The Veil of Memories

Chapter 6

Clues

Ginny did not respond for a moment but continued to stare down at the box in disbelief. When she looked up, however, it was with an expression of defiant vindication.

"Ask yourself, Ron," she said.

"Brilliant, Gin!" exclaimed Fred.

"Worthy of the Weasley name," added George, studying the box closely. "I must admit you almost had me fooled there for a moment. They look just like real gold."

"They are!" spat Ginny fiercely.

There was a sudden quiet. Fred looked as if he was about to say something else but stopped himself when he saw the expression on his sister's face. Harry couldn't recall ever having seen the twins look so confused but truth be told, he felt just as baffled himself.

Ron and Ginny continued to look at each other as though they were sworn enemies. Ron finally snatched the box back from Ginny as though she had stolen it from him. When Harry's best friend and girlfriend finally spoke to each other, it was not in the bellowing shouts of a family row but in low hissing whispers that seem to bleed with unnatural enmity.

"Please tell me that this some kind of twisted joke of yours or I'm really going to think the Knight Bus is on its way to St. Mungo's."

"You think I put it there, don't you?"

"What else would you have me believe? You're the one who keeps going on about this Hermione person!"

"That's because she's real!" Ginny shouted. "And this proves it! You put this box there, Ron. You wanted to give to her. You loved her!"

But Ron shook his head and put his hands over his ears. "No, Ginny, no, no, no! It's not true! None of it!" A look of deep pity suddenly fell over Ron's face. "I don't think you know you put it there, Ginny, but you did. I don't think you know what you're doing or saying anymore." He shook his head. "Dumbledore's got a lot to answer for," he declared fervently. "Dumbledore's got a bloody awful lot to answer for."

Ron pushed roughly past his bewildered twin brothers and ran up the stairs to his dormitory, the box still clutched in his hands.

Ginny watched him go for a moment, panting heavily as though she'd just run a race. Then she burst into tears and ran up the staircase to her own dormitory.

"No, Ginny, wait!" cried Harry, suddenly spurred into action after staring in numb disbelief at the exchange between Ginny and Ron.

Ginny was already halfway up the stairs when she turned back to look at Harry.

"I c-c-can't g-go on like this, H-H-Harry," she said between sobs. "I just can't go on!"

Ginny turned around and walked without stopping to her room, walked inside, and slammed the door loudly behind her.

***

Ron lay on his bed, the curtains pulled down all around him, but his eyes still open and staring at the top of his four-poster. It hadn't been long after he'd run up that Neville and Seamus had come back into the room. He'd known it was them without looking: Neville had tried to talk to him but Seamus had silenced him in a quick whisper, saying that it was best to leave Ron alone. Then the two boys had quietly climbed into their beds and all had fallen silent in the room. Ron doubted they had fallen asleep, however: he knew that he wasn't going to. Part of him felt surprised that Fred and George hadn't tried to come up after him. Perhaps Dumbledore had found some way to stop them from going that far. Much as he didn't want to talk to them right now, this didn't make Ron feel much better. It only made him even more certain that the only person who could have planted the rings was Ginny.

Ron was not sure how much time had passed before the door opened again and he heard the familiar footfall of his fourth roommate. He knew before he heard Harry's long sigh that he had done everything in his power to rouse Ginny from her room. He also knew that he had not succeeded. It didn't give Ron much satisfaction to realize that he still knew his sister far better than her boyfriend.

Ron had lain for so long with only his own thoughts for company that it seemed strange to hear his name called. But he knew that Harry wouldn't think it best to leave him alone.

"Ron?"

Ron paused for a moment, wondering whether he should respond, then whispered:

"I'm awake, Harry."

There was another moment's pause.

"I'm sorry," said Ron and Harry at the same time.

"I'm sorry Ginny shouted at you like that," Harry went on, after another moment of silence. "Fred told me what it was you showed her. I - I don't know what to say, mate."

"You don't have to apologize for my sister, Harry," said Ron, sounding a little resentful. "I just wish I knew what was wrong with her."

"I do, too, Ron, but I don't think it was her who put it there."

"I don't think she remembers, Harry, like she doesn't remember a lot of things now. But I don't think it could have happened any other way. Do you, honestly?"

"I don't know, Ron. A lot of things have changed in the last two months."

Ron sighed. "I - I - look, Harry, I don't think we're going to get anywhere talking about this tonight. I'm sorry I shouted at her, too, and I'll tell her that tomorrow."

"All right, mate. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm all right, Harry. And Ginny will be better in the morning. Trust me, I know her," Ron added meaningfully. "Good night."

"I know, Ron. Good night."

But still neither of the two best friends slept. Ron lay on his bed for what must have been hours listening to Harry toss and turn. He did not say anything as Harry got to his feet again, put on his slippers, and walked back down into the common room.

As soon as Ron had heard the door click shut, he took his wand from behind his pillow and charmed its tip to cast the faintest of lights. He moved the box of wizard rings that he had placed on top of his covers closer to his face and watched as the tiny light reflected off the surface of the rings. He made no move to brush away the long silent tears that rolled slowly down his cheeks.

