to meet the newest students. Later, it was moved to December, as a break after midterms." At the confused looks she added, "Half-year exams. They also had a campus-wide version during the AIMS Games. I only played at AIMS my first and second years."

"You ever win anything?" Harry glanced to his left and saw it was Julian who had asked.

"One Fleet Award, two Wildfire Awards, one Lightning Award, three Extermination Awards," Persephone took the Black Wand from it's stand and twirled it in a rather impressive display of dexterity, "and five Black Wands."

Several jaws dropped, including Ron's. "Got any tips?"

There were some snickers but everyone leaned forward.

"I will only tell you what I told everyone else. Know your housemates. Unless you are out of the game, do not tell anyone who your target is. And above all else, trust no one." Students exchanged glances with one another. "Questions?"

Neville raised his hand. "What if we break our wand?"

Persephone waited for the laughter to die down. "I have a few extras and in case of loss or breakage, and I will give you a new one. However, I don't have that many replacements, so try to stick with the first one you get. Also, during the time it takes for you to get it working again you are fair game. And let me repeat, you are not to use your real wand to defend yourself or attack at any time."

Harry thought of something. "What if you hit the wrong target?"

"Ah, yes. Collateral damage." Persephone laughed. "If your wand is inactivated by accident, I will reactivate it for you, but again, during the time you have no wand you are still able to be eliminated. The spells from the other Houses won't affect your wands." Seeing there were no more questions, she clapped her hands. "All right! Line up and I will give you your wand and your target."

Casting a Soundproofing Charm, she spoke briefly to each student as they came forward to claim their wand and name. When it was Harry's turn, he felt odd seeing everyone talking, though he couldn't hear them through the soundproof bubble.

Smiling as she handed him his wand, Persephone asked, "Any thoughts on who'll win?"

Harry pondered, hoping no one assumed it would be him. Eventually he shrugged. "I have no idea. Don't you worry it'll be a bit ... chaotic?"

Persephone mimicked his shrug. "Never had a problem at Fulton or AIMS. Don't worry, Harry. It'll be fun, you'll see," she said reassuringly.

"If I don't get eliminated in the first five minutes," Harry mumbled, examining his new wand.

"Well, don't make yourself an easy target. Speaking of which, your target is Thomas Thorne," she said after checking the parchment in her hand.

Harry nodded. "What year?"

Removing the charm, Persephone replied, "That is for you to find out. Good luck."

Thinking of how many people would enjoy saying they had eliminated him from the game, Harry muttered, "I'm gonna need it," as he joined Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. He felt a slight relief knowing he didn't have to worry about Malfoy, at least.

Once everyone had gotten their wand and name, Persephone addressed them one last time, "Everyone have a wand?" There were shouts of confirmation and a few raised wands. "Everyone have a target? Good. The game starts at exactly midnight. Good luck."

Most people stayed after Persephone left, milling around the common room, but Harry noticed almost everyone was giving each other strange looks and furtive glances. Scanning the room as he sat next to Ginny and Hermione by the fire, he wondered who had him as a target.

"So now you know," Hermione said without preamble.

Ginny examined her new wand. "Well, I can kind of see why you thought this was a bad idea." Just as Hermione was about to agree, Ginny looked up and grinned. "But I still think it'll be loads of fun."

Hermione frowned. "Everyone running around trying to hit each other with spells. This is a recipe for disaster."

Ron plopped into a seat opposite them. "Come on, Mione. Persephone said they've been playing this at Fulton for years without a problem. It's probably safer than Quidditch."

"And at least it's only our housemates, right?" Harry added.

Hermione grudgingly agreed. "I almost feel sorry for the rest of Slytherin. Can you imagine being Malfoy's target?"

Harry caught the suspicious look Ron shot his sister. Ginny didn't see it and replied, "Wouldn't it be funny if someone got him ten minutes into the game?"

"And they were a first year?" Harry added. They laughed, imagining humiliating ways for Malfoy to lose. By the time they noticed the common room was emptying, Ron seemed to have convinced himself Ginny wasn't secretly in love with Malfoy after all.

Ginny glanced to the clock and noted it was almost time for the game to start. "No wonder everyone is leaving."

The four eyed each other for a moment then stood almost in unison.

"See you for breakfast, then?" Ron said nervously.

The girls nodded and quickly made their way up the stairs. Harry and Ron headed to their room to see the other sixth years and Lee already there.

Neville looked terrified. "I'm going to be eliminated first!"

Lee shook his head. "Come on, Neville, you've got to at least try to have fun! Who's your target?"

"I'm not telling you!" Neville replied.

