Harry Potter and the Silent Siege

Chapter 13

The Secret Room

A sharp wind stung the side of Harry's face as he made his way to Hagrid's cabin on Christmas Day. The hut had never seemed so far away as it did to Harry on this occasion and he was never more glad to enter the cabin than when a rosy-cheeked Hagrid opened the door and let him in.

"Happy Christmas, Harry!" said Hagrid, clapping him hard on the back.

"Happy Christmas, Hagrid," Harry replied, sitting near the fire and letting it warm his hands and face. "Thanks for the - er - "

"The bonglewhompers?" asked Hagrid.

"Er, well, is that what they were, I wondered, actually, er, am I supposed to eat them?"

"Heavens, no!" cried Hagrid. "They're not fer yeh at all."

Harry looked puzzled.

"Yeh see, I still haven' givin' yeh yeh real gift yet."

"Oh?" said Harry, trying to sound curious rather than alarmed.

Hagrid smiled and winked. He waved away Fang, who wore a red bow around his neck, and reached under his table for a small package. Harry took the package from Hagrid and frowned in alarm as he felt something move inside. He smiled weakly at Hagrid and tapped his wand on the outside of the box. The wrapping opened and a bright orange ball of fur jumped out into his arms. Harry recognized in horror that it was one of Beethoven's puppies.

"Meet Snitch!"

"Snitch?"

"Yeah, Snitch, yeh know, Quidditch and all."

"I know, Hagrid."

"Well, I had to name him somethin', I mean, I had to get him into that box an' all, didn't I?"

"Er, thanks, Hagrid," Harry tried to say but his words were drowned out when Snitch trumpeted shrilly in his hands. He thought seriously of trying to give him back to Hagrid and was just thinking of how to say so without hurting his feelings when Snitch fixed him a sudden longing, almost mournful expression from his large black eyes.

"Aw, look," said Hagrid, watching Snitch. "He knows yeh his new master. Here, go on, give him a bonglewhomper. I've got a few here, somewhere." Hagrid moved a poisonous-looking weed killer from one of his tables and grabbed a few small white balls that looked like little Easter eggs. Harry held them up carefully in his hand where Snitch eyed them eagerly.

"Go on, he won' hurt yeh," said Hagrid.

Harry took one of the bonglewhompers between his tips of his fingers and slowly moved it closer to Snitch. His hand was about half an inch away when Snitch reached out with his trunk and grabbed onto both the bonglewhomper and Harry's finger. Harry felt Snitch sucking his finger in but it didn't hurt.

"He'll learn after a time. They all do. Go on, feed him another."

Harry took another bonglewhomper from Hagrid and fed it to Snitch who continued to look expectantly at him. He was about to give him yet another when Hagrid said.

"That's enough fer him; they don' know what's good for 'em, the young'uns. Just two at each meal time and he'll be fine."

"But Hagrid," said Harry, looking a little hopeful. "I'm afraid I'll have to leave, er, Snitch here for your safekeeping. We're only allowed to keep an owl, a cat, or a toad with us in the castle."

Hagrid raised a triumphant finger and Harry's face fell. "Ah! Don' yeh worry about that. I got yeh special permission from Professor McGonagall on account of he'll keep yeh safe see. Anyone unwelcome about he'll holla and holla till they go away. Ain' no better animal for givin' yeh a warnin', except maybe Fang o' course."

Fang brushed up against Hagrid's beard and slobbered his appreciation.

"Er, well, thanks, Hagrid," said Harry, as Snitch shrieked again, no doubt in protest that he was no longer being fed. "I - I'm sure he'll come in handy." He put Snitch down on the table in front of Hagrid and tried to ignore his screams.

Eventually, Snitch stopped screaming and appeared to fall asleep from exhaustion. Harry and Hagrid kept talking and Harry sampled some of Hagrid's Christmas pudding which was badly charred when Hagrid tried unsuccessfully to light it with his umbrella.

"Must have been a bit lavish with the fire whisky."

Harry quickly stuffed his piece under a chair in the corner while Hagrid's attention was briefly distracted by Fang.

After they had finished the Christmas pudding, it was nearly time for Hagrid and Harry to make their way back up to the castle for the feast. The conversation had slowed somewhat when Hagrid suddenly sighed deeply.

"Harry," he said.

Harry looked up at Hagrid curiously for a moment. He had the sense Hagrid was steeling himself to say something important but he was not sure what it could be.

"Heard anything from Sirius lately?"

Harry nodded. Sirius had sent him a generous helping of chocolate frogs and an expensive case for his new Firebolt that transfigured into a small briefcase for easy storage and handling. The briefcase had a label attached to it from the Quidditch shop in Hogsmeade and Harry had wondered that morning how Sirius had managed to make it there to buy the gift. Not that Sirius would ever tell him about this or anything else he was involved in, he reflected, somewhat despondently, and said so to Hagrid.

""Xpect Dumbledore's making him keep everything top secret. Don' yeh worry now."

Harry nodded again, a little more slowly this time.

"'Xpect it's been a bit lonely fer yeh this holiday, up in the castle."

"A bit," Harry admitted. "It's the first Christmas I've spent without Ron. But it's not that bad," he added. "I - I've developed a whole new strategy for the Quidditch team for next term. I think we've got at least a fair chance of winning the Cup."

"Oh, that sounds - that sounds - well, good, good, Harry," said Hagrid and smiled though Harry had the sudden sense his smile was not altogether genuine. "Listen," he said, frowning. "There's somethin' I wanted to say to yeh. Well." He looked down at the sleeping Snitch. "Ron 'n Hermione are together now, o' course, an' I know yeh wish 'em all the best an' o' course I do an' all as well but yeh know... well, it's like this, Harry, after yeh did in Yeh-Know-Who, the first time, well, when he was around no one had time to think, like; they just had to stop him, didn't they? But after he was gone, a lot o' people got to thinkin' about all the people they lost, about the things they could'uh done differently, like, an' they couldn't rightly do much of anythin' or they did things but they was never themselves really. They could'uh let all their pain out, see, but they kept it all in an' - "

"What does this have to do with Ron and Hermione?" asked Harry frowning.

"Well, yeh know, Harry, all I'm really sayin' is just - just don' get to, well, keepin' things all to yourself now. Yeh got to - got to, well, yeh know, yeh got to share yourself, yeh know, both the good things and the bad, with, well, with someone."

"Hagrid," said Harry, with a curious smile. "Are you trying to tell me I should find a girlfriend?"

Hagrid looked alarmed. "'Course not, 'course not, Harry, not unless yeh ready, o' course."

"It's not than I'm not ready, Hagrid, it's just - "

"'Course it isn't! 'Course it isn't!" Hagrid smiled weakly. "I, er, well, I was just thinkin' o' some people who just never, well, who were too, well, take feh instance Professor Nevins." Hagrid's face fell suddenly. "No, no, never mind, I shouldn't've said that. I forgot yeh didn't - no, never mind."

Hagrid shook his head but it was already too late.

"Forgot I didn't what, Hagrid?"

"Never mind, never mind. Forget I said anything. No business of mine - or anyone's," he added looking meaningfully at Harry.

But Harry was not going to be put off so easily. "Hagrid, do you know how Professor Nevins received the Order of Merlin?"

"No, no, I wouldn't know anything about that at all," replied Hagrid unconvincingly. "That's somethin' Professor Nevins will tell you if and when he's ready."

"Why would he tell me?"

"You?" said Hagrid, trying to conceal the thunderstruck expression on his face. "No, can' think o' why he would tell you. I - I meant tell anyone.... Anyhow," he slapped Harry hard on the back, causing him to fall off his stool. "How did we get onto all this doom and gloom, eh? It's Christmas! How about another piece o' Christmas puddin' to warm yeh up, eh?"

Harry tried to smile but he could not help but wonder what Hagrid had really been trying to tell him. What was it about Professor Nevins he was so anxious for Harry not to find out, and what did it have to do with him?

