The Greatest Kind of Magic

10. Secrets in Dark Corners

Liam's joy at being able to listen to music was short-lived. When he came out of the hospital wing on Wednesday afternoon, he found the school in a solemn, fearful mood. Blaring Muggle music down the hallways somehow just did not seem appropriate.

The Gryffindor common room had been decorated in black. Hanging above the fireplace, was a photograph of the dead student, surrounded by wreaths and bouquets of flowers. Liam felt his stomach lurch when he saw that face, smiling at him off the wall. She's barely older than Tara, he thought weakly.

"Her name was Melanie," said Ginny quietly, coming up behind him. "She was on the Quidditch team."

Liam turned around. "Were you friends with her?"

"Yes. Not close friends, but..." she trailed off.

"Close enough," said Liam.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

Ginny nodded and looked down at her feet. There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Well... I'd better... get on with my homework," said Liam finally.

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, of course. Me too. McGonagall has set us an essay on invertebrate-to-vertebrate transformations. Due next Tuesday."

Something in her voice, not so much emotion, but rather a lack of it, told Liam that Ginny was hurting more than she was letting on. And knowing this, Liam felt incredibly helpless, just like he had with Jessie, just like he had with Eloise. It was the awful feeling that came with knowing that there was nothing, absolutely nothing he could do to make things better.

Ginny had turned away to stare at Melanie's photograph again, and Liam, standing behind her, reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. But before he made contact, he drew back, because he barely knew her and was not sure of how he should act. Ginny did not notice. Liam turned away.

He trudged up the stairs to his dormitory, feeling wretched. He thought wistfully of the carefree days back at Stonewall High, kicking a football around and cracking rude jokes. Life had darkened somewhat after Davey's party, but with time, it had returned to normal, with Jessie becoming just another person to talk to and crack rude jokes with. That life seemed so far away now, that Liam had to count the weeks several times before he accepted that he really had only been at Hogwarts for a month.

The dormitory was empty. Liam was relieved by this, though he didn't really know why. For some reason, he just wanted to be alone for a while. He opened his trunk and rummaged around, searching for his Transfiguration textbook. But what he pulled out was his violin.

He didn't really think about what he was doing, as he took it out of its case and tuned it. All he knew was that the only thing he could do right then was to play, that it was the only thing that could help that terrible hollow feeling inside him.

The melody he played had never before held so much emotion for Liam, though he had known it for a long time. It was as if the castle itself had absorbed the emotions from its inhabitants, and was feeding them back to him. So Liam played, the drawn-out notes of his melody singing of grief and loss and loneliness, of emptiness and heartache, and terrible, agonising isolation.

When he stopped, it felt as if the castle was holding its breath. In the silence, Liam could hear the dying echoes of his music absorbed into the very walls.

He carefully put the violin back in its case. It was only then, that Ginny came into the dorm.

"You're good," she said simply. "I don't know much about music, but you are good."

Liam smiled. "Thanks. I didn't realise you were listening."

And Ginny smiled back. It was a faint ghost of a smile, but a smile nonetheless. "I stood outside the door. I didn't want you to break another string."

There was a pause - another one of those strange, silent moments. "It helps, you know," said Liam finally. "Music, I mean. It helps me to feel better, when I'm a bit down. Dumbledore said it's magic."

"It is," agreed Ginny. "At least... it is when you play it."

And she blushed to the roots of her copper hair.

So did Liam - he was flattered to the point of embarrassment. "Hey, like, you just haven't heard much music," he said. "When I bring my CD player up here, I'll play you some amazing stuff... Honestly, I don't know how you guys get by without music. I'd go insane."

Ginny smiled again. "Hey - do you want some help with your Transfiguration? I'll help you catch up with what you've missed. If you want."

"Sure," he replied. "That'd be great. I'm afraid if I don't show some improvement soon, I'll be dropped down to fourth year."

He picked up his books, and they walked down to the common room together.

***

The first meeting of the re-formed DA was scheduled to take place on Friday night.

That morning in Muggle Studies, Liam saw Ellie for the first time since the attack. He entered the classroom with some trepidation, because he had no idea what he would say to her. She had not visited him in the hospital wing.

She did not look up when he sat down next to her. Liam's heart sank.

"Ellie," he said. Then he paused, thinking, Ellie, what? Ellie, hi? Ellie, I'm sorry?

How do I make up for not wanting what you want?