Dean laughed. "See? You've got part of it down, already! Still, makes me wish I knew the newer students better."

Ron sat on his bed. "How long do you think the game will last?"

"A few days at most," Seamus guessed.

"Less than a day." Lee grinned. "I plan on winning the Extermination Award, at least."

"Well, if you want the Fleet Award, you'd better get out there," Harry said. "Game's about to start."

"You think anyone's in the common room?" Dean wondered.

"Not if they're smart," Ron said with a shake of their head. "In fact, I think I feel a bit of the flu coming on, I may have to stay in bed for the next few days." He threw up his hands to ward of the rain of pillows. "What? It's a good plan!"

"Coward." Harry laughed.

"No, just smart," Ron retorted.

When the lights went out and they all settled behind the heavy curtains surrounding their beds, Harry found himself wondering if one of his roommates had him as a target. He hoped not, that would be too easy, they'd just have to wake up earlier and wait for him to leave the next morning. Harry tried to head off the thoughts with a plan on how to find his target the next day. Thomas Thorne. Harry didn't have a face to go with the name yet. Had to be a first or second year, he thought. The name was vaguely familiar. Just as he was drifting off, it came to him. Colin Creevy's bother, Dennis, had a friend named Thomas. Colin still shadowed Harry every now and then, and Dennis followed his older brother around just as much. Recently, a brown-haired first year had joined Dennis in trailing Colin. Harry was almost positive that was Thomas Thorne. Hoping he'd get lucky and see them first thing tomorrow, Harry drifted off.

The next morning, Harry peered cautiously out the door before scrambling toward the common room. He spotted Hermione and Ron standing against a wall in one corner. They both raised their scarlet wands when they heard him at the top of the stairs.

Harry had his out, too. "Ready to go to breakfast?"

Hermione nodded toward the girls' staircase. "Just waiting for Ginny."

There was a frustrated feminine wail and they all looked to the top of the stairs, wands still at the ready. A curly-haired fourth-year stomped down the stairs, obviously angry.

"I didn't even last one whole day!" She let out another frustrated noise and disappeared out the portrait hole.

Ginny appeared at the top of the stairs, looking very pleased. Spotting them waiting for her, she aimed her wand down and glanced around the common room. Seeing it was all clear, she joined the group.

"Was that you, then?" Ron asked.

Ginny smiled. "Two down."

"Two?" Harry exclaimed.

She grinned at Harry and Ron. "Taylor. Got him last night."

"How late were you up?" Hermione asked.

"Not very. I went down to the common room just before the game started to get some notes I forgot. I got Taylor on my way back."

"So what time was it when you got him?" Ron asked.

"Twelve-oh-one."

They stared at her. Harry smiled. "You got the Fleet Award."

Ginny grinned wider. "This game is fun!"

"Not to be a killjoy, but we should get out of here," Ron said, glancing around nervously.

Harry didn't think they'd ever made it to the Great Hall as fast as they did that morning.

Leaving the Great Hall after a breakfast filled with nervous sideways glances, Harry noticed that next to where the House Point hourglasses were, were counters keeping track of how many people were left in the Dorm Assassin game. There were also spaces for the award winner's names, though only the Fleet Award would be listed before the game ended. Next to Gryffindor's space were Ginny's name and the time of her first elimination. The other houses had also already awarded that title, though not one of other winners had a time before seven am. Harry was also pleased to note Malfoy's name was not on the list.

Harry turned to say something to Ginny and spotted someone out of the corner of his eye. Seeing he had a clear shot, Harry made sure he had the right wand in his hand. He called out, "Hey, Thomas!"

A brown-haired boy in Gryffindor robes looked up. "Yeah?"

Harry's spell hit him just as he realized what was going on and raised his wand. "Darn it!"

"I'll meet you guys in class!" Harry said, jogging over to where Thomas stood, scowling.

"Aw, I would have to be Harry Potter's target." He sighed. "Oh well, better than someone else, I suppose."

"Who's your target?" Harry asked, trying to ignore Thomas' implications that he was expected to win.

"Par...Prav..iti Patil?" Thomas guessed at the pronunciation of her name.

"Thanks." Harry looked up. "No way."

Parvati never saw it coming. "What the-" she exclaimed, as she stepped out of the Great Hall. She told Harry her target's name as he ran up. "Aw, I was just waiting for her to leave, too. Oh, there she is!"

Too late, Parvati clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Interimo!"

There was a feminine squawk as the spell hit the girl about to go down the dungeon staircase.

Rushing to make his first class, Harry hoped he wouldn't be late. Dean grinned when they came running from opposite directions, headed for the classroom.