***

Christmas holidays seemed to come to an end far too early for Harry's liking. It was true that he missed Ron and Hermione very much, despite their frequent owl cards, in which they tried to convince him - unsuccessfully - that they were not having the time of their lives. Nevertheless, Harry had enjoyed the time off with no lessons and they had received far less work during the holidays this year than in their previous O.W.L. year. He had been truthful to Hagrid when he had told him that, in the absence of his regular lessons, he had been able to devote a great deal of time to devising a plan to help Gryffindor win the Quidditch cup and he was eager to try out his plan on the team. On more than one occasion, however, it frightened Harry how closely he seemed to equal the obsessive spirit of his former captain and mentor Oliver Wood.

There was another reason Harry was dreading the return of school, however, and that concerned Ginny Weasley. The truth was that the recorded faces of the Weird Sisters had looked at Harry through the fireplace many times that Christmas holiday as he sat down alone in the common room pouring over his strategies for Quidditch. But as the break got nearer to an end, Harry felt more and more guilty at listening to the recording and finally stuffed the parchment high up in his wardrobe where he hoped he would not be easily tempted to reach it.

The source of Harry's guilt was not the quality of the present, which he had enjoyed very much, but his misgivings about the manner in which it was given. In the time Harry had spent by himself during the holidays, he had thought very honestly about his friendship with Ginny. And the more he thought about it, the more Harry decided that Ron hadn't been right at all: even after all these years, Ginny still had some kind of crush on him. This wasn't the first time he had thought about this, of course. Ron had all but told him that Ginny fancied him the first year she came to Hogwarts and then, of course, Harry had gone and saved her life, which had only made things worse. And then there was the dropping of plates, and the furious blush that would creep across her face whenever she saw him. Harry had tried to ignore this for a long time, convincing himself that she would grow out of it - that she had grown out of it. This hadn't been too difficult to do when Ginny had seemed too shy to say very much of anything in front of him. But now it seemed that Ginny was getting less and less shy. Before long, Harry realized with a deep feeling of dread, she was going to try and say something about it to him. On more than one occasion during the holidays, Harry had been seized by the horrible image of Ginny cornering him in the common room singing "his eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad" while Fred and George sniggered and Ron looked on in disgust.

The Valentine. If only he hadn't asked her about that. Why had he asked her? Why had he cared? Wasn't it obvious to anyone but a pea-brained troll that she had sent it to him? Was he so vain that he wanted to hear her tell him? Whatever the case, Harry realized that he had unwittingly given her some encouragement that cursed night of the ball. He had tried to back out of it the next morning but she obviously hadn't taken the hint. She must have started to study with them so that she could get nearer him. It was obvious now that Harry thought about it. And then she had given him the Christmas gift and as difficult as it was for Harry to understand anything girls thought, he was sure the hug they had shared on the train platform had meant much more to her than a simple expression of friendship. And he had not discouraged her then either.

Harry was certain he did not want to hurt Ginny's feelings and he still desperately hoped that her feelings for him would change or go away but he also faced the fact that this now seemed very unlikely. And since Harry was sure he had spent most of the year fueling Ginny's crush with both the things he had said and the things he had left unsaid, it was his duty to let her down as gently as he could and explain to her that while he enjoyed the time they spent together, he was not interested in a romantic friendship.

And so Harry steeled himself for the conversation with Ginny. He practiced in front of the mirror so many times that it finally said back to him: "Well, no, dear, no more do I." He rehearsed to himself the conversation he would have with Ginny all the way to the train depot like he was practicing lines for a play. But when the Weasleys and Hermione finally emerged from the Hogwarts Express, Harry found his resolve evaporate like steam from a kettle. Ron and Hermione immediately ran over and launched into an elaborate account of their skiing trip. Ron quickly abandoned his owl card façade and was full of enthusiasm about his adventures with the Muggles even though he sported a broken right arm and left leg. Hermione fussed a great deal about getting him to Madam Pomfrey and enlisted Harry's hep in levitating him up the stairs. Madam Pomfrey mended Ron's broken bones in a few minutes but clucked a great deal about primitive Muggle medicine as she spent much longer applying a breaking charm to Ron's Muggle casts. By the time his bones had been fixed, however, Ginny had disappeared and when Harry next saw her, she was with a group of her fellow fifth-years.

When Harry had imagined talking to Ginny, it had always been alone in the common room, the other students having mysteriously vanished. But in real life, no such thing occurred. The common room was always full of students, Ginny was always with her friends, and Harry was nearly always with Ron and Hermione. It was true that Ginny now seemed to be studying with them less and Harry wondered whether she might have lost interest in him but on quick reflection, he found this doubtful.

As January rolled into February, and Harry was still no nearer talking to Ginny, a new fear began to well up inside him. Ginny was waiting for February 14^th to roll around again and then she was going to plan to tell him something, or give him something and then things would be much more difficult. He had to find a way to talk to her sometime before then.

Harry was turning these things over his head one Thursday during the first week of February when he walked into Professor Nevins' office for his Defense Against the Dark Arts tutorial. Nevins had finished teaching him the levitatus charm and was now training him to block multiple curses. He conjured two life-like Death Eaters in his office, complete with robes and masks, that would change position and fire hexes at Harry in quick succession.

"Impedio!" cried Harry as he blocked one spell. "Imp - "

The second Death Eater's Avada Kedavra curse hit him on his arm.

"If that were a real curse, you would most probably be dead now," remarked Nevins offhandedly. "Try again."

Harry kept trying but nearly every time the second curse caught him on the hand. He found himself increasingly flustered until finally it seemed he could block spells from neither Death Eater.

"Finite Incantatem," shouted Nevins suddenly and both Death Eaters disappeared. He turned to Harry.

"Is there something bothering you today, Harry? You seem a little distracted."

Harry thought of lying to Nevins but then decided against it. "Well, to be honest, professor, there is something on my mind."

But if Harry thought he was going to earn any sympathy from Nevins, he was mistaken.

"And suppose, Harry, that you have something on your mind when the Death Eaters decide to strike, what then?"

"Well," said Harry, matter-of-factly. "I doubt I would be worrying about something else if any real Death Eaters were attacking me."

Harry realized too late that this had been the very last thing he should have said. Nevins' jaw hardened and he turned around to Harry and said:

"Then perhaps I should arrange for a more realistic exercise next week. That will be all for today. Please make sure that whatever it is that is distracting you is resolved by then. I expect nothing less than your full attention in my lessons. Oh, and I'm afraid I have another engagement next Thursday. You will meet me instead on Friday afternoon at 1 o'clock. We should be finished before your potions lesson at 3."

Harry nodded a little meekly and walked out of Nevins' office. He felt a mixture of guilt at having let his teacher down after he had taken the time to provide the extra lessons and apprehension at what Nevins was planning for the following week. It was the next day before Harry realized with horror that his following week's Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson would fall on Valentine's Day. Did Nevins realize this? Was that why he had changed the timing of their class? Did he suspect the true cause of Harry's distraction? Or was this merely an unhappy coincidence? Not for the first time, Harry found himself unnerved at how much Nevins seemed to know about him and how little Harry understood about Nevins in return.

Whatever the case, Harry knew that it would be very difficult for him to keep Ginny out of his mind as the morning of the 14^th of February dawned. As soon as Harry woke, he looked around his room furtively for any sign of golden-winged dwarfs bearing singing Valentines.

"Did you expect a Death Eater in our room?" asked Ron nonchalantly. "I suppose your new pet would warn us if there was anyone intruding." He indicated Snitch who had woken himself and was now bouncing up and down in an excited state on Harry's bed while Dean, Seamus, and Neville laughed.

"No, er, I was - I was just looking for my shoes."

Harry and Ron made their way down to breakfast. Harry kept turning corners nervously, sighing with relief when there was nothing unusual around the other side.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Ron. "Don't know why you're so jumpy. It's me that has to be worried. I suppose you haven't been keeping track but today is Valentine's Day."

Harry half-expected to walk into the Great Hall and discover it decorated with large pink flowers and heart-shaped confetti just as it had when Lockhart had been their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and tried to boost morale by sending out card-carrying cupids singing Valentines, the very thing that had led to the consternation Harry was now facing. He was relieved to find the hall looked much the same as usual.

Hermione was waiting for them, and had already started her breakfast. She greeted Ron with a kiss and took a present out from underneath her chair. It was a box of Honeydukes' chocolate in the shape of a heart.

"Thanks, Hermione!" Ron kissed her again.

"I knew a box of chocolate could never go wrong with you," said Hermione breezily to both Harry and Ron.