***

The morning sky was still an indigo blue as Ginny walked down into the common room and found Harry sleeping on the sofa. She knew he had come down to wait for her. He'd wanted to be here the moment she arose and he would be very upset if he'd known he would fall asleep waiting. Part of her wanted to rouse him, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to do it. There was something unusually calm about the way that he slept.

Ginny leaned over Harry's face so that a few loose strands of her hair touched his forehand, sufficient to comfort but not enough to wake him.

"I wish I didn't have to make you worry," she whispered softly. "You deserve much better. Part of his darkness touched me once, more than I've ever told you, more than I've ever told anyone. I know you have a fate with him but so do I. I have to stop him and I have to stop anyone who stands with him." She leaned down and gently kissed Harry's scar. "I'll be back soon," she said, "and I'll come back with answers, I promise."

Ginny stood up, took one last look at Harry, and then walked out of the portrait hole, resolved to put into action the plan that would give her the answers she needed, the one she had thought through the whole of her sleepless night.

***

Draco Malfoy ignored the voices in his head that hissed at him to stay silent as he marched his way into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. A great many things were not going the way that he had planned and he was angry, bothered, and anxious. He should have had everything well under control by now but the fact remained that he did not. The need to rely on underlings frustrated Malfoy. Unlike the Voldemort that was inside his head, it was not something to which he was accustomed.

And then there was this devil teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Malfoy had carefully and ingeniously worked to silence all those who might have interfered - Dumbledore, Potter, the Ministry - but he had not counted on Janus. And Malfoy knew that Janus had the power to unravel his plans as easily as a child pulling away the tender strands of a spider's web.

The voices in Malfoy's head grew more insistent as he pounded his way through the classroom. At first, he tried to walk even louder as if it would silence the voice. Finally, with only the ghost of a realization, Malfoy felt his will slipping away from him again. Lord Voldemort glided into Janus' office with the stealth of a serpent and the posture of the most powerful wizard who had ever lived.

"You would do well as a town crier, Mr. Malfoy, or perhaps a rooster," remarked Janus calmly, looking as though he had been sitting behind the desk in his office all night. "I understand you've already mastered the ferret."

Malfoy did not answer. He swaggered into the chair in front of Janus' desk and crossed one leg over the other, just as blissfully unaware that a part of his own will and consciousness had been returned to him.

"What is it that you could possibly have to see me about?" he drawled, trying to disguise the odd hissing tone that had recently developed in his speech. "And at this hour?"

"I thought it would be obvious even to you, Mr. Malfoy, that at this hour, we stand far less likelihood of being seen and heard."

"You might close the office door then."

"Hardly necessary. I have placed a silencing charm around the entire classroom including this office, fortunate considering the ostentatious manner in which you entered."

Malfoy folded his arms across his chest, sensing his impatience quickly return. He was not used to having the timing and direction of a conversation determined by others and he had little tolerance for it.

"Enough of this!" he snapped. "Tell me why you have brought me here."

Janus walked up from behind his desk and strode with deliberate slowness over to a small table in the corner of the office. He took out his wand and tapped it on the table three times. The table grew larger and expanded into a chest of drawers. He tapped his wand on the bottom drawer and it opened to reveal a small white sack tied at the top with a string. Janus used his wand to levitate the sack over to the desk in front of Malfoy, then let it drop with a loud crash. The side of the bag split and several gold coins rolled out onto the desk.

"Money?" cried Malfoy, his face reddening in rage. "You think you can bribe me?"

"One thousand galleons," said Janus, appearing not to have heard Malfoy's rhetorical question. "And there's much more where this came from. I have ten such bags in my possession and I could bring you much more. I'm sure your father would not have hesitated."

Malfoy flung the bag to the floor with one angry swipe causing the galleons to spill and roll around at his feet.

"My father understood nothing!" he spat. "He dressed up in a childish costume, played with a bit of dark magic, but it was all about worldly power and position to him! If you understand anything of my aims, you must know that all of the money in Gringotts cannot buy me what I seek!"

"Ah, but that's the problem, isn't it?" said Janus, looking slightly pleased with himself. "What you seek is not for anyone to possess."

Malfoy leaned in closer to Janus, his face still very red.

"You're wrong," he insisted.

Janus leaned closer in turn so that his eyes were only inches away from Malfoy's, but still as unreadable as ever. "I don't know what your Death Eater friends have told you but they are very much mistaken. Think of it, Mr. Malfoy: you are fully aware of my powers, I have no doubt of that. The Death Eaters rely completely on you and what you are able to carry out at this school. If you refuse to serve them, their plans will be at an end. They no longer have the means or resources to take revenge on you."

Malfoy flinched and then slumped back into his chair, trying desperately to erase the look of surprise he was certain had written itself across his face.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," said Janus slowly, appearing to misunderstand. "Think on it carefully. If ten thousand galleons are not enough, I can get you much more. I can get you all of the gold in Gringotts. I can make every wizard and witch in this world your penniless slave. It's what any self-respecting Slytherin would desire."

