The Chalice of Morgridar

Chapter 7

The Snorkack Catcher

"Just handle one or two sales, please, Gins, just while we go in the back and fetch some Extendable Ears."

"No, I've got to go - now. I'm going to be late back to work!"

"If you take as long as the chap in charge of approving our magical enlargement, you could miss work for weeks and no one would know the difference."

"That's - I don't know about that. It's not my department!"

"Did you hear that, Fred?"

"'It's not my department!'" chorused the twins, mimicking a high, aristocratic female voice.

"Why do you both have to go back and get the Extendable Ears anyway? Couldn't one of you go and one of you stay here?"

"No," chorused the twins again.

"We never do it like that," added George.

"Will you say yes if we apologize for stealing Mr. Sunshine when you were nine?" asked Fred.

Ginny smirked in spite of herself.

"All right, one or two," she conceded, "but be quick!"

Ginny turned around to find that the line for the till now snaked halfway across the store. It certainly seemed that Fred and George needed help and probably not just on a temporary basis. She was glad to see that business was doing so well, however; it was hard to imagine that only a few weeks before, they'd been talking - quite literally - of downsizing.

She moved her way to the till and rang up the first customer, a young teenaged girl whose two blonde pigtails matched a Hufflepuff crest on her robes. She was buying a set of Puking Pastilles.

"Hello," said Ginny brightly. "Thank you for shopping at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes." Her eyes narrowed. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Not if I keep taking these!" The girl held up the pastilles.

"Ah, but you're supposed to take them during your lessons," Ginny replied. "For best effect," she added winking. She leaned forward conspiratorially. "They work especially well in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Thanks!" replied the girl cheerfully. "I'll remember that!"

Ginny chuckled mischievously as she moved to the next customer, a very short dark-haired boy with large glasses, his mother in tow.

"Hello," said Ginny, leaning down over the till. "Welcome to Weasleys' Wizard - aaah!"

She recoiled as a gooey liquid that smelled vaguely of the contents of a compost heap flew into her face. When she managed to clear her eyes, she looked down to see the boy holding a small, green, pod-like toy and grinning evilly.

"Malcolm!" chided the boy's mother. "Not while we're still in the shop! Now apologize to the young lady."

"I'm sorry," said Malcolm mechanically, but his grin did not disappear.

"Yes, well," said Ginny. "Careful how you use that - er - "

"Face-staining slime," finished Malcolm, still smiling.

"Yes, er, right - well, have a good day!"

Ginny was pleased to see Fred and George returning with a large box. She watched as they weaved their way through an expectant throng of small children and began to open it in front of a large empty container emblazoned with a drawing of a boy holding up an extendable ear and winking. Ginny quickly eyed the next customer in line, a tiny, mousey-faced girl with an angelic expression who carried enough joke merchandise in her arms to overthrow a small government.

"Someone will be right with you," she told the girl and hurried away to join Fred and George.

"Why did you - " Fred began, then broke off as he saw Ginny's face.

"Oh, dear," said George, turning around.

"What is this thing on my face?" demanded Ginny.

"Face-staining slime," replied George, grinning. "But don't worry." He took two rangy strides to a small shelf underneath a display of multi-colored gummy worms that were moving of their own accord. He took out what looked like a small piece of white chewing gum. "Take this. It'll clear up."

Ginny eagerly put the gum into her mouth and began chewing.

"In an hour or two," added Fred.

"What?"

"Sometimes faster," said George. "You never know."

Ginny sighed. "Look, one of you take over the till. I'm leaving." She paused. "Thanks for lunch, anyway. It was nice of you to take the time out; I can see you've got your hands full."

"We'd never forget our little sister," said George winking.

"Not so little anymore."

"Oh, right," said Fred, pointing at George. "We forgot."

"You're thirty!" chorused the twins loudly.

Fred reached down and picked up one of the Extendable Ears.

"These work as hearing aids, too, you know," he said.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Goodbye!" she said breezily. She fought her way through the crowds of children to the exit. Once out on the street, she walked quickly over to the large shop window of Magical Menagerie where she could safely scan her reflection. Only then did she look up to find that a deep green stain now covered most of the front of her face. To make matters worse, some sort of fuzzy hair-like substance had started to grow on her left cheek. She checked her Muggle wristwatch to find that she had only three minutes left until an important meeting with the vice-secretary of the Windylsyde Alliance. Obviously she couldn't go like this. Sighing, she realized that she'd just have to sneak back in later and nick Scrimpley Soggins' Time-Turner. In the meantime, she needed to find somewhere to hide.

Keeping her face low, Ginny made her way past several stores, wondering where she could safely window shop without being disturbed. At last she reached the entrance to Flourish and Blotts. Perfect, she thought. I can safely spend an hour engrossed in a book or two before heading back and no one will be any the wiser. Ginny slipped in through the front entrance and made a quick left turn. She continued toward the back and ducked between two high bookshelves. Scanning the shelves, her eyes caught onto a title: Famous Dark Wizards and their Alleged Demise: Truth, Fiction and Lies. Mildly amused, she opened the volume to a random page, scanned its contents, and chuckled to herself.

"Rubbish," she whispered under her breath.

Ginny was about to reach for another book when her attention was quickly diverted by an unexpected cacophony of applause. Startled, she made her way back out from the row of bookshelves and peered cautiously at the open space just inside the main entranceway. Quite a crowd had gathered, mostly of pre-teen children, with some adults in the background. The girl with the blonde pigtails who'd just purchased the Puking Pastilles in Fred and George's joke shop stood near the front, grinning excitedly.