Ron started to look anxious again. For a sinking moment, Harry wondered whether Ron had forgotten to give her a present and began to eat his breakfast much faster. But then Ron said:

"Y - your present will be coming by post. It's a little big."

Hermione looked curiously at Ron. She did not have to wait long to find out what it was, however, for the hall was soon full of an unusually large number of owls, several of which collided in mid-air while trying to deliver mail to their senders. Amidst the usual envelopes and copies of the Daily Prophet flew a shower of small chocolate boxes and red roses. Harry prayed that none would fall his way. He looked over and saw that Cho was covered in flowers and had to put up her hands to stop any more from falling down on top of her. He turned his head sideways to look over at Ginny who was sitting several seats away from them with her roommates but found she seemed to have become very interested in her food. Harry's attention was quickly jerked back to the table, however, when Pigwidgeon and four tawny owls dropped a very long package in front of Hermione.

For a moment Harry thought Ron had given Hermione a broomstick but it was a little too wide and there was no bulge where the end should have been. Hermione looked at the package curiously for a moment as an unusually exhausted Pigwidgeon went to receive owl treats from Ron. Then she opened it.

And pulled out a long pair of magenta skis covered with light pink hearts that throbbed up and down magically. It was the gaudiest thing Harry had ever seen.

"I - I - I bought these when we were on holiday," explained Ron a little nervously, "and then I had it taken to a shop in Hogsmeade and enchanted. I suppose it violates the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts law but since my Dad - "

Ron's unnecessarily long explanation was cut short when Hermione planted a very sloppy kiss on his lips.

"Oh, Ron, it's wonderful! I've never owned a pair of skis before. How ever did you afford them?"

"Well, I'd saved up a bit of Muggle money from our trip and so I managed."

Hermione kissed him again. Harry looked over to see that Seamus and Dean had stopped eating and shoved napkins over their mouths to prevent themselves from laughing out loud. If he hadn't been so anxious, Harry probably would have joined them.

Finally, breakfast was over and Harry left the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione. He spent most of the morning looking around, startled at the slightest sound, convinced that an enchanted Valentine was going to come floating his way from Ginny. But as lunch came and went and his Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson loomed closer, Harry tried to force himself to concentrate on the tasks ahead. He knew that he would need all of his effort on this day.

With a feeling of panic that equaled if not surpassed his fear of receiving a new Valentine, Harry knocked on the door to Professor Nevins' office and was asked in.

Nevins was sitting at his desk and looked up at him with an air of indifference. "On time I see, Harry, good."

Nevins stood up and walked in front of his desk. He took out his wand and pointed it at two cabinets on either side of the room. Harry was sure they had not been there before.

"Do you know what is inside these cabinets, Harry?"

Harry shook his head.

"I confess I was at a loss as to what to plan for today's lesson, since my conjured Death Eaters were apparently not realistic enough for you last week. I could not, of course, bring a real Death Eater into my office but I think we can suffice with these. We have here two Boggarts. I recently had chance to talk to your former teacher, Professor Lupin." Nevins smiled his infuriatingly knowing smile. "He told me that you are very skilled at handling Boggarts. But this time, Harry, I don't want you to get rid of the Boggart, I want you to remain under their spell, as it were. I want you to pretend that these two Boggarts are really two Death Eaters, or two Dementors, or perhaps even two versions of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I want you to disarm them and keep disarming them."

Harry swallowed and nodded.

Nevins moved toward the left wardrobe door. "I will let this one out first. Then, when you are ready, I will release the second."

Harry nodded and then took out his wand and held it out in front of him, ready. He wasn't sure how he was going to disarm a Dementor - and he was nearly certain that a Dementor would emerge from the wardrobe. He concentrated for a moment on producing a Patronus should it become necessary. He had no sooner done so when Nevins opened the door to the wardrobe and a Boggart stepped out, slowly turned, and advanced on Harry.

But it was not a Dementor. Nor was it a Death Eater. Nor even the Dark Lord himself.

It was Ginny Weasley.

Only it was not quite like the real Ginny. The features were unmistakable, of course: Ginny's long red hair fell in locks down the front of her Gryffindor robes. But where Ginny's eyes were bright and her cheeks full of color, the Ginny that advanced on Harry was ghostly white, her lips were blue and her eyes were sullen and blank, as though there was nothing alive behind them.

If Nevins was surprised that the Boggart took Ginny's form, he did not show it.

"Now disarm it, Harry, before it gets any closer. Do it now."

Harry held out his wand in front of him and tried to cast a disarming spell on the Boggart but the curse seemed to catch in his throat. Ginny's eyes had narrowed and there was now a flicker of something behind them. Something accusing him. Harry felt a horrible sickening wave of guilt rush over him. Guilt for what he did not know. But he knew it was consuming him, eating him away. He knew he could not act. He could not strike.

"Do it now, Harry," Nevins was saying somewhere far away. "You can't stop to think. Disarm it!"

But Harry was frozen to the spot. He felt himself start to shake. The power of the guilt seemed to grab hold of him like a glove. A voice inside his head told him that any action he took would hurt him, that any choice he would make was wrong.

"Just get rid of it then!"

Nevins was shouting now. But still Ginny advanced. And the closer she got, the more Harry knew he wouldn't be able to stop her.

"Harry, do it now! Don't make me - you can't - Harry, no, you - "

And then very suddenly Nevins had run over and stood in front of the Boggart. Harry felt the crushing weight of his own angst leave him as the Boggart turned toward Nevins. He quickly stepped to one side.

Nevins pointed his wand at the Boggart. Harry noticed with surprise that Nevins no longer looked calm at all. His face was bright with deep purple blotches and when he spoke his voice was full of hysteria.

"Riddikulus! Riddikulus! Riddik - "

There was a popping noise and the Boggart changed form. Though Harry could not remember ever meeting its new face in person, it was unmistakable from the moving photographs he had poured over ever since his first day at Hogwarts.

It was Harry's father.

***

Ron and Hermione walked down the hallway toward the Gryffindor common room, hand in hand.

"A - are you sure you like them?" Ron asked for the dozenth time.

"Yes, Ron," said Hermione slowly, a faint trace of annoyance now creeping into her voice. "I would tell you if - "

Hermione suddenly stopped talking, tugged on Ron's hand, and pulled him into an alcove on the wall at the side.

"What?"

"Sssh!"

Hermione pointed out into the corridor. Lucius Malfoy was walking in the opposite direction.

"What's he doing here?" whispered Ron.

Hermione shook her head.

Malfoy was looking around cautiously, as if afraid he would be seen. He had nearly reached the point in the hallway where Ron and Hermione were hiding when a set of fussed, erratic footsteps could be heard coming toward him from around the corner and Professor Flitwick came into view.

On seeing Lucius Malfoy, Flitwick stepped back for a moment in surprise then burst into his typically gleeful smile.

"Oh, Mr. Malfoy!" He clapped his hands together. "So nice to see you again, sir! And to what do we owe the honor of your presence today?"

Malfoy's face twisted for a moment in annoyance and then settled into a hesitant smile. Hermione had the impression that Malfoy's desire for secrecy had suddenly been tested by his strong sense of vanity.

"I am here to attend a board meeting," Malfoy replied, lowering his head to look at the diminutive Flitwick.

"Most wonderful, sir!" Flitwick clapped his hands together again. "Most wonderful! And may I report how exceptional young Draco's progress has been this term!"

"That's likely," murmured Ron.

Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.

Malfoy's mouth curled into an ironic smile. "I would hope no less." He made to move around Flitwick but the Charms master stepped sideways so that he was once again facing him.

"I must say how gratifying it is to see our board members take such an active role in the life of the school! I'm sorry I never got a chance to speak to you myself the night of the ball. I was a little preoccupied with my own role in the festivities."

Malfoy's smile disappeared. "I'm sorry?" he said.

"The Guy Fawkes ball? I saw you there, during the fireworks? It was a most impressive display, was it not? All arranged by Professor Binns, of course. I - "

"I'm sorry, Professor. I think you must have been mistaken. I was not present at Hogwarts that night."