"Hi, Liam," she greeted him sadly. "How are you feeling?"

Liam's heart sank further. Please don't pretend like nothing's happened...

"I'm okay. All better now. And you?"

"All right, I guess. It's been a tough few days."

"I know what you mean..."

Their awkward conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Professor Downie. "All right, settle down, everyone. Today will be our last lesson on Muggle Economics. Please don't forget, though I'm certain most of you have, that your essay is due on Monday. Knowing you students, I think most of you are in for a busy Sunday night. Just remember that an Invigorating Draught is no substitute for a good night's sleep!"

Liam put a roll of parchment on his lap and began scribbling, silently cursing the awkward quill.

Ellie, I'm sorry I don't want to be any more than friends. I know it hurts, but I can't help how I feel, and it's better if I'm honest with you. I want to stay friends.

He passed the note to Ellie under the desk.

Ellie looked at it for a long time, and Liam was afraid she would tear it up. However, after several minutes, she picked up a quill and scribbled a reply.

Just forget I said anything. Let's just stay friends.

Liam read the note, and sighed. He knew it was the best he could hope for, but he still wasn't happy. Things would not be the same between them, at least for a while.

***

When they filed out of the classroom at the end of the lesson, Liam hung back with Ellie. He waited until the other students were out of earshot before telling her about the DA.

Ellie listened as he explained what he knew about the secret club, but when he'd finished, she looked sad. "I'm sorry, Liam. I don't think my parents would like me joining something like that."

"But they'll never know! It's a secret. You're not supposed to tell anyone."

Ellie took a step back. "That's not the point." There was a firmness in her voice that Liam had never heard before.

"What is the point, then?" he asked helplessly. "I don't get it."

"The point is, I don't want to do something behind their back that I know they wouldn't like. I mean... your parents let you do whatever you want, but it's different for me. Do you understand?"

Liam frowned. "My parents don't let me do whatever I want..."

"Look, Liam, I just can't do it, okay? I'm sorry."

"All right." He sighed. "Just tell me you're not refusing because of... what happened."

Ellie smiled weakly. "No, it's not because of that. Really. I thought we agreed not to talk about it?"

"All right, all right! Jesus, to think you used to be scared of talking to me... Look, you're not going to tell anyone about the DA, are you?"

"Don't worry, I'll keep it secret. Look, it's not that I don't think it's a good idea. I'd join, but... I can't lie to my parents."

"It's okay, I understand. I guess my parents are a bit more liberal than others."

"A bit more liberal?" she laughed. "They let you go to a Muggle school! Not many parents would do that."

Liam shrugged. "I guess I have been pretty lucky."

They parted before the great staircase. Ellie headed down to the dungeons for Potions, while Liam made his way towards the Charms classroom.

As he walked, Liam thought about what Ellie had said. It was true, his parents were very easy-going. As such, Liam had never really had a dilemma like Ellie's. His parents were more or less willing to let him do what he wanted, and he never really did anything that he knew they'd be against.

Of course, they didn't know everything. They certainly weren't meant to know about him taking Tara's wand - he had not counted on Tara getting a letter from the Ministry.

In fact, as Liam though about it, he realised there were countless little incidents like that. Fights at school, drinking, even the occasional joint - his parents would be extremely disappointed if they knew about any of those.

But that was all right, wasn't it? Everybody did stuff behind their parents' backs. It wasn't as if he'd done anything really bad...

With a twinge of guilt, Liam realised that it didn't really matter. Ellie would not have done any of those things, because they were wrong. Whether or not her parents found out about them was irrelevant.

He was still deep in thought as he arrived at the Charms classroom. However, as soon as the lesson began, he forgot about the conversation with Ellie completely. They were learning Glamour charms, and it took all of Liam's concentration to keep up with the rest of the class.

It was only when the lesson ended, and he spotted Jeremy leaving the classroom, that Liam remembered his promise to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Stuffing his books quickly into his bag, Liam jogged after the Slytherin.

He was still weak from his illness, so he could not run very fast. Jeremy had already reached the grand staircase by the time Liam managed to catch up. Liam called out his name, and then had to stop and catch his breath before he could speak.

Jeremy waited for him silently. Finally, Liam said, "Listen, Leighton, I was meaning to ask you something..." he swallowed another gulp of air. "Er..." he lowered his voice. "Look, it's about Saturday. It's just... No one knows what happened that day. And you were going to Hogsmeade right before it happened. I was just wondering if you knew something."