Malfoy forced his gleeful laughter into the appearance of a snarl. "You seem to understand so much about us. I take it Slytherin was your house, too?"

Janus raised his eyebrows very slightly. "Don't you know, Mr. Malfoy?"

Malfoy's feeling of victory vanished quickly. This time, he had been caught out, and so unnecessarily, too.

"What does it matter who you are?" he demanded, his frown now genuine. "I know what you are and what you can do! And I wonder what you could possibly want from me in exchange for your generosity?"

"That's quite simple," replied Janus, sitting back down. "I want you to stop what you are doing, leave the Death Eaters, and work for me instead."

Malfoy smiled. "I see now that you must have been a Hufflepuff. Your loyalty to Dumbledore extends far beyond any possible advantage to yourself." He leaned forward again. "Think of it, professor, you could join me - join us - instead. When we are successful, the life you once enjoyed will be returned to you. Surely nothing Dumbledore could offer you would compare?"

Janus shook his head slowly. For a moment, Malfoy swore he could see a flicker of spite in his eyes but it vanished quickly.

"If you believe that I work for Dumbledore, you are very much mistaken," Janus declared. "If anything, it is the other way around. I, unlike you, know full well that if your plans are successful, even my present existence will seem very pleasant indeed. And I could offer you far greater range for your true talents." Janus gestured to the bag of galleons significantly.

Malfoy shook his head.

"You may understand what a Slytherin wants but you have no appreciation for the appetite of a Death Eater."

He felt his anger rise again but the voices inside his head quickly beckoned him to restrain himself. Here was a valuable opportunity. Janus did not know who he really was after all. Moreover, his formidable powers would be invaluable in giving Malfoy much of what he needed to make his plans complete. He could pretend to cooperate, make his demands, and Janus wouldn't know he was betrayed until it was far too late.

Malfoy felt eager to feign his agreement when the voice inside his head reminded him again of the power of manipulation in any negotiation. It would not do to appear too willing.

"Then again," Malfoy said, letting his words hang in the air and studying Janus carefully, pleased to see that he was unable to disguise a slight hunger for his positive response. "Perhaps I will consider your offer."

Malfoy casually took a single galleon from Janus' desk between his fingers before putting it into the pocket of his robes. "We will speak again," he said dismissively, and then turned on his heel to walk out of the office, swinging the door shut loudly after him.

It did not take Malfoy longer than the time it took to walk out into Janus' classroom to allow himself the luxury of a broad smile. Of course, he would still need to punish Wormtail for his indiscretion but, overall, things were far better than they had seemed earlier in the morning. It was all he could do to stop himself from whistling an arrogantly pleasant tune.

So engrossed was Malfoy in his own cleverness that he did not look back to see that pinned to the wall behind the door he had just closed shut, a look of horror on her face, was Ginny Weasley.

***

Albus Dumbledore tried to recall whether it was angels or demons that had long red hair. Seeing Ginny Weasley standing in front of the entrance to his office silhouetted against the large window at the end of the corridor, he realized she could have been either. She had certainly seemed that way in his thoughts for some time.

Sitting in his office in less urgent times, Dumbledore had often argued with his late colleague Phineas Nigellus that instructing and managing adolescent witches and wizards was a far better way to protect the wizarding world from its true evils than taking up any of the lofty offices in the Ministry of Magic. Dumbledore had long understood that it was only the adolescent who stood between the child who believes the lie and the adult who tries to hide it. More than this, an adolescent was like a magical creature who held up a mirror which could always show an adult their real face, however beautiful or ugly. For much of his long career at Hogwarts, Dumbledore had reveled in the simple wisdom this had provided him. Now, however, seeing Ginny standing waiting for him and watching his approach, Dumbledore felt the same desperate, nauseous fear that had gripped him ever since the day his new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had first walked into his office earlier th! at term. For the first time that Dumbledore could remember, he found that he did not want to look too closely into the mirror Ginny was about to hold up for him, for he was very frightened indeed as to what he might see there.

To Ginny's credit, she said nothing to Dumbledore until he was within whispering distance of her. He did not want to think what she was doing walking around the school corridors so early in the morning and briefly considered admonishing her. He quickly realized, however, that this would constitute a further assault on her dignity which he had already, through little choice of his own, severely offended. And the only way one could ever hope to teach anything to a teenage wizard or witch was to respect their dignity. Dumbledore hoped, nonetheless, as he tried to muster a steady and neutral tone when asking her what she wanted, that Ginny only desired to speak to him about some comparatively mundane school matter. She was, after all, a student. Could she not come to see the headmaster? This vain hope was quickly dashed, however, when Ginny leaned close to him and said in an urgent whisper:

"I know you didn't want me to come and see you, sir, but there's something I've got to tell you."

Dumbledore briefly considered showing Ginny into his office. It was, after all, the only place left in the school where he was fairly certain that he wasn't being watched. He quickly decided, however, that this would only make things look far more suspicious. His only hope was to continue to feign ignorance.

"And what is that, Ginny?" he managed to reply.