Flitwick frowned, but he was not so easily deterred. "On November 5^th? I was sure I - "

"I am aware of the date of the ball but as I said, Professor," said Malfoy, appearing to conceal his impatience with great difficulty. "I think you must have been mistaken. As I understand, it was quite dark at the time. I'm sure you could have easily mistaken me for someone else. Now, if you don't mind, Professor, I have some affairs to attend to."

"O - of course," stammered Flitwick, stepping out of the way. He looked curiously at Malfoy for a moment and then called after him: "A very good day to you, sir!"

Hermione and Ron watched as Flitwick frowned and muttered to himself, then continued to walk down the hall in the direction he was originally heading.

***

"Riddikulus! Riddikulus! R - r - "

Nevins fell to the floor in a heap.

"Professor Nevins!" cried Harry, alarmed.

"Make it stop!" whimpered Nevins, pulling his cloak over his head like a child who hoped he could make the monsters go away by hiding in his bed sheets. "Make it go away, please!"

Harry knew that he was the only one who could stop the Boggart now. He stepped in front of Nevins, his heart racing as he looked his own father in the eye. James' face was ghostly white, just as Ginny's had been, and his eyes flickered with the same accusing stare.

And then he paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing curiously, as if no longer sure he was facing the person to whom his blame was intended. Harry clutched his wand in his hand and the Boggart changed back into Ginny, its eyes narrowing again as it advanced on Harry.

Harry felt the cloud of guilt descend on his mind again but he forced himself to concentrate on something amusing.

"R - r - riddikulus!"

The Boggart staggered. Harry swished his wand again and it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Panting for breath, Harry moved to Professor Nevins. He could see right away that Nevins was now a pathetic shadow of the man who had taken such firm command of their Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. He remained sprawled across the floor, his back resting awkwardly on a chair and his breath coming only in panting rasps.

"Professor Nevins, are you all right?"

Nevins did not reply for a moment but stared up at the ceiling.

"Professor Nevins!" said Harry again.

"That will be all for today, Harry," said Nevins in a dream-like voice. "I'm afraid I'm not really feeling very well."

"Professor, I think I'd better take you to the hospital wing."

"No, Harry, that won't be necessary. Just - "

"But Professor, I - "

"GO!" Nevins boomed, his face purple, pointing a shaking finger at the door. "YOU'VE CAUSED ENOUGH TROUBLE AS IT IS! NOW JUST GO!"

Harry did not reply. Shaken, he quickly gathered his books and left the office as fast as he could.

***

Ron and Hermione had returned to the common room where Hermione was reading Ron's Potions assignment before class, making occasional groans, scowls, and corrections with her quill.

"I didn't know old Flitwick was so good at kissing up [int]," said Ron, looking over Hermione's shoulder.

Hermione stopped reading for a moment. "More to the point, what was Lucius Malfoy doing here the night of the ball?"

"You think he was really here then?"

"Yes! And he didn't want Flitwick to know. Which means he was up to something, I'm sure of it and - " Hermione suddenly stopped. "Harry!"

Harry had just stumbled in and sat down at the table beside them.

"You were fast, mate," said Ron. "I thought - "

"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione jumped in. "You look awful."

It was a great effort for Harry to open his mouth at all. When he finally did, however, he found he could not stop talking until he had told Ron and Hermione what had happened in Nevins' office. He did not, however, tell them that his Boggart had turned into Ginny. Instead, he said that it had taken the form of a Dementor.

"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Ron, his eyes wide.

Hermione looked shocked as well. "Oh, Harry, I'm really sorry," she said.

"But then." Comprehension dawned on Ron's face. "He must have had some reason for being afraid of your father, mustn't he? I mean - but why?"

"Hagrid must know," said Harry softly. "He keeps giving me hints."

Ron gulped. "Do you - do you reckon you ought to ask him?"

"No, Ron!" said Hermione. "Of course he won't tell us. But I think Nevins ought to tell Harry."

"I don't know if he can," said Harry. "I don't know how he's going to cope with this at all. He looked awful when I left his office."

"And you look awful, too, mate," said Ron. He picked up a bowl of chocolate from the table and handed a square to Harry. "Go on, have a bit of this."

Harry took a square of chocolate and started eating it. Almost immediately, he began to feel better.

"Thanks, Ron," he said. He frowned at the bowl of chocolate. "Is this someone's Valentine gift?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks of amazement.

"What?" asked Harry.

"Blimey, don't you know?" asked Ron. "Madam Pomfrey put these all over the common room. After what happened last night, she didn't want to take any more chances."

Harry continued to stare blankly at his two friends. "What happened last night?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged meaningful looks again. Harry suddenly realized that with all of the fuss about the Valentines he hadn't had a proper conversation with his two friends all day.

"Harry went to bed early, remember, after Quidditch practice?" said Hermione to Ron.

"Yeah, but I didn't think anyone could have slept through that racket."

"Why don't you drag things out a little longer?" Harry suggested.

"Sorry," said Ron. "Ginny's roommate - what's her name?" he asked Hermione. "Long blond hair," he explained to Harry.

"Catherine," said Hermione, with a very faint note of reproach.

"Yeah, her. She had some kind of fainting spell last night. Had to go to the hospital wing. She's just resting today. Madam Pomfrey said she'd be all right. Bit scary though."

Hermione shook her head. "The stress must be too much for her. For all of them. It's a good thing Madam Pomfrey put out that chocolate. I think they'll need it."

"Sorry," said Harry. "All of who?"

"The fifth years?" said Hermione, looking at Harry like he was slightly dense. "The O.W.Ls?"

"Or did you forget taking yours?" asked Ron.

"But," said Harry. "The O.W.Ls aren't 'till the end of the year."

"You really haven't gotten out much this term, have you?" said Ron.

"I've been... preoccupied."

"They changed the O.W.Ls this year," explained Hermione. "They're taking half at the end of the term but they're taking the other half right after the Easter holidays. They say it's so there'll be less pressure and more time to study, but personally I think it's going to make things worse."

"All because Hannah Abbot had to spend all summer in St. Mungo's when her brain engorgement charm misfired," said Ron.

Harry paused to consider the implications of what Ron and Hermione were saying. Brian Watkins, a beater on the Quidditch team, was a fifth year, but he had never once told Harry about the upcoming exams or complained about their extra practices. Harry suddenly felt a little guilty, then he heard Ron say:

"Ginny's been in a right state."

"Ginny?" asked Harry.

"My sister, Ginny?" Ron looked curiously at Harry.

"I know who Ginny is," snapped Harry.

"Right, well," said Ron. "She's all wound up about it and all. What with Charlie and Bill and Percy being so perfect. And Mum getting in a fit about Fred and George and then there was my History of Magic failure, as if I need History of Magic, anyway."

"Totally stupid what they're doing with the test schedule," declared Hermione, shaking her head. "Totally stupid."

Harry sighed. That explained why she had been studying with the fifth years. They had obviously been testing each other. He suddenly realized he had been so frightened about what Ginny might say to him that he had hardly talked to her all term. Yet it now seemed obvious that her mind had been on something else altogether.

"Hey," said Ron suddenly, almost in a whisper. "You'll never guess who we ran into on the way here."

"Ron," said Hermione in a sweet voice. "I think Harry's had enough to deal with for one day."

But Harry's curiosity was already peaked. "Who?"

Ron told Harry about Lucius Malfoy's conversation with Flitwick.

Harry whistled. He looked at Hermione. "So Draco must have been meeting with him in the castle the night of the ball?"

Hermione nodded. "But what they were doing, we still have no idea."

Ron suddenly looked at his watch. "Crikey, it's five to three. We'll be late."

Hermione looked over at Harry. "Perhaps you'd better stay here and rest."

Harry shook his head. "No, I'll come. It'll take my mind off things."

And so Harry, Hermione, and Ron set off for Potions.

***

Lately, Harry had been retiring to bed relatively early after nights of exhausting Quidditch practice but on this evening, without telling Ron and Hermione why, he stayed up to study together with them until finally first Hermione and then Ron went to bed. Neither of them asked Harry further about his strange encounter with Nevins and the Boggart. Hermione did suggest that he should get to bed early but did not object when Harry suggested that continuing to finish his report for History of Magic would help to keep him preoccupied.