Jeremy's face was unreadable. "Why would I know something, Grady?"

Liam shrugged. "I don't know. It's just - you were there, and it was a bit weird. And..." - he dropped his voice to a whisper - "None of the Slytherins were hurt, and people reckon there weren't even any Slytherins in the pub that day. I just thought I'd ask you, in case you knew something."

Now Jeremy looked fearful. He glanced around. Liam followed his gaze and realised Draco Malfoy was standing on the landing above them, watching them.

Jeremy leaned in and said in an urgent whisper, "Look, I can't say anything now. But I do know stuff." He paused, glancing fearfully in Malfoy's direction. "Meet me in the library at midnight. I'll tell you everything."

His heart leaping with excitement, Liam nodded. Without another word, Jeremy turned around and jogged off down the stairs. Liam looked up to where Malfoy had been standing, but the landing was empty. Malfoy had disappeared.

***

"So, let me get this straight. The room just appears whenever you want it to?"

"Not exactly," Harry replied. "I think it's always there, but people just don't see it unless they really need to."

They were in the Room of Requirement, waiting for the other DA members to arrive.

"It's kind of like the way Muggles can't see the Leaky Cauldron," added Hermione. "It's always there, but their brain just sort of tells them to ignore it."

"But the Leaky Cauldron is always the same," said Liam, still trying to get his mind around the concept of the Room of Requirement. "It doesn't change depending on what you're after."

Ron grinned. "Yeah, Hogwarts is full of weird stuff like this. Have you heard of the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Ron!" said Hermione disapprovingly. "There's no need to bring that up."

Liam was immediately curious. "Why, what is it?"

The trio looked uncomfortable. Liam realised they were all looking at Ginny, who was sitting a little apart from them with Luna Lovegood.

Ginny glanced at Liam, then turned back to the trio. "Can we not talk about this now?" she asked.

Ron nodded. "Sorry, Ginny."

Liam was disappointed. Again, he was being left out of something. It seemed that he would never get past the walls that everybody had built around them, the secrets they all shared.

The door opened, and several people came in: Neville, Dean and Seamus, followed by several other students, most of whom Liam did not know. He thought he recognised Parvati Patil, but after a few moments realised it was somebody else. Liam could have sworn the girl was Parvati's twin.

As Harry, Ron and Hermione began greeting the newcomers, Ginny walked up to Liam. "I'll tell you about the Chamber of Secrets later," she said quietly. "Since Ron brought it up, it's unfair to keep you in the dark."

Liam smiled with gratitude. "Thanks, Ginny. I always feel like everyone knows all this stuff, and I'm being left out, because I'm new... but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, I'll tell you. Later, though."

More students arrived shortly; soon the room was full of noise and chatter. After a few more minutes had passed, Harry decided it was time to begin. He walked to the end of the room, where there was a sort of raised platform, like a stage, and cleared his throat.

A few people turned to listen, but most took no notice.

Liam decided it was time to demonstrate an extremely useful Muggle skill.

He pushed through the crowd until he was standing next to Harry. Then he stuck four fingers in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle.

The room fell silent at once. Everyone turned to stare at Liam.

"Er... thanks," said Harry. He turned to the rest of the crowd. "Er... hi, everyone. Er... thanks for coming." He took a deep breath. "Look, I wasn't really prepared for this. After... what happened in June... I didn't really think of re-starting the DA. But what happened last Saturday changed my mind."

A boy, who Liam recognised from his Muggle Studies class as Terry Boot, stepped forward. "Look, I don't mean to be a pain, but what exactly is the point of this? We have a good Defence teacher now."

There were mutters of agreement from the other DA members.

"Yeah," said Harry. "It's a bit different this year. Er... look, it's like this. The Ministry is investigating the attack, but they won't tell any of us what's going on. Not even Dumbledore will. They all think we're too young, that we shouldn't get involved..." he paused, surveyed the assembled students, and continued. "But six of us are dead. I say that makes us involved."

"Yeah!" yelled Neville, and then blushed when he realised people were staring at him. But Harry seemed to draw courage from his outburst.