Apparently, some sort of book signing was going on. Satisfied that she'd found the source of the commotion, Ginny moved back into the bookshelf aisle, still keeping her face hidden. She froze again, however, when a voice called out stridently.

"Thank you, thank you. Really, thank you."

The applause slowly died down.

"I'd just like to thank my publisher Pygmy Press for showing confidence in Freddie when no one else would."

The crowd applauded again. One or two children whistled in appreciation.

Ginny moved out from behind the bookcases again and leaned forward, cupping her hand around her left ear. There was something familiar about the voice. It was older now and tinged with a falsely aristocratic air, but still familiar.

"And I'd also like to thank my fan club the Snorkaroos - "

At this, the speaker was interrupted by most of the children (and several of the adults) who pursed their lips together to emit a high-pitched wailing sound that reminded Ginny of the noise she'd made when giving birth to Siosia. She winced and covered her ears. A moment later, the noise stopped, followed by exuberant laughter and another round of applause.

"Yes," the speaker went on. "There's quite a lot of you out there, aren't there? I also feel I can't go on without thanking my pet - "

The speaker - whom Ginny supposed to be some sort of well-known children's book author - continued on into much longer list of acknowledgements. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Ginny edged her way further forward into the crowd. Still keeping her head down, she ignored a mild reprimand from a witch much taller than her. Finally, she managed to make it to about three rows back from the speaker. Most of those in front of her were children but a smattering of tall adults still made it impossible for her to see who was talking, even though she could now hear her quite clearly. Ginny felt certain that any moment now, someone was going to point at her face and start screaming but all eyes faced the front. The girl with the pigtails was standing to her immediate left. Ginny noticed that her robes were now open revealing a T-shirt with a picture of a skinny dark-haired boy dressed in suspenders and long khaki shorts with a wand in his left hand and what looked like a long fishing net in his right. A pale blonde-haired girl in similar attire had her arms wrapped around his stomach. As Ginny watched, the characters on the illustration moved into a passionate kiss. As they did so, red hearts traveled upward on her shirt.

" - expect you're all fed up with my speech," the speaker was saying.

A chorus of denials went up from the crowd.

" - so I'll take questions now."

Before the speaker had chance to call on anyone in an orderly manner, the pigtailed girl screamed out:

"Please tell me Letitia and Freddie are getting together in this book! Please, please, please!"

"I'm sorry," said the speaker sagely, "but you know I can't reveal that sort of thing. Still, you'll find out soon enough now, won't you, dear?"

The girl let out a noise that reminded Ginny of a nogtail in pain. In this case, however, she had the vague sense that the girl was happy.

Several more questions followed, few of which Ginny understood, except that all of them centered around a character named Freddie (probably the boy with the fishing net) and his future adventures. From the questions, Ginny got the impression that the most recent book in some sort of series was about to be released. Her suspicions were confirmed when the author finally said with just a hint of impatience:

"Well, I think I've talked long enough now. I can sense your anxiety. It's like a palpable cloud. So, without further delay - "

There was a chorus of "aaahs," and the heads of the audience shot to the left. An enormous stack of books Apparated into existence, piled in a pyramid from the floor to the second-storey bookshelves. A sparkly-blue veil surrounded the books for a moment then lifted. The room fell suddenly silent.

Then all hell broke loose.

Ginny struggled to keep her balance as hordes of children shoved past her. They were followed closely by stampeding adults. Ginny watched as one breathless witch, who couldn't have been any younger than herself, nearly flattened two small girls en route to the pile. Two of the store clerks, their eyes wide in alarm, rushed over to try and control the crowd, but they were repulsed back by the charging rush of humanity. Two reporters swooped in from nowhere to photograph the chaos. Ginny instinctively hid her face again, but it was obvious they weren't interested in her. Cautiously, she turned her head back to the speaker's lectern and found herself face to face with Luna Lovegood.

"Ginny!" she exclaimed. "And you've made up as Korchkidill the Venomous Snake Queen. I'd no idea you were a fan."

"Actually, Luna, I - "

Ginny was cut off by a loud tumbling sound. She looked across to see that the mountain of books had cascaded down on top of the fighting throng of Luna's fans.

"Oh, dear," she said. "I'm afraid they do tend to take things a bit too seriously." She leaned forward and said in a lower voice: "Actually, I'd rather not hang about. I didn't have the heart to tell the poor girl but Letitia dies in chapter five. I tried to make it a fast-acting poison. Shall we go for a cup of tea?"

***

Caroline was on her own now. That ditzy, silly girl she went round with was nowhere to be seen. Siosia looked back to see that Christopher was still talking to Professor Wainwright. As usual, he was having some difficulty expressing himself. Siosia knew she'd make things worse if she'd stood around waiting for him so she'd said she'd go on ahead to lunch and save a place for him. Now, she wished she hadn't, but it was too late to go back; she'd already said she'd walk on. Her eyes drifted to Caroline again and this time her cousin's own gaze met hers. For the briefest of instants, so short a time that Siosia persuaded herself she was imagining it, it seemed that Caroline simply stared at her. Then her mouth settled into a small smile and she trotted forward to walk alongside Siosia.