Dumbledore could see from the widening look in Ginny's eyes that he had not delivered his question in a very reassuring fashion. There was an unnerving quiver that had found its way into his voice now. He didn't want to think what Ginny saw in his eyes. She seemed able to stare straight through them into his mind just as her mother had many years before.

Ginny dropped into an even lower whisper. "It's about Professor Janus. I just overheard him talking to Malfoy. He tried to bribe him to leave the Death Eaters. He had loads of galleons in his office; I think he might have stolen them. He said that he wanted Malfoy to come and work for him. He said that he didn't work for you at all, sir, rather that it was the other way around."

Dumbledore felt uncomfortable beads of sweat begin to prickle and form all over his body at Ginny's words. He felt seized with a sudden panic, a panic he had spent a lifetime training never to rise to the surface of his thoughts, but which now seemed uncomfortably familiar. Try as he might, he could not stem the fear that things were spiraling completely out of his control. He suddenly felt his hand reach up and desperately seize Ginny's wrist. She gasped in surprise.

"Ginny, don't come and tell me these things anymore, please!" he hissed at her in a broken, raspy whisper. "We can't be seen together talking like this. He has eyes everywhere!"

Ginny's eyes widened. "Professor Janus - "

Dumbledore tightened his grip. "Listen to me, Ginny. You don't understand what's going on. If - "

Ginny yanked her wrist away from Dumbledore, her cheeks flushed in righteous anger.

"Maybe if you told us what was going on, I would understand better!" she said, her voice raised far too loudly for Dumbledore's liking. "Maybe if you trusted us instead of - "

"This is not about trust, Ginny! And it is not about you or Harry. It is something far bigger and far worse. And if I tell you, both of us will be in tremendous danger! Do you understand?"

Ginny's anger was replaced by uncertainty again. "If he's controlling you, sir, you've got to tell us, or tell somebody!" she said urgently. "You can't let him - "

Dumbledore made no move to wipe back the tears of desperation and frustration that welled in his eyes and began to roll down his cheeks. Ginny stopped speaking and stared back at him in shock.

"For Merlin's sake, Ginny, just leave!" he croaked, pointing a shaking finger down the corridor. "Believe in yourself. Believe in Harry. But don't come to talk to me again; if you do, it could be the end for all of us! Smartie Squash!"

The gargoyle sprang to life and Dumbledore swiftly moved onto the ascending stairs up to his office. He turned to look back at Ginny, his eyes pleading at her not to follow him. At last, as the staircase continued to move up and out of sight, he took one last look back to see that she had gone.

***

Harry stared across at Ginny, his spoon suspended halfway to his mouth. He was not quite sure if he should be happy that she had recovered so quickly from the events of the night before, annoyed that he had slept through the significant events of the morning, or simply terrified by the story she had told him. His eyes moved back and forth around the hall for the umpteenth time to make sure no one listening, most particularly Malfoy, who seemed suspiciously absent from the Slytherin table. He also found himself glad that Ron was still asleep in their room. He didn't think his best friend could have stomached this tale on top of everything else that had happened.

"But what were you doing in Janus' room in the first place?" he finally managed to ask.

"Well," replied Ginny, still in an excited state, "I thought of going to Dumbledore first. I didn't care what he'd told us. Things had gone too far; I wanted the truth. I was on the way to his office when I realized that it was just no good. He didn't really have the answers. He isn't the one at the heart of the mystery; Janus is. I knew that he was the one I had to confront. I went into his room. I could hear him in his office moving around some papers. I went to walk up the stairs but then I heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind me so I ducked back behind the office door."

The milk and wizard puffs fell away from Harry's spoon and back into his bowl.

"But Ginny!" he protested. "That was extremely dangerous! What if Janus had tried to hurt you or," he paused and swallowed, "made you disappear."

"I'm not going to disappear, Harry."

"You don't know that! If what you've been telling us is true, people have been disappearing all the time and for all we know, he's the one who's doing it! Why couldn't you have woken me up? I believe you, Ginny, even though some of the things you say are not that easy to believe. I thought we were in this together!"

Ginny lowered her head and frowned, her cheeks turning red. She didn't respond for a moment, then reached her hand out across the table. Harry gently stretched his own hand across and laced his fingers into hers.

"I - I'm sorry, Harry," she said, looking up and showing him her large chocolate eyes. "I just got headstrong. I - I - it won't happen again."

Harry paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Did Janus see you?" he asked, after a moment's pause, not taking his hand away from Ginny's.

Ginny bit her lip but then shook her head. "No, I'm sure he didn't."

Harry sighed. "All right. So then you went to see Dumbledore?"

"I knew I had to tell him what I'd heard."

"And he said you'd be in danger if you told him?"

"He was terrified, Harry," said Ginny quietly. "I've never seen him look that way before. His eyes were full of fear. I don't think he's in control of anything at all. I don't think he has been ever since Janus arrived."

Harry nodded. There was another long pause.

"What do you think we should do now then?" he asked, his hand still holding Ginny's.