"Got anyone yet?" Dean called.

"Yep," Harry said just as his spell hit Dean.

He stopped in shock. "You had me? Why didn't you just wait this morning, then?"

They entered the classroom. "I didn't have you until about two minutes ago."

"How many people have you gotten?" he asked.

"Including you?" Harry sat in his usual spot by Ron and Hermione. Dean nodded. "Four."

Hermione and Ron stared openmouthed at him. Ron closed his mouth, then opened it again. "We left you, like, five minutes ago. You're telling me you got four targets in the last five minutes? Just on your way here?"

"Yeah." Harry tried not to grin. "Ginny was right. This game is fun."

Throughout the day, Harry felt alternately excited about getting his next target and afraid he was about to be eliminated. Persephone had been right, the game was going smoothly and he was having fun. He didn't want to be eliminated, not because he really wanted to win, though that would definitely be a plus. He just wanted to keep playing. If only he knew who had him. Telling himself not to worry about it, Harry realized whoever had him originally could easily have been eliminated that day, anyway.

After dinner, the foursome headed back to the common room to find it almost completely empty. Hermione noted the only students there were ones already out of the game.

"There's no way I'm going to get any work done in here," she said. "Not if I have to worry about someone running in and blasting me with spells."

It was clear she still didn't approve of the game. Harry didn't know how she had lasted this long. She hadn't gotten her first target yet and whoever had her was either taking their time or afraid to eliminate a prefect.

"Let's go to the library," Ron suggested.

Hermione nodded. "That's what I was thinking."

Ginny smothered a snicker when Ron muttered, "Of course it was."

She checked the hallway before exiting first through the portrait hole. "I bet it's going to be packed in there."

As they approached, they saw Peeves was still pinned to the wall at the end of the hallway, gaping silently. Harry briefly wondered if the professors were going to decorate him for Christmas or finally let him go. Half-running down the hallway, a spell from behind shot past them, narrowly missing Ginny. Ron and Hermione took off in a sprint to the library entrance, not sure if the spell had been meant for her or just poorly aimed. Harry grabbed Ginny's arm and dragged her in front of him. She tripped, trying to look behind her to see who it was. Catching her and half-dragging her thought the entry, Harry stopped just inside the library. Ginny swore.

"Did you see who it was?" Ron asked. He and Hermione were waiting just inside the doorway.

"No. I think once they missed, they took off in the other direction." Ginny breathed out. "I bet they didn't want to take the chance they'd miss again and have me find out who they were. Thanks, Harry." Harry nodded in response.

"You're sure it wasn't aimed at one of us?" Hermione asked as they headed to the back of the large room. Ginny had been right, the library was unusually full.

Ginny shrugged. "Hardly matters now. I'm going to go find out if," Ginny stopped, "um, if they have a book I wanted to read."

Harry smirked. She was going to go find out if her target was in the room, he was sure.

Hermione didn't take out her notes and books right away like she usually did. Instead, she headed to one of the last rows in the stacks. Ron and Harry trailed behind. In their rush to get to a safe zone, they'd forgotten their homework. Hermione was taking down several thin volumes as they came up.

"Yearbooks?" Ron asked. "What class is this for?"

"Persephone said to know your housemates," Hermione replied. "Since I don't know a lot of their names, I figured this would be a good place to start. At least this way I'll know what faces to put with the names."

"I don't know anyone else who can work books into any situation." Ron looked at her in wonder.

Hermione smiled. "Thanks."

Even though he wanted to laugh, Harry had to admit, it was a pretty good idea. Everyone's name and picture would be recorded, except for the current first years. Hermione started browsing through the last few years of yearbooks. Ron looked on for a minute then got up to peruse the other archived volumes.

Harry was skimming the recent ones Hermione hadn't gotten to yet when Ron exclaimed, "Check it out! Dad had a seriously bad haircut."

Harry looked to the page Ron had open and snickered when he saw a much younger Arthur Weasley with what he had to agree was a terrible shaggy do. Flipping though the pages, Ron continued to laugh at people's unfortunate fashion choices. Just as Harry was wondering if he should try to find his parents' volume, Ron spoke up again.

"Hey look, it's Persephone."

Hermione looked up. "She went to Fulton. And that book is dated way too long ago to be her."

Still, the trio crowded around the yearbook. Harry had to admit the girl smiling and waving in the center picture looked exactly like Persephone. "Wow, it is her."

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't you two ever read? Look at the name."

Under the picture was printed: Athena Filch.

"Must be her mother," Hermione guessed.

Ron pointed to the picture next to it. "Hey look, Filch went to school here."