"I will not stand here and let the adults take care of it all and tell me I am too young! I have seen too much to just stand by like that. Most of you were in Hogsmeade on Saturday, you've seen what Voldemort can do! They tell us we're safe here, but if he got to Hogsmeade, he can get to Hogwarts! Hogsmeade visits have been cancelled, Quidditch matches have been cancelled. How many more restrictions will they put on us before we're truly safe? We have to fight!"

This time, it was not just Neville that cheered. Liam had never seen a crowd so fired up. He looked at Harry, and the image of him standing there on the stage contrasted sharply in Liam's mind with the memory of Harry standing in the dustbin. It was hard to believe that this was the same person.

But not everybody was convinced. A blond Hufflepuff boy whose name Liam didn't know shouted over the din, "But what are you planning to do? We're at school, in case you haven't noticed! We can't find Death Eaters while we're at Hogwarts!"

"Smith," growled Ron, "I told you last year, if you don't like it, leave."

"Ron," said Hermione in a pacifying tone. She turned to Smith. "We're not going to fight Death Eaters. The purpose of the DA this year is two-fold: one, to practice various defensive spells and jinxes that we may not have covered in class, or to improve our skills with what we have done in class. The other is to create a network of people loyal to Dumbledore." She glanced at Harry, as if seeking his approval. Harry gave her a slight nod, so she continued. "We have to share information, share anything we know about what's happening with the war, and about what's happening here within our school."

"It's obvious what's happening," scoffed Terry Boot. "The bloody Slytherins are doing You-Know-Who's dirty work here at Hogwarts. We all know it was them that set the fire."

Hermione frowned. "That is not the right attitude to have. Slytherins might be involved, but that doesn't mean we should start jinxing them all in the hallways. Not all Slytherins are evil!"

"Ha!" snorted Boot. "Yeah, right..."

"Look," said Hermione, annoyed, "the point of this club is, we can share what we know and maybe try to work out who's involved. Liam thinks that Jeremy Leighton might know something, and he's going to ask him about it. Jeremy might be able to help us."

Boot frowned. "Leighton is a Slytherin. We can't trust him." He looked at Liam coldly. "And for that matter, how do we know we can trust Grady? He's only been here a month, and now he's a DA member? I thought this club was supposed to be secret!"

Harry, who had been silent for a while, now said, in a calm, steady voice, "Grady is trustworthy. I'll vouch for that."

"Me too," said Ginny, glaring at Boot.

Liam was surprised and flattered by the absolute certainty in their voices. He didn't know what he had done to earn their trust in such a short time, but it was pleasant to hear them standing up for him.

A cold, unpleasant smile crossed Hermione's face. "For anyone else, who doubts anyone here, I'll assure you that nobody is going to spill our secrets." She held up a roll of parchment. "I enchanted this to record the name of everybody who walked through the door. And I assure you, anyone who betrays the DA will dearly wish they'd never opened their mouth."

"I'm sorry," said a tall girl with sleek black hair, "but that sounds an awful lot like the Death Eaters to me."

Hermione turned a cool gaze on the girl. "We need a means to safeguard against betrayal. You, of all people, should know that, Cho."

The girl looked furious, but Hermione was not finished just yet. "We are not like the Death Eaters, because we are not forcing anybody to stay. If you want no part in this, leave right now. You can leave anytime you want to. You just can't betray us, that's all."

Cho still looked angry, but she stepped back and raised no more protests. She did not leave.

"Now that that's settled," said Hermione, "The first thing we wanted to do was ask you all what you know about the day of the attack. And please," she added, as the room erupted in a cacophony of voices, "put your hand up to speak. We'll get much further if we're not all talking over each other."

Some people looked extremely annoyed, but the room did quieten down. Harry, who had sat down in a chair while Hermione had been speaking, now stood up. "All right, we all know that no Slytherins were hurt in the attack, and that none helped out in the fire. What we need to know is, were there any Slytherins in Hogsmeade that day at all?"

Several people said no, but Colin Creevey raised his hand and said, "There were Slytherins in the Three Broomsticks, but early. They weren't there when the fire started."

"Who?" asked Harry.

"I don't know their names," Colin replied. "I think they're in your year."

"It was Theodore Nott and Blaize Zabini," said a Hufflepuff girl. "And they were sitting near where the fire started..."

"Where did the fire start?" asked Ron, speaking for the first time. "Did anyone see what happened?"

"Yeah, I did," said Neville. "It was just after the Dementors appeared outside. It was a bit confusing, because some people ran out to see what was going on, but a lot of people were really scared, and... you know..." he faltered, apparently remembering the effect of the Dementors' presence. Liam shuddered involuntarily. He noticed several people around the room doing the same.