"Well, I don't think we should sit back on our arses and do nothing. I don't think we can. If Dumbledore can't stop Janus, if he can't stop Voldemort, then it's up to us. No one else even knows the Muggle borns are missing, or no one else believes it." Ginny squeezed Harry's hand a little more tightly. "There's Dobby, of course, but I haven't seen him in months. You still remember Dobby, don't you?" she asked tentatively.

Harry nodded.

"So he hasn't disappeared," he said. "But then where is he?"

"I don't know but we can't go around hoping he'll come back. You're right. We've got to something ourselves, though I suppose we'd better stay clear of Dumbledore."

"Agreed. You have a lesson with Janus this morning, right?"

"In fifteen minutes."

"I'll walk you there."

Ginny took her hand back and got to her feet, followed closely by Harry. They walked toward the edge of the table and handed their plates to one of the house elves.

"We've got to find out what Janus is up to and you're in the best position to do that," Ginny went on, taking Harry's hand in hers again as they walked out of the door of the Great Hall.

"I can't very well go up and ask him," Harry protested, when they were out of earshot of the students milling around the entrance to the hall.

"I know that, Harry, but you've got to - " Ginny broke off and sighed, then reached up and kissed Harry on the cheek. "I can't believe the sorting hat ever considered putting you in Slytherin."

Harry grinned in spite of himself, then nodded his understanding. He and Ginny continued to walk hand in hand up the stairs toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. They didn't say much to each other for the rest of the way but as they reached the entrance to the classroom, Ginny reached up and gave Harry a quick hug.

"Be careful," she said. "Don't trust him."

Harry nodded.

"You be careful, too. And, Ginny, see if you can find Ron. I'm sure he can't still be sleeping."

Ginny stiffened. "Only if he apologizes to me."

Harry sighed. "You know he's not going to do that, not yet, anyway. But he's your brother and he's my best friend and we need him on our side. Just come to some temporary peace, please."

Ginny hesitated, then nodded. Harry looked as if he was about to say something else but Ginny waved him in the direction of the classroom. She watched him go for a moment, then turned to walk back in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. The wizarding world may have been falling apart around them but she had Potions in two hours and she hadn't even started on her essay. She let out a long yawn at the very thought, suddenly remembering that she hadn't slept all night. She walked a short way down the corridor, trying to organize her thoughts to the assignment, but she kept stopping and looking back at the closed door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, as if in doing so, she could somehow protect Harry. It was only when she had reached the very end of the corridor and turned back to look one last time that she noticed something very odd indeed.

Nearly Headless Nick, unmistakable from behind with his high-collared cloak and wobbling head, had floated out of the wall next to her and was gliding up the corridor she had just left. When he passed the entrance to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, however, he seemed to lose shape altogether. It was as if he had blown by an enormous gust of wind into a formless white cloud. The cloud moved very quickly along the point where the ceiling and the wall met. Ginny had no sooner begun to cry out in alarm when the cloud reformed itself just past the classroom door into the familiar form of the Gryffindor ghost.

Ginny continued to stare at Nick, rubbing her eyes, and trying to convince herself that what she had just seen was a product of her sleep-deprived imagination. The next moment she resolved that she'd rather end up a fool than miss something important and so she ran quickly after Nick, calling his name.

Nearly Headless Nick did not respond at first. He seemed to be muttering something to himself, his head wobbling erratically from side to side. Ginny drew up alongside him, continuing to say his name. At last, Nick seemed to notice and turned around to face her. He shook his head in an extremely grotesque manner and put his finger to his lips. Ginny obeyed his request for silence but continued to follow after him as he glided around the turn in the corridor, hoping that he would not try to disappear behind one of the walls. Finally, when they had reached the foot of the little used stairway leading up to the east watchtower, Nick swiveled his body around to face Ginny and spoke:

"Forgive me for startling you. I should have known from several generations of experience that you Weasleys are both curious and excitable."

"Nick, what did you do back there in the corridor? It was as though you - "

"I - " Nick paused and leaned in closer to Ginny as though imparting a very sensitive secret, "I shimmered."

"You what?"

Nick sighed, obviously pained to have repeat the word again. "I shimmered," he repeated, very quietly, as though it was a shameful act.

"But what does that mean?"

"It means that I altered my form to move as far and as quickly as possible away from the monstrous abomination that has settled itself in that classroom."

"You mean - you mean Professor Janus?"

"Professor Janus!" Nick scoffed. "As if that were its' real name."

"But - but what is his - I mean its - name?"

"It does not have a name. It should not, in any case. It once had a name, yes, oh, but," Nick put his arm over his forehead melodramatically, "it pains me to consider that the creature in there bears any relationship to - no! Say no more!"

"But, Sir Nicholas, it's very important that we know! We're trying to find out as much about Professor Janus as we can. He's the only one who can help us get everyone's memories and all the people that have gone missing back!"

But Nick shook his head. "I cannot speak of it. I shall only tell you, young Ginny, that it is a foully unnatural creature, a creature that was never meant to be. Oh, to be living in the castle in the presence of such a thing! I have haunted this school for four hundred years but now I can see that I shall have to consider moving. If word of this gets any further, there will never be the slightest hope of my joining the Headless Hunt, this year or any other! Now, good day to you!"