Harry stayed up to study long after Ron and Hermione had gone to bed. But he was not alone in the common room. Several of the fifth-years, including Ginny, were studying in a group at a corner table, as Harry had guessed they would be. Harry watched, a little absent-mindedly, as they each got up and left in turn until finally Ginny was the only one left.

Harry waited until the last of Ginny's study partners had closed the door to her room before he got up and very slowly walked over to where she was sitting. That very same morning he would have given anything for the chance to sit Ginny down alone and have a serious, if awkward, conversation in which he explained that his feelings for her did not go beyond friendship. But that morning now seemed a very long time ago.

Harry thought to himself how self-centered he had been. He had avoided Ginny the entire term because he had assumed that she spent every minute of every day obsessed with him when in fact it was obvious that she had much pressing concerns on her mind in the form of the upcoming O.W.Ls and the weight of her family's expectations of her performance. And how stupid he had been to let the whole question of Ginny's crush bother him so badly that he feared her more than Dementors or Voldemort.

Ginny did not look up as he approached but remained absorbed in her work. As he walked over to her, Harry watched as her eyes moved from the book open on her desk to the parchment on which she was writing, deep in concentration. He couldn't help but think how different she looked from the Boggart that had adopted her likeness. The Boggart had seemed so cold and lifeless but, although Harry was sure why, in the simple act of looking at a book, the real Ginny seemed to radiate life.

And then Ginny did look up. And for the briefest of moments, their eyes met and neither said a word. Then, as if nothing had happened, Harry said:

"Hi, Ginny."

"Hi, Harry."

Ginny looked back down at her work again, perhaps assuming that Harry was only intending to greet her and then move on to bed. When he did not move after a few moments, however, she put down her quill and looked up at him again.

"Er," said Harry. "I - I'm sorry I never got a chance to thank you again for your Christmas present. I've listened to it a lot. I really like it."

Ginny smiled, a slightly tired smile, Harry thought.

"That's OK, Harry."

"You're studying for your O.W.Ls?"

Ginny nodded and sighed. "Too many tests, not enough O.W.Ls in the family already, apparently," she said, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, I - I'm sure you'll do well," Harry said, a little lamely, he thought.

"Thanks." Ginny looked back down at her book, rubbing a tired eye.

"Well, good night."

"Good night, Harry."

But Harry still did not leave. He still wasn't sure quite why he had stopped to talk to Ginny in the first place, except that he seemed to have a pressing need to make sure she was still in one piece after the Boggart incident. He had fully intended to leave after saying good night but something seemed to root him to the spot. He felt a sudden urge to move closer still.

And then Ginny looked up from her paper and their eyes met again. There was a puzzled look on her face as if she was seeing him properly for the first time that evening.

"Harry?" she said.

Harry looked away and coughed uncomfortably. "Sorry I was just lost in thought. Good night." He turned around without looking at her and walked back to his dormitory, closing the door behind him. All of his roommates were now asleep. Harry sat on the bed for a moment and sighed. His brief talk with Ginny left him feeling somewhat unsatisfied. Then he rifled through his drawer for a piece of parchment. The first one he found was red and he stuffed that back decisively. That would definitely give her the wrong idea. He settled on a slightly faded piece of off-white parchment and began to write in what he hoped was a casual scrawl:

Ginny,

I can imagine it must be really hard to take the O.W.Ls in such a big family. Ron was always talking about how your mum bugged him about Percy and Charlie and Bill. But it's not really as bad as you think -

That was a lie, thought Harry, but he kept writing.

Your friend,

Harry

The next morning, Harry left breakfast early and went to the owlery to deliver the parchment to Hedwig. By lunch time, he was engrossed in a hushed talk with Hermione (Ron not yet having returned from double Divination) about the visit of Lucius Malfoy. Hermione was telling him that he should send another owl to Sirius about it when Harry spotted Hedwig flying over his head to deliver the parchment to Ginny who was just getting up from a hastily consumed lunch. Harry watched out of the corner of his eye as Hedwig flapped her wings noisily in front of Ginny in a Pigwidgeon-like manner, then dropped the parchment in front of her. Ginny frowned in curiosity and then unrolled the parchment but before she could read it, Hedwig had stretched out her wing and nuzzled it against Ginny's arm, causing her to giggle. Harry had never seen the usually dignified Hedwig behave in such an openly affectionate manner to anyone before, not even him. Finally, Ginny read the letter and owl and recipient trotted slowly over to Harry. Harry fed Hedwig an owl treat and then looked up at Ginny.

Ginny held up the parchment in her hand.

"Thank you, Harry," she said. "I will."

And before she could stop herself, Ginny bent over and kissed him on the cheek, then briskly strode out of the hall.

Harry sat frozen to the spot for a moment. There was a strange tingling warmth at the spot where Ginny had kissed him like the memory of a comfortable fire. But then, almost as if Harry could feel it coming, the warmth began to fade and Harry conjured the sudden image of plunging from the top of the castle on a warm summer's day into the dark, icy depths of the lake below. The dark, icy feeling seemed to travel from his face down through his throat and settle uncomfortably in his stomach.

He looked ahead and was surprised to see Hermione scrutinizing him. She looked very concerned.

"Harry? Are you all right?"

"I'm not sure," said Harry after a moment's pause. "I - I don't think I feel like eating any more lunch."

Hermione continued to frown at Harry for a moment. Then both of them jumped as a pile of heavy books was abruptly dropped on the table next to them.

"Are you finished with that, Harry?" asked Ron, indicating a bowl of chicken drumsticks on the table in front of him.

Harry nodded absently.

"Good, I'm starving. You two are lucky to be out of Divination, that's all I have to say. So," he said brightly, looking from Harry to Hermione. "What are we talking about?"

***

For Ginny and her fellow fifth-years, the weeks until the Easter holidays passed by very fast. Ginny's routine changed very little each day. She and her friends developed a rotating schedule of study for each of their subjects and spent most every day and every night reading books and sharing parchments of notes. Ginny's attitude, on the other hand, had changed a great deal since receiving the note from Harry. She did not think it suggested any romantic interest on his part and had not failed to notice that it had arrived the day after Valentine's Day, but it no longer seemed that Harry had as much regard for her as the leg of a chair which was the impression he had given during the first few weeks of the term. Although the date of their first set of O.W.Ls grew ever nearer, Ginny found that she no longer seemed filled with a sense of despair that there was so much to study and so little time. Only once did she take Harry up on his offer for help with her work but it still felt as if he was always present in the battle in her heart against the dueling phantoms of her successful older brothers. Even more encouragingly, Ginny had still not had any nightmares about Harry since the night of the Guy Fawkes ball.

Most everyone stayed during the Easter holidays, including all of the fifth years. Finally, on the last Sunday evening of the holidays, the examiners were seen arriving, along with many of the returning students, to begin the O.W.Ls that Monday morning. At dinner the evening before, Ginny sat with Amanda, Catherine, and Colin, discussing their strategy for the final squeeze before the next morning's tests.

"There's no use," Amanda sighed. "We're going to have to stay up all night. There's still too many charms we haven't gone over yet."

"My mum says that if you study it all the night before, you'll forget after the next day," said Colin.

"We've not just been studying the night before," retorted Amanda. "We just have to finish."

Catherine sighed and put down her napkin. "I don't think I can eat anymore. I'll go and get a table for us in the common room."

"You're not studying with us," said Amanda decisively. "You're supposed to rest, remember?"

"But how am I supposed to take this test if I'm not allowed to study?"

"You'll do better if you're not about to faint in the exam room," replied Ginny.

"I'll just stay for a few hours then," said Catherine and got up to leave.

"Don't worry," said Ginny to Colin and Amanda, who looked a little despondent. "It'll be all right. We can go on a bakery run after everyone else shifts off to bed."

"What's a bakery run?" asked Colin.

"Fred and George used to go on bakery runs," explained Ginny. "Last minute studying was a regular thing for them. You nip out at night, watch for Filch, and then go down to the kitchens. If you get there about 2 or 3, the house elves are just starting to bake the pastries for breakfast and they're ever so fresh."

"You can't just go nicking things from the house elves," said Colin indignantly.

"They don't mind," said Amanda. "You S.P.E.W. chaps never understand this. They like giving away things. You don't have to come, of course," she added, reading Colin's frown. "But I think it sounds like a wonderful idea."