"Go on," said Hermione.

"Well, I was sitting near the back, and I wasn't feeling very good... But then the Dementors left, and I looked up and suddenly the bar just burst into flame."

"Anyone else see anything?" asked Hermione.

A few people confirmed Neville's account. Then Luna Lovegood said in her dreamy voice, "Nott and Zabini were still there when the Dementors came."

There were some disbelieving mutters: clearly some people did not see Luna as a reliable witness. But another Ravenclaw girl confirmed Luna's words: the two Slytherins were definitely still there just before the Dementor attack, sitting a table close to the bar.

Nobody, however, remembered seeing either of them after the Dementors had left. There was a gap of just a few seconds between the Dementors withdrawing, and the fire starting. It was hard to establish a reliable account of what went on in that short time. But several people swore with absolute certainty, that when the bar burst into flame, the table, where Nott and Zabini had been sitting, had been empty.

***

It was not until after the meeting had finished, and Liam was lying in his bed, that he remembered about Jeremy. Liam had been so absorbed in the investigation, and in the Defence practice afterwards, that the matter had completely slipped his mind.

He also realised that it was almost midnight.

He jumped out of bed, hurriedly pulling his cloak on over his pyjamas. All the other boys were asleep. It did not even cross Liam's mind to tell somebody where he was going.

He was almost out of the door before he remembered about his wand. He paused, silently debating whether or not he should take it. He put it into his pocket almost as an afterthought. He knew that even if the need arose, he would not be able to do much with it.

As he crept through the dark hallways, Liam appreciated for the first time how old the castle was. In the darkness, the statues and suits of armour seemed to move with a life of their own, and the draughts turned into moans and whispers. Liam fervently hoped he would not run into any of the ghosts. He knew they were harmless, but he still did not want to see a glowing apparition gliding towards him in the darkness.

He arrived at the library, puffed-out and jittery. It was ten past twelve. The door squeaked disconcertingly as he opened it.

Inside the library, it was even darker than in the hallways. Liam could just see the shadowy outline of the shelves.

There was no sign of Jeremy.

Liam crept towards the shelves. Unexpectedly, his shin collided with something small and hard, and Liam swore loudly. The sound of his own voice terrified him into silence. Ghosts were bad enough, but getting caught by Filch was a much more worrying prospect.

Liam decided that he had no choice but to risk a little light. He had learned the "Lumos" spell at the DA meeting earlier, and decided that it was time to use it.

With the tip of his wand lighting his way, Liam crept deeper into the rows of books. "Leighton, where the hell are you?" he muttered, not really expecting a reply.

But the reply did come, from behind him. "Over here, Grady."

Liam nearly dropped his wand in shock. "Jesus, Leighton!"

Jeremy was leaning against the bookshelf, looking at Liam with a cool expression. "What are you scared of, Grady? The dark?"

Liam scowled. "No, I'm not bloody scared of the dark! It's more like having you creep up behind me in the middle of the night, in a draughty, thousand-year-old castle. Not pleasant, Leighton."

Jeremy smiled a cold, sardonic smile. "You really are a Muggle, aren't you, Grady?"

"And if I was? You don't know anything about Muggles, Leighton."

"I know they can't fight magic. I know they've no defence against the coming war. They'll all die, Grady. That's what I know."

"Fuck you, Leighton. You don't know shit."

Jeremy smiled again. "I thought you wanted me to tell you something?"

"Yeah, so did I. Now I'm not so sure. Anything you tell me is likely to be a load of bollocks, isn't it?"

"Yeah. You got that right, Grady."

And suddenly Jeremy's wand was in his hand, and it was pointing at Liam. Liam did not wait to see what would happen next - he just yelled out the first spell that came into his mind. "Expelliarmus!"

Even as he reached out to catch Jeremy's wand, Liam thought how lucky it was that he had learned that spell just two hours earlier at the DA meeting.

But that was the last stroke of luck he had.

As soon as the wand was in his hand, Liam turned around to walk away. He found, however, that end of the row of shelves was blocked by the towering form of Vincent Crabbe.

He whirled to face Jeremy again, and saw that Gregory Goyle was standing behind him, leering unpleasantly. Liam backed away, but there was the looming form of Crabbe, slowly raising his wand...