"But, Sir Nicholas, wait, I have a lot of questions to ask you! Do you remember the Muggle - "

But Nick had already vanished.

***

"Expelliarmus! Stupefy!"

Harry stood up from the floor panting as the last of the bogus Death Eaters fell. He turned around to look up at Professor Janus and found the same eager, almost hungry look in his eyes that Harry had seen since the first day of their lessons. If Janus had felt any ambivalence from his shady dealings with Draco Malfoy earlier that morning, it did not show on his face.

"Very good, Harry," he said. "Very good, indeed. These duels have become easy work for you. I daresay I would count myself lucky to dispose of three Death Eaters single-handedly time and time again."

Harry did not respond. He briefly kept his wand out in front of him to show Janus that he was ready for anything else the Defense master might throw his way.

"You can put your wand away, Harry," said Janus, without losing his smile. "What I have to teach you next can be done without a wand if you can do it right, and I have every confidence that you can."

Harry reluctantly replaced his wand into his robes but continued to watch Janus closely.

"I take it you remember, Harry," said Janus, "the duel between Professor Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort in the original room last year?"

Harry started. "I - I - yes, of course, sir, but," he paused, gathering himself together and trying to remember to whom he was talking, "but how did you know about that, sir?"

"Professor Dumbledore told me," he replied simply.

Harry paused for a moment. He had almost managed to block out of his thoughts the mind-boggling duel between the two great wizards, a duel in which Dumbledore and Voldemort had flown through the air and transfigured themselves into a number of wonderful and horrible magical creatures Harry had never known existed. He had never spoken about it to anyone - not even Ron who had lain unconscious under a pile of rubble during the whole exchange. He was fairly sure that Ginny, the only other person in the room who had witnessed the duel, had not said anything either. The notion that Dumbledore would have casually described his secret and unregistered powers to Janus seemed extremely suspicious. Harry reminded himself to say nothing more about the duel until he was certain what it was that Janus did and didn't know. But the conversation did not continue much further before it became apparent that Janus knew a great deal.

"It must have come as a bit of a shock seeing them glide around in the air like that, changing into all manner of strange beasts. I remember the first time I saw it done."

"And when was that, sir?" Harry asked pointedly.

"Oh, a long time ago, Harry," was the non-committal response.

"S - so you have those powers, too?"

Janus frowned for a moment, then shook his head. "Polyanimagi are extremely rare, Harry. Professor Dumbledore developed the skill from a young age, and Voldemort managed to cultivate similar powers through the many transformations he undertook between his time at Hogwarts as Tom Riddle and his return to the wizarding world as the Dark Lord. No, I cannot teach you to transfigure yourself as freely as Dumbledore and Voldemort, but I do believe I can teach you their flying skills, even though they are beyond my own abilities. Professor Nevins taught you the Levitatus Charm, I believe?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, this is not unlike that. But you won't find your wand useful. It's something that rather comes to you. Not every wizard can do it but you have already shown exceptional abilities."

"What do I do?"

Janus took a step toward Harry, to which he automatically retreated. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher smiled benignly.

"First, you have to trust me, Harry."

Harry felt like laughing out loud. How was he supposed to trust a man who only a few hours earlier had been offering Malfoy all the gold in the wizarding world? Yet even as Harry's suspicions of Janus boiled inside him, so did another powerful emotion: he was curious, no, not just curious, eager. He was eager to know how Dumbledore and Voldemort had defied gravity so skillfully. He also knew that if he was to ever defeat Voldemort he would have to possess equally powerful magical abilities and, at present, he was very far behind.

"All right," said Harry slowly, still trying to remember Ginny's warning to him.

"Good, now, put away your wand and close your eyes."

Harry looked back at Janus suspiciously.

"You told me you would trust me, Harry," said Janus calmly. "Now do as I say."

Harry very slowly placed his wand back into the pocket of his robes and closed his eyes. He still kept his hand hear his pocket, however, in case Janus tried to trick him. He tried to tell himself that he would be quick enough to react but a voice in his head that sounded like Ginny's told him that what he was doing was insanely dangerous after everything he already knew about Janus.

"The point of closing your eyes is to relax and focus your thoughts, Harry," said Janus, in a calm, almost soothing voice.

No longer thinking much about it, Harry did feel strangely relaxed. Ginny's voice was forgotten as he took his hand away from his pocket.

"Excellent," said Janus. "Now, Harry, as I said, you won't need your wand for this exercise but I will take mine out. As this is your first attempt, you might need a little help from me."

Harry flinched instinctively but did not open his eyes again.

"There's no cause for concern, Harry," Janus went on. "I'll tell you exactly what I'm going to do. First, I want you to empty all thoughts from your mind. I just want you to think about flying, Harry. Visualize yourself on a broom if it helps. But then think about that broom vanishing under your feet. Don't think of yourself falling, Harry. Imagine yourself continuing to fly in the sky. All right?"

Harry nodded.