It had been more than a week now since Siosia and her friends had escaped from Caroline, Robert, and their mysterious visitor; Siosia had managed to avoid her cousin up until now. This hadn't been too difficult since Caroline was usually with Felicia or a larger gang of Gryffindor second-years and Siosia was often with Christopher. It wasn't that she really thought Caroline had known it had been her that night, rather more that she wasn't sure that she knew her cousin anymore. She knew that things hadn't been easy for Caroline lately, but she didn't understand how she could have gotten mixed up with this mysterious intruder. She wouldn't easily forget the look on her cousin's face as she'd ran after them down that corridor, wand aimed and firing. It had haunted Siosia's dreams for several nights.

Still, she couldn't avoid her own cousin forever.

"Siosia, hang on!" said Caroline.

Siosia slowed her pace so that her cousin could catch up.

"What's up?" Caroline asked. "How are things in..."

Siosia felt her cheeks burn as Caroline's voice trailed off and her eyes traveled instinctively to the serpentine crest on Siosia's robes. She remembered vividly one year before when Caroline had proudly showed off her new Gryffindor robes to Siosia at one of their parents' lunches. She remembered fingering the cross-stitch insignia and dreaming how she'd be wearing those robes herself one day. But now it seemed that wasn't to be.

"How - " Caroline seemed to switch gears. "How are you doing?"

"O.K.," said Siosia automatically.

There was a pause.

"I mean - " Caroline looked around. Her face creased in concern. "I mean, how are things in - Slytherin?" She spoke the last word as though it was the name of a relative who'd recently been bitten by a werewolf.

Siosia shrugged. "They could be worse, I guess. I mean - " she added quickly as Caroline frowned. "It's not easy, right, but I - I'm managing."

Caroline drew to a stop and looked across at her cousin, her face very serious. Siosia's eyes darted around quickly to notice that the corridor had thinned out significantly. Caroline put her hand on Siosia's shoulder.

"Listen, Sosy," she said. "I don't know how you got in there, but we're going to get things changed."

"How?"

"I don't know, somehow."

Siosia shook her head. "I wish we could, Lye, but there's no way. Mum and Dad already tried. They even went to see Professor Dumbledore."

Caroline looked around herself. They were now alone in the corridor.

"That doesn't mean there isn't a way," she said quietly. "Professor Dumbledore isn't the only - " She stopped herself. "Just don't worry about how, all right? We'll manage it."

Siosia felt her skin run cold. Who did Caroline mean by "we?" Her mysterious new friend? What other power did she think he possessed?

"In the meantime," Caroline went on. "Just watch out for yourself, okay?"

"Of course."

Caroline looked at Siosia again. Siosia had the sense there was something more she wanted to say, but she seemed to hesitate. Was she planning to let Siosia in on her secret? The younger girl felt her heart start to beat more loudly. But just when Caroline seemed on the point of talking again, Siosia heard a sound like stone scraping on stone. Caroline instinctively jumped back as though talking to her cousin was suspicious behavior. Siosia looked up to see that they were standing just a few meters away from the entrance to the headmistress's office and the stone gargoyle had now moved aside to reveal the winding staircase leading to the top. Siosia looked at the staircase curiously for a moment. She had never seen the stone gargoyle open before but many a time she had heard her parents talk about their visits to Professor Dumbledore and the wondrous and terrifying truths they'd once learned there. Siosia's curiosity was quickly replaced by apprehension, however, as the end of a long robe came into view on the stairs. It wasn't that they'd been doing anything wrong but Professor McGonagall was bound to ask why they hadn't moved along to lunch like all of the other students and the headmistress had a way of making her feel uneasy regardless of whether or not she was guilty of anything.

But as the staircase continued to wind down and the figure came into clear view, Siosia could see that it wasn't Professor McGonagall at all. It was her father. He emerged out from the steps into the corridor. He took a half step in the direction of the Great Hall before noticing Siosia and Caroline standing right in front of him. He seemed as surprised to see them as they were him.

"Hello," he said curiously. "What are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be at lunch?"

Siosia sensed he was trying to eye them suspiciously, perhaps as Professor McGonagall might have, but it didn't come off convincingly. She felt her apprehension evaporate.

"We were waiting for you, Uncle Harry," said Caroline smoothly. "Did you get into trouble again?"

"It's Professor Potter while we're in school," came the reply, "and no - I'm not. We were just - the headmistress and I were - were discussing things."

Siosia smiled in amusement at her father feeling he needed to explain himself to them.

"Please, Uncle Harry," replied Caroline, regaining her usual impetuous tone. "No one else is around to hear me call you Professor Potter anyway." She turned to Siosia. "I bet he got a detention."

"Did Professor McGonagall tell you off again for riding your broom into school?" Siosia asked.

Both girls giggled.

"No," replied her father, going slightly red. "We just - we were talking about - "

"Grown-up wizard things," chorused Siosia and Caroline loudly.

"Well, we were," came the defensive reply.

"Look at him," said Caroline giggling. "He looks ever so guilty."

Harry Potter raised an admonishing finger at Caroline. "I do not - "

But his words were cut off by the ringtones of the Whizzing Fizzbees. On hearing this, both Siosia and Caroline broke into a raucous melody to accompany the song.

Siosia's father reached into his pocket to take out his mobile phone.

"Hello," he said, covering his free ear in an effort to drown out the singing.

"Hi, Mum!" shouted Siosia, breaking off temporarily.

"Yes...and Caroline as well," said her father. "Yes, I'll tell her, but what....oh."

Siosia stopped singing altogether and looked at her father who was now frowning. A moment later, Caroline stopped also.

"Oh," her father said again. "Hold on."