And so later on that evening, the fifth years sat sprawled throughout the Gryffindor common room, untidy parchments and dusty tomes cluttering the desks around them. It had been several hours since Hermione, Harry, and Ron had stopped to wish Ginny good luck before going to bed. Not long afterward, Ginny and Amanda had forced Catherine to bed herself. As the long night wore on, more and more of the fifth years seemed to come to the decision that there was no use trying to cram any more facts into their heads. Ginny, Amanda, and a reluctant Colin had decided to brave the kitchens at three. As the clock passed two, Ginny felt as if someone had attached lead weights to her eyelids, but she was pleased that she had thought of going on the bakery run. The thought of a fresh, warm pastry sticking to her tongue forced her to push on. Finally, Amanda announced with delight the arrival of three o'clock and she and Ginny quickly stood up and made their way across to the portrait hole.

Amanda turned back and looked at Colin.

"You're not coming?"

Colin grudgingly stood up and followed them.

"Don't be surprised if they don't give you anything," he said as the three of them walked out of the portrait hole. "That's if we get past Filch and Mrs. Norris."

"I asked if you were coming, I wasn't asking you to come," hissed Amanda.

"Well, you wouldn't get very far without a S.P.E.W. representative, I assure you."

"Ginny's brothers did just fine."

"That was before Hermione got militant!"

"I don't see much militance," retorted Amanda.

"Oh, you just wait."

"Perhaps you'll both shut up so we're not caught," whispered Ginny as the three of them made their way down to the bottom of the staircase that led to Gryffindor Tower and out into the main hallway.

Not just on one occasion did Ginny wish they had Harry's invisibility cloak with them as they got lost after dodging several ghosts and then, right as they were almost on top of the entrance to the kitchens, found themselves face to face with Mrs. Norris who glowered menacingly at them. Fortunately, Ginny had thought to bring some cat treats with her that she had borrowed from Hermione. Mrs. Norris glared at her for a few heart-stopping moments as Ginny held the treats out in front of her, but then decided that appetite was much more important than duty and settled down contentedly to eat the snacks which Ginny left on the floor.

Their way clear, Amanda, Colin, and Ginny opened the door that led into the kitchens. Ginny knew that Filch wouldn't be far away and had every intention of leaving with the pastries as quickly as possible and then returning to Gryffindor Tower where they could be safely enjoyed. She was very surprised when the house elves, who had been busy over several bread-loaf shaped stoves and enormous cauldrons when they first entered, yelped in surprise and quickly gathered in a tight group at the center of the room to block their path.

Ginny had been about to open her mouth to say something when each of the elves reached into the folds of the tatty aprons that formed their only garments and produced equally shabby dark green hats which they placed upon their heads. Ginny noticed that each hat had a gold star in the middle.

One of the house elves stepped forward and cleared his throat. Spotting Colin, his eyes widened:

"Colin Creevey, sir," he said. "What an honor to have a senior member of S.P.E.W. in our midst!" He rubbed his hands together gleefully but then, very suddenly, as if wrestling with a split-personality, stepped back and folded his arms.

"And who are these?" He indicated Amanda and Ginny, his eyes narrowing and his ears twitching back and forth with suspicion. "What is their purpose here?"

Colin turned to look at Amanda and Ginny, meeting their looks of surprise with an expression of smug satisfaction.

"These are my friends, Dobby," he said, choosing his words very carefully. "This is Amanda, and this is Ginny," he said, gesturing to each of them in turn. "We are studying for our O.W.Ls and we wondered if you might be kind enough to give us some refreshments from the bakery."

Several of the house elves broke into large grins. From her limited experience with house elves in the past, Ginny felt sure that Colin had been much too polite and they would soon be returning to Gryffindor Tower with enough pastries to feed breakfast to all of its sleeping occupants twice over. But as the house elves made to get the pastries, they were stopped by another elf who had emerged from the side.

"We's don't just rush off to do their bidding anytime they like now. They's not our boss. They's only children. Remember what we've learned."

This house elf, whom Ginny guessed to be female from the way she talked, was wearing a dusty green hat with a star like the others yet her apron was not dirty and disheveled and it did not look as if she had been doing very much work around the kitchen.

At her words, several of the house elves looked disappointed but most murmured and nodded and several, including Dobby, reached into the folds of their aprons and produced small identical red books with gold lettering on the front.

"We's can't be too rude, Winky," said Dobby. "This is Colin Creevey, a member of S.P.E.W."

"I'm in S.P.E.W., too," said Ginny tentatively, remembering how Hermione had harassed her into joining the mailing list two years before.

"So am I," added Amanda, earning a nasty look from Colin.

Winky folded her arms and looked suspiciously at the three of them. "Very well," she said finally. "But give them only what they need. Don't be too eager. 'Tis us, not them, who's have to answer if there aren't enough pastries for breakfast in the morning."

Dobby immediately stepped forward, along with several of the other house elves, looking slightly relieved, and beckoned Ginny, Amanda, and Colin over to a door at the side of the kitchen. Winky watched them for a moment and then she and the house elves returned to the other part of the kitchen.

"Dobby is very sorry about Winky, sir," said Dobby to Colin as he jumped up and grasped hold of a large door handle with both hands and rode on it until it had opened far enough to admit the three Gryffindors. "Winky was not interested in joining S.P.E.W. at first," he went on, jumping back down to the floor and walking in through the door, "but now it's all she talks about."

Colin turned triumphantly to Amanda and Ginny as they followed Dobby into what appeared to be a large pantry. "Winky is proof people are wrong when they say the house elves don't want good working conditions. It's just that it's all they've been told for so long, they don't know how to believe anything else."

"'Tis true, sir, 'tis very true," muttered Dobby as several of the house elves lifted down a large, very tasty looking tray of freshly baked pastries.

"Dobby," said Ginny, "what's that book you have?"

Dobby reached for the small red book that was now half-hanging out of his apron and gave it to Ginny with a proud smile.

"We house elves made it ourselves. We still can't read but we enchanted the books so that they talk to us when we open different pages. We made our hats, too, since otherwise we would be accepting clothes." Dobby still looked a little crestfallen at this but brightened when he noticed Ginny studying the cover.

Ginny's eyes widened as soon as she saw the lettering on the front, which read:

COLLECTED SAYINGS OF MISS HERMIONE GRANGER

Ginny opened the book to the first page and nearly dropped it as Hermione's voice came booming out stridently from inside:

"Oppression is complete when individual agents become the tools of production rather than the masters of it. True liberty - "

Ginny turned another page.

"House elves will never become masters of their own destiny so long as knowledge and discourse remain solely in the hands of an elite community of wizards and witches. In order to balance - "

Ginny flipped to another page.

"Ron, I really don't think we should be snogging in the kitch - "

Ginny closed the book shut with a wince and handed it back to Dobby who gingerly replaced it in his pocket.

"Dobby, what's down here?" asked Amanda, as the house elves took individual pastries from the tray and began to wrap them neatly in a small basket.

Both Dobby and Ginny looked over to find Amanda standing at the far end of the pantry. As they moved closer, Ginny could see that behind a final row of shelves was a door. The door was slightly ajar, revealing an opening that led down a long corridor. What caught Amanda and Ginny's interest most of all was that a steady light seemed to pulse at the end, far too regularly to be the flame from a lantern.

"'Tis an old room," replied Dobby. "Not much used now."

"If it's not much used now, where is that light coming from?" wondered Ginny, half to herself. "Do you mind if we take a look?"

Dobby shrugged.

"Are you really sure we ought to?" asked Colin, who had joined them.

"Yes," replied Amanda, sounding a little annoyed.

"Well, I'm staying here," declared Colin. "I don't think - "

He was interrupted by the sound of a gasp from Ginny. Unseen by all of them, Winky had bounded into the pantry and now stood in front of the door to the corridor with her arms folded.

"You's not allowed inside! 'Tis private, private room for the house elves!"

"Winky!" Dobby walked forward angrily. "'You's rude to our guests! 'Tis no such thing and you know it!"

Winky turned around to face Dobby defiantly. "They's just controlling you, Dobby. They have no respect. They's just tricking you, trying to wander around in our kitchens, do whatever they likes!"

"They's in S.P.E.W!"

"This one is." Winky pointed to Colin. "But I don't know about the others."