"Good." Janus flicked his wand once and Harry heard the desks and chairs nearest him moving away to create an empty space. "Now I'm going to count to three, Harry. Then I'm going to cast the Levitatus Charm on you. Once you're in the air, I want you to keep thinking about flying without that broomstick. Don't think about anything else. Just try to keep yourself up in the air for as long as you can."

Harry nodded again.

"Now, one, two, three: Levitatus."

Harry tried to keep his eyes closed and his concentration fixed on his broomstick-less flight, but as soon as he was up in the air, he found his attention taken completely away. It wasn't very far from floor to ceiling and so Harry quickly found himself falling. He tried to remember how Nevins had trained him to control his fall but it had been a long time since he had practiced the charm. He then realized he was supposed to try and stay in the air instead of controlling his fall but by this point, his attention was lost altogether. Harry was still in indecision when he crashed awkwardly to the floor.

"Oh, dear."

Janus glided over quickly. He offered his hand to Harry and pulled him to his feet.

"Are you all right?" he asked. "You lost concentration."

"I'm fine," said Harry, fighting back a sharp stinging sensation that cut across his shoulder blade and the top of his legs. "No broken bones at least. Shall we have another go then?"

"If you've recovered," said Janus cautiously.

Harry didn't answer. He closed his eyes again. He tried to concentrate on his broomstick-less flight again but the pain in his legs and the rush of adrenalin now surging through his body from his flight and fall made it difficult.

"Let yourself slow down, Harry," said Janus, seeming to read his thoughts. "Take a deep breath and forget about everything but the flight. I will wait until you are ready."

Something in Janus' voice seemed to generate in Harry an unexamined trust for his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Whatever Janus had said and done to this point, Harry believed that he would not strike him with the charm until Harry was ready. Gradually, Harry allowed his breathing to slow and the stinging pain to subside. He imagined himself flying again on his Firebolt far above the Quidditch pitch, then gliding effortlessly through the air by himself. When this last image had become fixed again in his mind, Harry slowly nodded to Janus, who counted to three and shot him back up toward the ceiling.

This time Harry was much better prepared. He reached the arc of his flight and slowly began to fall again. But he did not panic even as he began to accelerate quickly downward. Instead, he concentrated on the vision of his broomstick-less flight. Just as he was about to hit the floor, Harry found himself rising again as if an invisible hand had pushed him up. He swooped up and down erratically within the short space from floor to ceiling. Then, without even thinking about it but somehow knowing just what to do, Harry reached out his right hand and moved in position in the air. He swooped up and down again as he reached the wall and curved sharply in a circle to return to the other side. He could hear Janus applauding and felt a cry of exhilaration fly out from his own lungs. He was flying, just like Voldemort and Dumbledore had. He was flying with nothing beneath him.

But Harry's feeling of glee proved short-lived: he tried to turn a second time near the center of the room and draw a figure-eight but he suddenly lost control. He crashed quickly to the floor like a bird that had just lost the use of a wing. At the last moment, he managed to break into a roll as Professor Nevins had taught him but his ankle got caught between the legs of two tables.

Janus rushed over again, somewhat less elegantly this time.

"I should have cleared the whole room, really," he said apologetically. "I'm afraid I didn't think you'd get this far. Well done, Harry," he declared, enthusiasm lighting up his boyish features. "You've done something that few adult wizards and witches have ever achieved. Now let's see if we can do something about that ankle."

Janus used magic to move the desks trapping Harry away. Harry quickly got to his feet but winced as his ankle gave way. He hobbled awkwardly over to a nearby chair.

"Don't try to get up so quickly now," warned Janus.

"It's only twisted," said Harry, still wincing. "I can fly for longer. I know I can."

"And you will, Harry, but I think it's best that we stop for today. We're nearly at the end of our time in any case."

"No!" protested Harry, feeling his face grow hot. "If we wait until next time, I'll have to start all over again. My ankle is fine. If you'll just - "

"No, Harry," said Janus, with a firmness that surprised Harry. "That is enough for today. There is no 'starting over.' The time between our two lessons will give you the chance to reflect - "

"I don't need to reflect! I just need to do it! I know I can do it! Professor Nevins - "

Harry suddenly broke off.

There was a moment of silence during which a curious, knowing smile formed on Janus' face.

"Ah, yes, dear Professor Nevins," he finally said. "He would have let you go on, wouldn't he?"

"Well...yes," said Harry, trying not to feel sorry for Janus. "He would have, sir, frankly speaking."

"I believe you are right, Harry," said Janus, not losing his smile. "I daresay Professor Nevins was a little bit afraid of you."

Harry frowned. "Afraid of me? I shouldn't think so. He - "

But Janus went on, ignoring the interruption.

"He was always afraid of anyone who seemed so brave that they were determined to punish themselves to get something right. He felt he didn't understand that sort of bravery because he was - and still is, as I understand it - obsessed with the notion that he is a coward. He is wrong, by the way," he added, almost as an afterthought. "But I am not like Professor Nevins, Harry. I am like you. And I understand exactly what it is you are feeling."

"Do you?" asked Harry, finding himself doubting this very much.