He placed the receiver to his chest. "Your mother says hello, too," he reported, "but I've got to talk to her privately."

"More grown-up wizard stuff?" asked Caroline, and Siosia noticed she sounded a little less playful than she had the moment before.

"Something like that. Run along to lunch, both of you, or there won't be any left."

Without waiting to see whether his orders were obeyed, Professor Harry Potter walked briskly down the corridor, his teacher's robes trailing behind him. Before he completely turned his head away from them, however, he gave Siosia a small wink.

Siosia felt her cheeks burn with a sudden and unexpected rush of emotion. Suddenly, she had to bite her lip to keep herself from crying. A deep, desperate feeling of loneliness welled up in her heart, not for life away from Slytherin House as Caroline had imagined, but because of the dark secret that now burned inside her heart. She had a desperate urge to run after her father and tell him everything but she forced her feet to remain on the ground and her mouth not to open. If she told her father what had happened, she would put Caroline into an awful lot of trouble, not to mention putting her father into very difficult position indeed. She couldn't and wouldn't do either.

"Siosia," said Caroline's voice, coming from a long way away. "Are you all right?"

Siosia swallowed.

"Yeah," she replied, still looking at her father. "Yeah, I - I'm all right. I think we'd better go on to lunch." She forced herself to turn toward Caroline. "Ch - Christopher - my friend - I think he'll probably be waiting for me - and I promised to save him a place."

This was a lie, of course. Christopher was behind her and would have had to walk past them the same way. Siosia wished he would.

Caroline frowned. "Christopher?" she repeated. "Your - your friend," she said, as if such a thing was hard to grasp. "That skinny, blond boy?"

"Yes."

"He's - he's in Slytherin, too, isn't he?"

There was something about Caroline's tone that Siosia didn't like. She felt just as suddenly angry as she had been sad the moment before.

"That's right," she said tersely. "He's in my year."

Siosia had the impression that Caroline was forcing her lip to untwist with great effort. "I suppose he seems - fairly harmless, but Siosia just - just watch out for that - that magical creature thing - person," Caroline quickly added. "Nybyn, or whatever his name is. I think he might be trouble."

"What makes you think I'd go round with him?"

Siosia realized as soon as the words came out of her mouth that her cousin would not have known they'd spent any time together. Caroline looked at her curiously and for a moment, Siosia had the horrible feeling that she'd given herself away. Then, Caroline smiled, as though relieved.

"Of course - you wouldn't, would you? I - I just - I just want you to be careful, Sosy."

Caroline looked at Siosia for a moment, then walked ahead of her in the direction of the Great Hall.

"Caroline!" said Siosia suddenly.

Caroline turned around and looked back at her cousin, seeming a little surprised.

"I - I think you should watch out for that prefect also - Robert, whatever his name is - I - I don't think you - I wouldn't get too near him. H - he's a bit of a bully, I think."

Caroline continued to look at Siosia for a moment, but then her face twisted into a sympathetic, almost paternalistic smile.

"I can handle him," was all she said.

Then both girls walked ahead together to the Great Hall, but said nothing more to one another. As soon as they reached the Hall, Caroline made a beeline for a free seat next to her friend Felicia. Siosia wasn't sure whether her cousin expected her to follow, but she quickly ducked to a mysteriously vacant table that she suspected concealed Nybyn. For the first time since the night of their escape from the hidden room, she found she wanted to talk to him. Perhaps he could quiet the persistent sound of her fast-beating heart.

***

"Was that Siosia?" Ginny wanted to know. "Is she O.K.?"

"Seemed that way to me," Harry replied, walking briskly away from McGonagall's office. "She was singing away to the Whizzing Fizzbees. Caroline was there, too. Do you want to talk to her? I think they just went round to lunch."

Ginny seemed to hesitate. It was obvious she did want to talk to Siosia, but she didn't want to coddle her daughter either, especially during school time.

"No," she finally said.

"We'll see her this weekend," said Harry, hoping he sounded reassuring.

"I know. Harry, listen, are you in the middle of something?"

"Not really," said Harry, lowering his voice. "I've just been to see McGonagall or rather she called me in to see her. She wanted to know if I knew anything more about Dumbledore and the island. I said I didn't know anything, but I don't think she believes me."

"That's what I was calling about, Harry. Are you alone?"

Harry looked around. He could see no one in the corridor near him.

"Yeah, I am. Everyone else is at lunch. Wait - didn't you have some meeting to go to this afternoon?"

Ginny sighed audibly on the other end of the line. "It's a long story. Listen, Harry - I just got a text message."

"A text...." Harry's voice trailed off.

"You know, one of those things with lots of little letters that Apparate on the phone display."

"Oh - oh, but how? No one has our number."

"If you think hard enough, Harry, I think you'll find that someone else does. He wanted me to make sure you were alone and then forward it to you. He said it was the safest way."

"Oh," said Harry, comprehension dawning. "I see. Well, go on, send it then. There's no one else here."

"Right, I'll ring off and send it. Harry."

"Yes?"

"Just be careful."

"I know. I will."

***

Ginny finished pressing the awkward small buttons on the display, then closed the Muggle phone and slipped it into her pocket. She adjusted her hair, still keeping her face down, and then made her way over to the small table at the café where she and Luna were sitting. The tea had already arrived.

"You were an awfully long time in the loo," remarked Luna. "Are you feeling all right?"