"It's all right, Dobby," Colin chimed in. "We don't have to go anywhere. We - "

He winced as Amanda stepped on his toe. "But we would really like to if it's possible."

Winky looked as if she was about to protest again but at that moment, while Amanda, Colin, Dobby, and Winky were engaged in their battle of words, Ginny neatly ducked past Winky and began striding down the corridor in the direction of the light.

Ginny was immediately assaulted by a dank, musty smell that suggested the corridor was, like most of Hogwarts, very old. It might have also led Ginny to the impression that the corridor had not been used for a long time were it not for the insistent light at its end. The walls and floor were almost completely black and there was no evidence of lanterns or brackets where light other than the one ahead might have shone the way. As Ginny moved further down, the light seemed to grow stronger and Ginny could see more of her surroundings. She flinched as a group of rats scurried overhead and fought back a wave of claustrophobia as the corridor seemed to narrow and move slightly downward. She took out her wand and held it out in front of her, feeling slightly annoyed that she had not thought of doing so earlier.

She had not advanced particularly far from the kitchens when her presence was missed. She heard what sounded like the protesting squeals of Winky and the anxious cries of Amanda but she continued to press on. Finally, the narrow corridor moved in sideways so much that Ginny had to turn her body at an angle and the ceiling fell so low that she had to bend over, it gave way to another, much larger room that seemed to be the source of the light.

Ginny straightened up and took a careful look at her surroundings. The room she had entered was fairly long, about three times that of the Gryffindor common room, but also very narrow. Ginny guessed she could walk across the width of the room at all points in about seven or eight long strides. Along one wall of the room were four large portraits. Ginny recognized one from the statue in their common room as Godric Gryffindor and guessed the next two were those of Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and that the last, rather crooked-nosed, slightly balding wizard was Salazar Slytherin. All of the portraits seemed to be sleeping. On the other wall hung four large banners bearing the crests of each of the houses.

The ceiling of the room was also very high, almost as tall as the Burrow, Ginny guessed. Large unlit candelabras hung from the white ceiling, decorated with heavy cobwebs that suggested they had been neither used nor cleaned in some while. The walls from ceiling to floor were lined with elegant wood paneling, which looked a little cleaner and the paintings themselves were spotless.

Ginny turned her attention to the source of the pulsating light. A large round table, which took up about one quarter of the length of the room and nearly all its width was the room's only furniture. The table was surrounded by twelve chairs. Both the table and the furniture, like the surrounding portraits, were spotlessly clean. At the center of the table was a raised black dais. On top of the dais sat a large cauldron which appeared to be empty of any potion. Suspended in the air about an inch from the top of the cauldron was a large crystal. The crystal revolved in the air like the beacon on a lighthouse and a light glowed from within, shining whenever a part of the crystal turned around to face Ginny.

As she walked slowly nearer the table, Ginny could see that the light was not completely white. There was a faint blue tinge to it, like the light from an old star she had once viewed through a telescope on the Astronomy Tower. Though Ginny was sure she had seen neither the crystal nor the light before, she could not shake the feeling there was something very familiar about it.

"Ginny," said a panting voice from behind her.

Ginny turned around startled as if breaking out of a dream. Amanda stood in the doorway to the room, flanked by a nervous looking Dobby and a disgruntled-looking Winky.

"Are you all right?" asked Amanda.

"I'm fine," replied Ginny.

"Where are we?"

"'Tis an old room," said Dobby. "'Tis the original room of Hogwarts."

"The original room?" asked Ginny.

Winky growled and murmured something under her breath.

Dobby nodded. "'Tis underground so the Muggles couldn't find it. Before the enchantments. This is where they all met: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. We used to use it to store food but sometimes we is forgetting and the food got old." He shrugged apologetically. "It hasn't been used in at least one hundred years, I think."

"Then what are these?" Amanda had walked over to the other side of the table. Ginny looked over and noticed for the first time that there was something on the chairs, slightly obscured from view by the sides of the table.

Ginny gasped as Amanda held up two long black cloaks with long green snakes embroidered on either side. She walked around to join her roommate and saw that far from being one hundred years old, the robes looked almost new.

"They's just some old things," said Winky suddenly. "Old cloaks left by old masters."

Ginny looked around at Dobby who merely shrugged. She looked back at Amanda and saw that she did not look very convinced by Winky's explanation. Ginny ran her hand over the snake and shuddered.

"These look like Slytherin things," said Amanda.

Ginny looked down the robes and noticed out of the corner of her eye that the table behind them was ringed with small drawers, each adorned with a small brass knocker in the shape of different animals. A drawer with a snake knocker near the chair where they were standing was slightly open. Ginny pulled it open further. The drawer creaked slightly, and seemed quite old, but there was a black velvet lining inside that looked recently cleaned.

And resting neatly on top of the lining was a mask. Ginny had seen this mask once before during the Quidditch World Cup when its wearers had used it to remain unseen while they twirled a horrified Muggle family around and around in the sky.

Ginny went very pale as she gingerly caught hold of the mask and held it up for Amanda to see.

Amanda gasped. "But those - those are - "

"They belong to Death Eaters," finished Ginny.

"Then." Amanda paused and swallowed nervously. "Th - this must be some kind of meeting place for some kind of - of group - like Death Eaters in training or something." She grimaced.

Ginny held the mask in her hand thoughtfully. She rested it in the palm of one hand. Even with her fingers outstretched, she could barely bridge the distance between the openings for the eyes and mouth.

"Not in training," Ginny said, almost in a whisper, dropping the mask back into the drawer like it was a hot coal. "These masks are too big. These are for grown-up Death Eaters."

Amanda looked very queasy. "Ginny, let's get out of here."

Ginny did not respond right away. Her gaze had moved up once again to the pulsating light and her eyes opened wide.

"Ginny?" said Amanda more urgently.

Ginny nodded slowly.

Feeling this was not quite enough, Amanda took hold of Ginny's hand and the two girls made their way quickly toward the exit, trailed closely by Dobby and Winky who said nothing. They marched back through the corridor with long strides and when they had returned to the pantry, Ginny closed the door behind her and leaned on it until she heard an old catch click into position.

"What's going on?" asked Colin, holding a neatly tied bundle of pastries in his hand. "What was down there?"

"Nothing," replied Amanda shortly. "Now let's take the pastries and go."

"But what - " Colin looked at Ginny.

"You heard her," said Ginny, almost as sharply as Amanda and she led the way out of the pantry, not saying a word to Dobby, Winky, or any of the other house elves. She felt very little like eating anything now and fed generous amounts of pastries to Mrs. Norris who was still eyeing them as they left the kitchens. She felt very, very weary and after she Amanda and Colin had returned wordlessly to the Gryffindor common room, Ginny found it almost impossible to concentrate on her studies. It wasn't long before she left Amanda and Colin and went up to her dormitory, but before her head touched the pillow and she sank into a deep dreamless sleep, Ginny reached a decision that would sustain her through and prevent her from failing her Charms O.W.L. the next morning: she would not share the burden of her knowledge alone this time.

***

Following lunch the next day, Hermione sank into a large armchair and read over an Arithmancy parchment while Harry and Ron snatched a quick game of wizard chess before Potions. Snitch stood on the side of the chess board, occasionally trumpeting in alarm whenever a piece was destroyed. When Ron's queen finally placed Harry in check, however, Snitch jumped onto the board and attempted to destroy the queen himself.

"Get off the board!" cried Ron.

"Snitch, get away," snapped Harry.

Snitch looked up at Harry with large sorrowful eyes.

"Get away!" repeated Harry.

"Snitch!" Hermione clapped her hands. She took a bonglewhomper from the side of the board where Harry had been feeding Snitch earlier and held it out in her hand.

Snitch looked uncertainly at Hermione and then back at Harry again. Harry made a waving motion with his hands and after a moment's indecision, Snitch hopped merrily across the board, knocking two of Ron's pawns over in the process, and landed right in front of Hermione who fed him a bonglewhomper.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with that thing." Harry sighed.

"You just have to know how to take care of him," chided Hermione.

Harry looked up at Ron as if expecting an acerbic retort but when he realized none would be forthcoming, he replied:

"Bribe him more like."