Liam just managed to yell "Ex..." before he felt something hit him between the shoulder blades. Immediately, his arms snapped to his sides and his legs slammed together. Then he toppled over, rigid as log.

"Mobilicorpus," said Jeremy, and Liam was lifted into the air.

"Leighton, you prick! I'll fucking kill you!" he screamed, as his head knocked painfully into the shelf. "Let me down, you turd!"

"Silencio," said Jeremy calmly, and Liam's screams stopped. He was still yelling at the top of his lungs, but no sound was coming out.

Jeremy levitated Liam's frozen body out of the bookshelves and into a clear space, where the desks normally were. There were about a dozen people gathered there. In the darkness, Liam could not see who they were, but he recognised the icy drawl of Draco Malfoy. "Nice work, Leighton. Maybe you are faithful after all."

"I told you. I would not betray you. I hate Muggles," said Jeremy, though Liam caught a waver in his voice.

"Well, then perhaps you won't mind showing us all just how much you hate them?" said Malfoy.

Immediately, Jeremy lowered his wand and Liam dropped to the floor. He was still in a full body-bind, so he had no way of easing his landing. He heard a sickening crack, and stab of agonising pain in his ankle.

Liam screamed soundlessly. There was a cheer, and laughter from the onlookers.

"Lumos," said Malfoy, and Liam was blinded by the light from his wand. Malfoy drew back, perhaps to examine the damage, and for the first time, Liam could see the faces of the gathered students. They were all Slytherins, he saw that straight away, but he was shocked to realise how young some of them were. One, a thin, pale-faced girl, looked even younger than Tara. Liam felt physically sick with horror, when he saw her expression of sadistic malice. Even through his pain, he still wondered what evil could have made such a monster of this child, what lies had been fed her to erase all sense of human compassion.

"Good, Leighton!" barked Malfoy. "But surely you can come up with something better?"

Liam saw Jeremy nod, and raise his wand in a shaking hand. "Caederecorpus," he said.

Liam felt something slash across his chest, like the claws of a cat. Malfoy grabbed Jeremy by the cloak and pulled him close, so their faces were almost touching. "You didn't mean that!" he yelled. "He betrayed the wizarding blood! He chose to live with Muggles! He is scum, Leighton!"

"Caederoocorpus!" shouted Jeremy, and this time, the cuts went deeper, causing Liam to gasp in pain. He could not lift his head to look, but he knew that he was bleeding. Oh God, please let me get out of this alive, he thought desperately. God, what will they do next?

The answer came in the booming voice of either Crabbe or Goyle - in his horrified state, Liam could not tell the difference. "Incendio," said the voice.

And now his cloak was on fire, and Liam was screaming again as the pain intensified. The flames threw a flickering light onto the faces of the Slytherins, distorting them into grotesque, leering monstrosities. The little pale-faced girl was laughing, her head thrown back, her eyes glittering with mirth.

Had Liam been in any state to do so, he would have noticed that not all the Slytherins were laughing, that some wore expressions of horror and revulsion and fear. All he could see, however, was the laughing girl, and all he could feel was terrible agonising pain, as his cloak fell away to ashes and his flesh burned and sizzled away.

Abruptly, the flames evaporated, though the burns remained. The cheers and laughter of the Slytherins echoed around the library, distorted just like their faces, twisted by the stone walls into something painful and horrible. Above all that, Liam could hear the sound of his own silent sobs, though he knew that sound was really in his mind. His thoughts, at least the ones that could be put into words, had been reduced to a desperate litany of Please, make it stop. Please, make it stop.

Somebody - Liam was not sure who - levitated him up above the heads of the Slytherins. And then, finally, all the spells were released. His legs unlocked, his arms relaxed and his harsh breathing became a real sound once again. The levitation spell was released last of all, and Liam plummeted to the hard stone floor.

"That's what you get for betraying your blood, Muggle," said Malfoy. "That's what all the Muggles will get." He spat in Liam's face.

"Too bad we can't let you remember this," said Crabbe or Goyle. "Oh well."

Liam tried to speak, but all that came out was a sort of croak. He lay limp on the floor, bruised, bleeding and burnt.

"Good night, Grady. Hope you found out what you wanted." There was a roar of harsh laughter. "Obliviate!"

Liam was aware of pain, and darkness, and the sound of footsteps, retreating.

And then, just darkness.