Ginny found herself looking back at a pair of very large, very dark glasses that had briefly been fashionable among Muggle women toward the end of the last decade. She guessed that Luna had worn them to conceal her identity, but, as usual, she couldn't look more conspicuous if she'd tried. At least it seemed that she hadn't lost her flair for saying whatever came into her mind. Ginny was also pleased to see that she'd dropped the posh accent.

"I - I'm fine, Luna."

The dark glasses peered at her ostentatiously.

"Your likeness to Korchkidill is fading, you know. You could try some face-staining slime. I think your brothers sell it in their joke shop."

"That's all right, Luna. I actually have to go to a meeting this afternoon."

Luna nodded sympathetically. "I see; they might not understand."

There was a slightly awkward pause.

"So, er, so how's Neville?" asked Ginny. "I mean, do you - are you still - "

Luna let out a small sigh and shook her blonde head.

"I'm afraid it all got a bit too much for him after the books started coming out. He's so sensitive, poor dear. Art demands such extreme sacrifice. Still, I hope one day.... well, perhaps it's just wishful dreaming." Luna took a sip of her tea.

"So, Luna," said Ginny, feeling eager to change the subject. "How - I mean, when did all this start? The book writing, I mean. You're famous."

"Yes, I suppose I am," said Luna thoughtfully, as though it was the first time she'd considered the suggestion. "They're all a bit mad sometimes, I think, you know - the readers, I mean. I have to ask Shakespeare to guard my flat nearly all the time now; I don't think he likes it."

"But how did you get writing in the first place?"

"I've always liked to write," said Luna, looking momentarily lucid. "I started off writing my own theories about the Snorkack and the xenophobic aliens, do you remember?"

Ginny nodded reluctantly.

"They were good bits of scholarship, I thought. I made references to nearly all the relevant books in my trunk. But, of course, no one would publish them; the information was all top secret, wasn't it? Which was all very fine and well but it's hard to pay one's bills. So I started making stories up instead; you know, it wasn't as different as I'd imagined. I pretend the Snorkacks are make-believe, you see; only those who already know the truth are any the wiser."

"So - uh, who - who is Freddie?" asked Ginny cautiously, wondering whether she'd regret the question later. When Luna looked slightly crestfallen, she quickly added. "I mean, I - I haven't made it too much further than the Korchkidill bits."

"Oh - well, it all starts many, many years ago, when the Snorkack were nearly hunted to extinction by - "

"Luna, er, perhaps you could give me the shortened version?"

"Oh - all right, then. When Freddie was a baby - "

"The very shortened version."

"Oh - oh, very well. It's about this boy named Freddie. He's an ordinary boy except that there's a prophecy that he'll be the one to save wizard kind from the evil Snorkack king Snorkolmors who wants to enslave humanity in his nest for all eternity. But Freddie doesn't know about the prophecy not, that is, until he goes to school, meets a wise old wizard, falls in love - twice, and then finally learns the secret of Snorkack invisibility and travels to the lair to confront Snorkolmors - well, that's not until the last book, of course."

Ginny paused for a moment. "That sounds a bit familiar," she said frowning.

"Do you think so?" said Luna guilelessly. "It just sort of came to me."

Ginny cleared her throat. "I see, so, Luna, do you think - "

"Oh, Merlin, get down!"

"What - "

Ginny found herself being shoved face down onto the tablecloth. She could hear Luna panting breathlessly. She chanced a look up to see that the girl with the pigtails from the joke shop and the bookstore was walking by the window, her head buried in Luna's latest volume and her mouth twisted in a demented smile. Ginny watched as she nearly collided with a witch who was heading in the opposite direction. After a few more strides, she had passed from their line of sight.

"You can look up now, Luna," Ginny whispered. "She's gone."

Luna cautiously raised her head. Steadying her sunglasses, she gingerly turned around to look out the window and verify that her admirer had disappeared. She then straightened up and adjusted her cloak.

"Was she seething with a deep fury?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Er, no, actually she had a sort of faraway smile on her face."

"I expect she hasn't made it to chapter five yet. Poor dear. I feel a deep affinity with the F/L shippers, but I had to kill off Letitia; it was for a reason. Actually all the major characters die in the last book. It's a cautionary tale." Luna sighed. "Do drink your tea, Ginny; it will get cold."

Ginny looked at her teacup for a moment, then raised it cautiously to her lips and took a sip, taking care to avoid the parts of her mouth that were still covered by face-staining slime.

"Speaking of deaths," said Luna perkily. "How are you and Harry coming along with finding a successor to Dumbledore's island? It must be challenging but then I suppose if you don't succeed, everyone will die; personally, though, I'm not all that - "

Luna stopped talking when a stream of tea erupted from the corners of Ginny's teeth and showered the tablecloth in front of her. This expulsion was followed by a protracted coughing fit.

"Steady on!" said Luna, reaching over and clapping Ginny forcefully on the back.

"Wh - how - " Ginny spluttered before starting to cough again.

"You've gone awfully red, Ginny. Your head looks as though it might explode."

Finally, the coughing stopped. Ginny took a small tissue from her purse and blew her nose loudly then wiped her eyes which were streaming with tears from the coughing fit.

"How - how do you - Luna, you can't talk about this in public!"

"Oh," said Luna vacantly. "Yes, I suppose there might be some sort of panic if everyone knew. Rather like how the Muggles get all wound up whenever someone suggests an asteroid might hit the Earth. Poor dears; they think it's just by chance that they miss. It would be funny being - "

"Luna!" Ginny took hold of her arm. "Who told you about Dumbledore needing to find a successor?" she asked in a forceful whisper. "No one knows about that except me, Harry, and - " She managed to stop herself. "No one is supposed to know."