Hermione shrugged and fed Snitch another bonglewhomper.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching. The three friends looked up to see Ginny walking over to the table. She looked slightly pale and her eyes were bloodshot.

"Ginny," said Ron immediately. "How did the test go? Is it over?"

Ginny nodded. "It went O.K., I think." She shrugged slightly and made no move to leave. Ron immediately returned to studying the wizard chess board.

"Did you, er, did you have any questions to ask us about your next test?" asked Harry, a little haltingly.

"No, Harry, but I - I need your help with something. All of you," she added.

Harry exchanged glances with Ron, who had looked up from the chess board again. Something in Ginny's voice reminded Harry of the time she had tried to tell he and Ron that it was she who had opened the Chamber of Secrets their second year, a conversation that had been interrupted when Percy Weasley had walked to their table and insisted that it had only been Ginny spying on him and his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater. Their failure to follow up on that conversation had nearly cost Ginny her life. Harry could see that Ron was thinking the same thing as him but it was Hermione who said:

"Ginny, what's wrong? You don't look very well."

"I need to show you something," said Ginny. "Right away."

Ron frowned and looked at his watch.

"Can it wait? Only we've got Potions in a half hour."

Ginny shook her head. "I think we'd better go now. Please," she added as Ron looked about to object. "It's important."

Harry looked at Hermione and saw that the prospect of being late for Potions had caused her own brow to crease with uncertainty. But he got up from his chair and said:

"Well, we'd better go then."

***

Ginny led Hermione, Ron, and Harry briskly through the corridors and down the stairs toward the kitchen.

"Where are we going?" demanded Ron.

"I can't tell you here, obviously," said Ginny a little furtively, glancing around at the throngs of students and the occasional teacher wandering the corridors during their lunch hour.

The end of her sentence was drowned out slightly by the cries of Snitch, who was peering out of Harry's breast pocket. In the rush to leave to see whatever it was Ginny wanted to show them and still make it back to Potions on time, Harry had decided to take the creature with him instead of returning it to his dormitory, a decision he had regretted as soon as he'd left the common room. Snitch, who seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, peered out of Harry's pocket and the eclectic stream of humanity wandering up and down the corridors around them. Whenever anyone walked near them, which happened often, he would let out a large cry like an over-sensitive proximity alarm. This attracted far more attention to the four Gryffindors than Harry sensed that Ginny wanted.

As they walked down further into the castle, it seemed for a moment that Ginny was leading them right to the Potions classroom itself, but just as they had almost reached the room, they took a sharp left turn and went down another set of stairs to what Harry recognized as the kitchen. Snitch tried to cry out again but Harry stuffed him further down into his pocket.

"Amanda, Colin, and I came here last night," explained Ginny as they reached the kitchen doors. "On a bakery run."

"Fred and George," said Ron approvingly.

Ginny nodded quickly. "But we found something else, too, something that could be important."

Before the others could ask or object, Ginny had opened the door to the kitchen and the four of them stepped through the door inside.

At first, no one noticed them come in. The house elves were running around furiously, trying to catch large piles of dirty plates that whizzed down haphazardly from large holes that opened in the ceiling, evidently from the Great Hall. One house elf suddenly turned around and saw them there, then gasped and ran forward. He was soon joined by several others who quickly moved into close formation and fumbled in their aprons for their small green hats which they placed on their heads so quickly that most of them hung at a lopsided angle.

One house-elf, who Ginny recognized as Dobby, did a half-running leap from behind an oven and landed, slightly awkwardly in front of his fellows.

"Harry Potter, sir!" he cried in an almost imploring voice, "and Hermione Granger! What an honor, what an honor!"

Dobby went on with what sounded like additional praise but it was drowned out by the sound of several plates flying from the ceiling and smashing unattended onto the floor of the kitchen.

"Dobby," said Ginny, stepping forward. "We need a favor."

"Anything, anything," said Dobby ingratiatingly.

"We need to go back into the room at the end of the corridor, the one we went to last night."

Dobby's smile seemed to fade slightly and a look of hesitation flickered briefly across his face.

"Of course, of course. This way." He gestured toward the pantry. "But." He turned quickly to look at the others who had already started to follow him, causing Ron to trip over the back of Harry's foot.

"Do not tell Winky," Dobby said, lowering his voice as he led them through the pantry door. "She is - she has," he lowered his voice even further so that Harry had to bend down and lean forward to hear him, "become very difficult lately."

Harry thought of his meeting with Winky earlier that year and frowned. She had seemed just as eager to please as Dobby did now.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked.

Dobby shook his head a little sadly. "Dobby does not know. At first Dobby was pleased. Winky was horribly depressed for so long but then Winky began to get bossy." He frowned in anger. "Bossing everyone around. Protective of the kitchen. Rude to visitors."

Hermione thrust her chin forward proudly. "You mean she got a taste of freedom."

Dobby was obviously not willing or not able to contradict Hermione but Harry sensed he did not look convinced.

"Where is Winky, anyway?" asked Ron as they continued to walk among the pantry shelves.

"She is taking a noon time rest, sir," replied Dobby. "Winky feels she is entitled to days off now."

"Of course she is!" said Hermione.

"Well, it's not really fair, though, is it, if the other house elves don't get them?" Ron asked, a little cautiously.

"Dobby thinks so, too, sir," said Dobby, "but Dobby does not like to say."

They had now reached the entranceway to the corridor. The door was closed. Ginny tried to open it.

"It's locked," she announced.

Hermione took out her wand but before she could use it, Dobby made a motion with his hand as if throwing a ball and the door clicked open. He folded his arms and looked back proudly at the four students.

Ginny pushed open the door and started to walk down the corridor, holding her wand out in front of her. After a few steps, she realized that she was alone. She turned around to beckon to the others.

"What's down there?" she heard Ron ask, a little fearfully.

"You'll see," said Ginny, "now come on," she added in the same tense and anxious tone she had used when she had first ushered them out of the Gryffindor common room.

Ginny heard the reluctant footsteps of the three sixth-years behind her. She had moved a few more steps forward when she realized something was wrong. It took another moment for her to realize that the corridor was lit only by the light of the kitchen behind them. The area ahead was pitch black.

"Lumos," said Ginny and the others shortly followed suit.

Ron's wand illuminated an overweight black rat scurrying just beside them on the wall.

"Should have known there were rats down near the kitchens," he remarked.

The corridor sloped down further. Ron complained about the distance but Ginny ignored him. Finally, Ron and Harry had to bend over double to fit through the small opening at the end before the four of them finally emerged into the room Ginny had visited the night before.

"Whoa," said Ron as they made it inside. He, Harry, and Hermione looked all around them, taking in the high ceiling and the large portraits on the walls.

Ginny, however, made straight for the table at the middle, holding her wand light out in front of her. As soon as she had reached it, she could see that the cauldron and the crystal that had sat there the night before had now vanished. She quickly moved around to the other side of the table. There was nothing on the chairs. She opened the drawer that she and Amanda had examined the night before but it, too, was empty.

"I don't understand," said Ginny, exasperated. "They were here last night. They must be here somewhere." With a cry of frustration, she opened all of the drawers around the table in quick succession but there was nothing to be found.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry approached the table where Ginny was standing, their wand lights casting not over the robes and masks of Death Eaters but the plain wooden table and the silk-lined shelves of the open drawers.

"What was here, Ginny?" asked Hermione in a tone a parent might use on a child who continued to stubbornly insist on her erroneous explanation.

"Death Eater things!" Ginny replied, hitting her fist on the table. "Robes and masks and - " She sighed and looked from Ron to Harry to Hermione imploringly. "Amanda was here! She saw it, too, and - and Dobby."

"Well, the place looks recently cleaned, doesn't it?" said Harry, trying to be helpful.

Just then, Snitch jumped out of Harry's pocket, landed on top of the table, and broke into an ear-splitting scream.

"Stop it, Snitch!" said Harry, annoyed as the others plugged their ears with their fingers. "Stop it!"

But Snitch did not stop. He continued to trumpet with his growing trunk and jump up and down, his round eyes filled with alarm.

"Snitch!" cried Harry again.

"You should listen to the stupid thing, Potter," said a voice from somewhere behind them. "It's trying to tell you something."

Even before he had turned around to face him, Harry knew all too well the owner of the voice.

It was Draco Malfoy.