Sure enough, right next to Persephone's mother was the picture of a young man Harry would never have guessed was the current Caretaker. Though he did look a bit grumpy, he didn't look nearly as unpleasant and grizzled as he did currently. Harry shouldn't have been, but he was surprised to see Filch's now grey and scraggly hair was once the same golden shade as Persephone's.

"I thought he was a Squib," Ron said.

Hermione shrugged, "Probably, but some Squibs have a little bit of magical ability. Maybe he had just enough to get him in."

"Same year, they must be twins," Ron mused to himself. "That probably helped him get in, too. Especially if she showed a lot of potential."

Harry wondered if that was one of the reasons Filch seemed to dislike Persephone so much. Did she remind him of the twin sister he couldn't compete with? They watched the two figures in the pictures for a while. All of a sudden, the smiling girl in the photo turned to a screaming woman being tortured and murdered in front of her daughter. Harry shook his head, forcing the memory away.

Ginny rejoined them and Ron showed her the yearbook. "Wow, they must have been twins. Who knew Filch actually looked normal once? She really does look a lot like her mum," she added quietly as Ron shut the book and put it back on the shelf.

Having finished browsing the yearbooks, Hermione found a table and began to work on her homework. Having forgotten to bring something to do, Ron and Harry began a rather extensive game of dots-and-boxes on a piece of parchment they borrowed from Hermione's considerable stack. Ginny watched them play for a while, keeping one eye on the door.

"Your turn," Harry said. When Ron didn't respond, he looked up and repeated, "Your turn."

Ron had been watching something intently and hadn't heard. A girl in Gryffindor robes had walked to the exit, peered cautiously out, and then left. Almost immediately after she'd exited, a boy who had been watching her from his vantage by Madame Pince's desk stood up and did the same thing. Without a word, Ron got up and followed.

There were two faint exclamations in the hallway. After a moment Ron returned, a triumphant smile on his face. "Not exactly Harry's four, but not bad. The girl Dave was after tried to run for it when she saw he was after her, but I got her after I hit him."

Harry grinned at Ron. "Did you have that all planned out?"

"Well, I knew my target was here and I was waiting to see if he'd leave first, but I didn't know he was staking out his target, too." Ron made his mark on the page, claiming a square. Harry looked back at the game they were playing, debating his next move.

"Likely most of the people in here are waiting for their targets to leave," Ginny commented. "I know-"

She stopped mid-sentence and got up. Several students were leaving, and some of them Gryffindors, so they weren't sure who she was after. A few minutes later, she shared Ron's look of satisfaction. "Why do they always try to run? I don't think I've seen one person try a Shield Charm yet."

"I did." Everyone turned to Hermione who hadn't looked up.

"When?" Ron asked.

Hermione stopped writing and gave him a suffering look. "On my way from Arithmancy."

"Why didn't you say something?" Ron looked shocked.

Giving up on attempting to continue her work, Hermione replied, "Because Persephone said to trust no one, which I assume meant don't let anyone know how you're doing in the game."

"So you know who has you as a target?" Harry asked.

"Yes," she replied simply.

They all waited. Finally Ginny prompted, "Well?"

"I'm not telling you." She stacked her papers together. "They might be your target and judging by your speed of elimination, soon enough you'd have me. At least for now, I know who to look out for." Glancing around quickly, she continued, "And as they are no longer here, I think it's time to head back to Gryffindor."

She got up and gathered her books to put back on the recirculation cart.

Ron stared as she walked away. "And all this time I thought she wasn't trying at all."

They all ran for the safety of their rooms as soon as they got back, only a hurried "Goodnight!" passing between them.

Ron and Harry flopped onto their beds.

Dean glanced over. "Still alive?"

"Yeah," was the reply in unison.

"You're the only two in here who are, then," Seamus said from his bed.

Ron sat up. "Who got Neville?"

"Your sister," came the woeful reply. "Well, I almost made it through the whole day. Never got my target, though."

Ron and Harry exchanged looks. "That was you she chased from the library then?" Harry asked.

"Yeah." It sounded as though he were relieved it was over.

"Who got you, Seamus?" Ron asked.

Seamus swallowed the handful of Bernie Botts Every Flavor Beans he'd shoved in his mouth, only grimacing slightly. "Some second year girl. I think her name was Jennine. You know, these aren't so bad if you eat a whole bunch at once."

Dean gave him a revolted look. Ron took a handful from the box Seamus offered and tossed them in his mouth. "Ugh." After a second of chewing, Ron ran over to the trash and spit it out. "That was disgusting." He held his hand out for the box. "Let me try again."