"Oh, well, I don't suppose many people do. It's just that someone wrote a book about the island, Dumbledore, and all that sort of thing a few years ago; it was very well researched. Banned by the Ministry, of course, but I get all the banned books in my trunk, do you remember? So I knew he'd need a successor and because he always got off on being so enigmatic, I suspected he wouldn't have named one. I'm right, aren't I or else I don't think you would have showered the tablecloth with quite so much tea?"

Ginny sighed. She wondered how many others knew about the secret of the island or, like Luna, had figured out the frightening truth by themselves. Did the Ministry know? She considered - not for the first time - the possibility that there were others out there who knew as well, and who had the power, experience, and ill intent to exploit the danger to their own advantage. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that Dumbledore had been wrong when he'd warned Harry that the Death Eaters weren't the first danger to the wizarding world - and wouldn't be the last, but then why hadn't he given them something more to go on?

"It's not going well, is it?"

Luna's words interrupted Ginny's reverie. She realized that her silence had been damning. Then again, Luna had always been more effective than a dose of Veritaserum at ferreting out the truth.

"Well, Luna," said Ginny in a low whisper, wondering momentarily what Harry was going to think of taking her into their confidence. "We've been trying but of course it isn't easy."

"No, I don't suppose it would be. I mean who would want to be stuck out there - alone - for the rest of their lives?"

As usual, Luna had struck on the obvious. Ginny shook her head.

"I just wished we understood more about what was going on, that's all. Maybe there's even some other way."

Luna shook her head with uncharacteristic decisiveness. "There isn't another way," she said flatly, "but as far as understanding more about this, perhaps we can find someone who can help."

"And you know of someone?" said Ginny, trying hard to conceal her skepticism.

"Someone we used to go to school with actually," said Luna, taking on a chatty tone once again. "Come to think of it, I think she might have been in the Order. Her name is Susan - Susan Bones."

"I think I remember her," said Ginny. "Whatever happened to her anyway? I don't think she works in the Ministry."

"She doesn't. She's a professor at Beauxbatons Continuing Institute for Advanced Witchcraft and Wizardry. She's become quite an expert in necromancy. If there's anyone who'd understand what was happening on that island, it's her."

Ginny looked at Luna cautiously. She'd been reluctant to trust her once before, many years ago, and that reluctance had proved misplaced, but this was something much bigger than herself. Luna's loony side hadn't abated much with adulthood albeit that she'd found a socially acceptable outlet for some of her more bizarre ideas. Still, Ginny wasn't sure that she'd all that much to lose - in her own uncanny way, Luna seemed to have figured out most of what was facing them now. But what about Susan? Could she be trusted, too? How close were she and Luna? An expert on the fine line between life and death, had she also figured out for herself what was facing them?

"OK...Luna, maybe but.... look, don't tell her anything right now, OK? I'll ask Harry. He can talk to her if he wants to."

Luna shrugged nonchalantly. "Fair enough. I've no doubt you'll find some way out of this. You and Harry always do. As I was saying, I'm not worried. But if you'd like Susan's help, you know where to find me." Her mouth turned up quizzically. "Or perhaps not," she decided. "Oh... here." She tapped her wand to the side of her head slightly over her right ear. What appeared to be a small crystal cube fell out from several strands of blonde hair and dropped insignificantly onto the table. Luna quickly snatched it up and handed it to Ginny.

Ginny reached out to take it but Luna withdrew her hand, looking doubtful.

"You must promise me you'll guard this with your life, Ginny," said Luna seriously, "and not tell anyone about it. If the F/L shippers find out you have this, neither of our lives will be worth living."

"I promise, Luna," said Ginny, as fervently as she could manage.

Luna held out her hand and, with a reluctant sigh, dropped the cube-like object into Ginny's palm.

***

"Lye, come on, we'll be late!"

"I don't know if this is the best idea, Lichee, going at dinner," Caroline replied to her roommate and friend, twisting the end of her bedclothes into nervous knots.

"Robert said it was safer that way," Felicia replied, leaning back on Caroline's bedpost. "No one's about in the corridors now, not even the prefects. Besides, we're going to do a lot of moves and dives tonight," she added perkily. "You can't exercise on a full stomach."

You can't exercise on an empty one either, thought Caroline. She looked at Felicia for a moment with reluctance, but then pulled the thin black jumper Robert had asked them to wear over her head.

"I just wonder if this is such a good idea, considering what happened last time," she said.

"You don't think we should just give up, do you?" said Felicia, as Caroline swung herself off the bed.

"I don't know," said Caroline. "I suppose not."

She picked up her robes which were hanging in a pile near the door and placed them over her head taking care to make sure they concealed the unusual outfit she was wearing underneath.

The two girls left their room and went down the stairs to the common room which was already deserted. They said nothing more to one another as they walked out of the portrait hole and down the stairs away from Gryffindor Tower. It was only when they had reached the third floor that Caroline suddenly stopped walking.

"Lye, what is it?" said Felicia, turning around.

Caroline said nothing for a moment.

"Caroline, we've got to keep going; we're already late!"

"Lichee, that night when I was running after those invisible - Windylsydes or whatever they were, did Professor Derius ever leave his room?"

Felicia thought for a moment. "No, I don't think so."

"Don't you think that's a little strange? I mean - why wouldn't he have helped us?"

"Maybe he couldn't. Maybe he can't leave that little room or maybe he was afraid he'd be discovered. Surely that would be the worst thing."

"OK, but then - " Caroline paused for a moment, lost in thought. "Then how did he know I'd hit my head?"

"What?"

"He asked me if my head was in one piece. How did he know I'd hit my head?"

"Well, I don't know - maybe, I suppose we must have told him."

"Did you tell him?"

Felicia paused. "I - I don't remember, Lye, but - well, we must have, mustn't we?"

"When?" Caroline pressed. "I was with you every moment after you found me."

"Well - well, I don't know, maybe Robert told him. Or maybe he heard you fall."

"All the way from the room?" asked Caroline incredulously. "And how did he know it was my head?"

"Look, I don't know, Caroline, but we're already late! We can talk about this afterwards. Please!"

She grabbed hold of her roommate's hand and half-dragged her in the direction of the forbidden corridor.

***

Harry dearly wished he'd found some other way to discipline Felix Finchwire besides keeping him for detention. It was a decision he'd made that morning before he'd received the text message from Remus. He'd promised Felix he'd keep him until he'd written at least one foot of parchment on why charming a strand of Devil's Snare to grow out of Amanda Blakley's posterior had been an ill-advised prank. Perhaps Harry had been too ostentatious about checking his pocket watch because Felix was clearly waiting him out: he'd written only half a foot of parchment at most. He eyed Harry periodically as though to discover how long his resolve to keep Felix would last.

Harry waited until Felix had looked down to his parchment again before examining the cryptic text message he'd received from Ginny, which he'd now copied down in writing. It was a coded coordinate spell; he only knew about them because Ron had told him. It was used by Aurors in top secret missions. Reciting the coordinate spell Apparated the user to a specific point encoded in the message that even he himself did not know.

Harry mouthed the message to himself once again and then he looked at his pocket watch. He had barely fifteen minutes until the time specified on the message. It was just enough time to dash out of the school and make it to Hogsmeade from where he could safely Apparate. And he hadn't brought his broom.

He looked down to see that Felix had caught him looking at his watch again. They locked eyes for a moment, then Harry said, in his best imitation of an aroused Severus Snape:

"Just give me what you have and leave!"

Felix failed to conceal a victorious smirk. Without waiting a moment longer, he left his half written parchment on the table and bolted out the door. Harry waited until he had left, then quickly gathered a small bag, and left the classroom himself. He walked briskly out of the school. As soon as he was out of eyeshot of the castle, he broke into a dead run toward the main school gates and out to Hogsmeade. By the time he had reached the Apparition point, his shirt was soaked with sweat under his robes but he had three minutes left until the time that the text message had told him to make his rendezvous.

Taking the small piece of parchment out of his pocket again, Harry looked around to make sure that no one was watching him. Trying not to think about the time, he took several deep breaths, then concentrated on the strange set of numbers and figures on the paper in front of him. A moment later, he felt space folding in around him; he was traveling to a destination unknown.

***

Caroline and Felicia said nothing more to one another but crept silently toward the forbidden corridor. As they entered, they could see the dim light already coming out from the hidden room and quickened their pace. When they entered the open door, they found Robert already inside, dressed from head to toe in the same form-fitting black exercise outfit that they were wearing underneath their robes. Glancing quickly at Robert, Caroline fought hard to suppress a laugh.

"You were very nearly late," snapped Robert, with a severity that didn't quite come off in his present attire.

"Well, very nearly and late aren't quite the same thing," Caroline retorted sharply. "Anyway, the Professor isn't here yet. What's he up to then?"

Before Robert could reply, the now familiar buzzing sound and acrid smell signaled the appearance (Apparition?) of Professor Derius. Within seconds, the blue light behind his chair had dazzled into life and then faded. The Professor had arrived.

At first, pupils and teacher regarded one another in silence. Caroline glanced quickly over to Robert to see that he even he looked unnerved at how closely the Professor's appearance had been timed with Caroline's question. It was as though he'd been waiting for them somewhere unseen knowing everything they were doing and saying.

Then the face of Professor Derius broke into an attempt at a smile.

"It is good to see you, my friends," he said raspily. "I had every confidence that each of you would return, that the dangers you faced in our last encounter would not be sufficient to keep you away, but do not think for a moment that I do not appreciate your courage. Now, as my time and yours is limited, I suggest we begin. Have the three of you anything to report?"

Professor Derius's question was met with silence.

"Any unusual happenings, suspicious activities?" he prompted.

"Nothing except for the Windylsyde," Robert replied.

"And what has our yellowy friend been up to?"

There was a small pause. "I'm not quite sure," Robert confessed. "He doesn't behave like an ordinary student, that's for sure. He rarely attends class and he's rarely where he's supposed to be, but he's not very easy to follow." Robert's voice grew more forceful. "I'm sure he's plotting something, sir. Respectfully request that I confront him. I am a prefect after all; at the very least, I could challenge him on missing class."

"To intervene would be unwise," Derius replied, and for once Caroline found herself agreeing with him. "At this stage," he added quickly. "He does not suspect that we know of his involvement or those others of his kind." A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "But you are right to observe him, Mr. Mince."

Robert gave a short nod and appeared mollified.

"I hope that you will continue to do so - all of you," Derius continued. "And do not let your suspicions of Mr. Nybyn blind you from being wary of others. One's enemies often arise where one least suspects them.

"But now," he went on before Caroline, Felicia, and Robert had fully digested his last statement. "It is time for your training to continue. I'm pleased to see you have dressed for our exercise, for I intend to challenge your speed and reflexes - as well as your skill with a wand. Now please spread out - take your wands out - and repeat after me enunciating clearly - Reflexio!"

***

Harry found himself, almost predictably, standing in the middle of a misty downpour. The rain didn't seem to be coming down as heavily as it had fallen in Horace Slughorn's godforsaken North Sea abode, but it was persistent nonetheless. Harry raised his wand instinctively to cast up an Impervius charm but quickly withdrew it. Even in the instant before his eyes had grown accustomed his surroundings, something in the scent of the place he was standing told him that he was among Muggles. The next instant would not prove him wrong - he was quickly jolted into action by a loud and disturbingly familiar sound. Instinctively, he ducked to one side as a noisy blue parts lorry clattered around the corner of a narrow lane. It passed with a loud splashing sound and a shower of water splattered the front of Harry's robes. Looking down at his rain-soaked clothes, he restrained himself from casting a drying spell, but this was with slightly more effort.

The rain had stopped falling on his head, however. Now fully alert, Harry noticed that he was standing under the sheltered overhang of a bus stop. There was no one there but himself so apparently no one had noticed him Apparate. The bus stop was situated on a small residential lane. Small rows of ewe bushes lined either side behind which stood identical Muggle semi-detached houses.

Harry felt a sudden chill that didn't come from the cold. Squinting his eyes against the driving rain, he stepped out of the overhang and briefly scanned the list of destinations on the bus sign.

He had not been wrong.

***

"Expell - "

Caroline's eyes widened, wondering whether Felicia's instinctive half-mouthed spell would trigger her wand into action in spite of her friend's effort to check herself. She was down on the floor, panting furiously, her own wand fallen to the side after Felicia had successfully parried her hex. After it seemed Felicia's wand would cause no damage, the two girls froze in their positions, wondering if Professor Derius would urge them on yet again or allow them to stop.

The answer came in the form of rhythmic applause.

"Excellent, very good indeed," cooed Derius. "Especially you, Miss Fingle."

Felicia held out her hand and helped Caroline to her feet. The latter winced at a sharp twinge in her lower back but otherwise she seemed none the worse for wear. She walked over and retrieved her wand.

They had practiced for not quite one hour, though it seemed to Caroline to have been much longer. For all his talent at making long speeches, Derius had been brief on this occasion, delivering only short instructions followed by much longer periods of practice. In addition to learning two new spells: reflexio, which rebounded their opponents' hexes back to them in a vicious lasso-like motion and protracto, a delayed hex whose timing could be controlled by the user, the three Gryffindors had been very physically active learning how to dive and roll while still concentrating on forming an accurate hex. As Derius had pointed out, real defense rarely involved lining up alongside one's adversary in a duel. Caroline felt exhausted and her back and the side of her hip hurt from a well-placed hex by Robert. Nonetheless, she found herself feeling somewhat buoyant: Professor Derius had certainly made the most out of the very brief time they had spent together that evening. Caroline felt like she had learned a lot.

"I'm all right," said Robert, turning red as Felicia tried to help him to his feet. She was fawning over him again, Caroline noticed, but perhaps not as much as before. To Caroline's surprise - and to Robert's obvious chagrin - Felicia had been the quickest learner of the new spells Derius had taught them that evening. She had always seemed clumsy and error-prone in Caroline's uncle's classes, but in their more physically active exercises that evening she had been able to use her lithe, agile body to her advantage. Caroline found herself wondering how many other pupils in Defense Against the Dark Arts might fare better away from the artificial confines of a crowded classroom.

"Our time is at an end," reported Derius and Caroline thought she could detect a moan of disapproval from Felicia. "You must go now or you'll be missed. You'll find food and fresh clothing waiting for you in your dormitories."

Caroline felt her eyes widen. Derius seemed to look at her for a moment but then turned away.

"Sir," said Robert before Derius could disappear again. "Before you leave, one more thing."

"A quick matter, I hope, Mr. Mince."

"Yes, sir, it's just that - " Robert looked briefly at Felicia and Caroline as though gauging their support, " - well, isn't it time for us to look for other members - before we learn many more defense spells, that is? We can't very well fight our enemies with just three students, however well-prepared you might make us."

Derius looked at Robert appraisingly. "Are there others that you trust to join?"

Robert nodded, though not without a moment's uncertainty. "I think there are a few, sir."

Derius's eyes narrowed. "Are you certain?" he asked.

"Fairly certain, sir. Certain enough to bring them here. Once we see what - "

"I think, Mr. Mince, that our present number will be suitable for the time being," said Derius calmly but decisively, "though I much appreciate your concern. In time we will expand, but the time is not yet right."

And before Robert could make any further response, the bright blue light behind the chair of Professor Derius shot up like an inverted streak of lightning and the inscrutable teacher was gone.

***

"But I don't understand," said Harry. "Why here? Why her?"

"I told you before, Harry," said Remus Lupin, unfazed by the steady rain that soaked his unprotected head and fell down his face. "Our options are limited. Very limited. I need you to trust me," and then more gently, "I hope you still will."

"But how can she guard an island?"

"She has seen much and knows more than many imagine. And I've always believed she could do far more than she ever let on. Dumbledore thought so anyway."

There was a long pause. Harry sighed and walked forward alongside Remus. As he did so, he took one last look at a small white sign along the side of the road painted in stenciled black letters that read: MAGNOLIA CRESCENT.