"Yes," replied Janus, without a hint of hesitation. "You want revenge, don't you, Harry? Revenge against Voldemort. It's like a hunger inside you that won't go away. You also want to exonerate yourself. You blame yourself for the death of your parents, not to mention allowing Voldemort to rise again. So you don't want to think at all; you just want to act. You're afraid that if you stop and think, you'll start to doubt yourself, and then you won't be able to stop him. You just want to allow your anger to fill you up and give you some kind of super-human strength that you will use to defeat him. How am I doing so far?"

"I'm not afraid of Voldemort!" retorted Harry angrily.

"No, Harry. You are afraid of yourself."

There was a long silence. Harry started to think about what Janus had just said to him but found that his mind had seemed to go numb. And then, as if switching a channel on Uncle Vernon's television set, he suddenly remembered again what he and Ginny had resolved to do before this lesson began.

"You know Professor Nevins, then?"

Janus looked slightly disappointed, but stroked his beard slowly and replied:

"Yes, Harry, he was once a sort of - mentor of mine once as well."

"And did you know my parents as well?" asked Harry, feeling his suspicions of Janus return. "Or do you just know the stories?"

Janus seemed to hesitate. Harry could sense the mask starting to fall again.

"I - I did know your parents, Harry. We fought together in the first war."

"Funny," said Harry, frowning at Janus. "No one from the first war seems to remember you."

"Really?" said Janus, smiling again. "Perhaps memory isn't what it used to be."

Before Harry could respond, Janus clapped his hands together loudly.

"Come on, then, on your feet! If your ankle's only twisted as you say, you should be able to walk by now and I can spare you a visit to Madam Pomfrey."

Harry was not fooled. He knew that Janus was playing on his desire to prove himself to avoid Harry's probing of his past. But he also knew that he was unlikely to get any further with his questions that day. Feeling annoyed at himself for trusting Janus as much as he had that morning, Harry got to his feet, winced and hobbled a few steps, but then made his way toward the exit. Once he had made his way out into the corridor and closed the door behind him, he was surprised to find himself face to face with Ginny and Ron.

"You're hurt!" said Ginny as he limped another step toward them.

"I'll be all right," Harry replied dismissively. He looked between the two of them, hoping they had made up, but their expressions told him right away that their alliance was a temporary necessity.

"Something else has happened, hasn't it?"

It was Ron who spoke up.

"We've just seen Hagrid. Grawp and Fump are gone."

***

Hagrid handed Ginny's teacup to her with a shaking hand, barely managing to keep large globs of teardrops out of the saucer. She, Harry, and Ron now sat in Hagrid's hut, none of them particularly sure what to say. The only sound that could be heard besides Hagrid's sobbing was Fang, who howled loudly in the background.

Hagrid moved back to pour another cup of tea for Harry. This time, he looked like he was having trouble keeping cup and saucer together.

Harry put up a restraining hand.

"Hagrid, I don't really need any tea."

Hagrid grudgingly put the cup and saucer down and sat down hard on his customary stool which creaked under the weight. He took out a handkerchief as large as a small T-shirt from beneath his coat and blew his nose loudly, but still said nothing.

"Are you sure you've looked everywhere, Hagrid?" asked Ginny.

Hagrid nodded glumly.

"Everywhere I can. Wen' out fer miles. Couldn' find 'em anywhere. Finally went an' found Professor Dumbledore. Should've sacked me feh hidin' 'em in the forest in the first place but he didn' say a thing. Great man, Dumbledore. Then he sent out a whole flock o' them search owls he keeps up the owl'ry. Still out there some of 'em, but they haven' found anythin'. Could be miles away o' course, giants don' 'ave a small step."

"Maybe they just went for a walk," suggested Ron. "Perhaps they wanted some privacy. They are a couple, right?" he ended feebly, as Ginny shook her head in his direction.

"I reckon they'd be back by now if that's all they was doin.'"

"How long have they been gone, Hagrid?" asked Harry.

"I don' know fer sure. Wen' out yesterday afternoon after the Quidditch was over. Good score there, Ginny." He smiled weakly. "Always do once a day, make sure they're all right. Anyhow, they were gone, then, both o' them. Stayed up all night but they never came - "

Hagrid broke off and launched into a fresh round of tears to which Fang added his own dissonant chorus.

Ginny looked briefly back toward Ron and Harry and saw that they still seemed to be trying to think of something encouraging to say. Lacking any useful words of her own, she walked over to Hagrid's stool and tried to put her arms around the gameskeeper but she could barely reach around both his shoulders at full stretch. She settled for holding onto his left arm in what she hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Did you see any sign of them leaving?" she asked.

"Nothin!'" boomed Hagrid, making her jump back. "No sign at all! No trees torn down, no footsteps. How can two giants not leave any footsteps? I couldn' even make out the patches o' earth where they sleep. First, I thought I must've be lookin' in the wrong part of the forest, but I kept retracing me steps and came back to the same place. It was like they'd never been 'ere at all!"

"Maybe they used magic?" said Ron, oblivious to the very curious expressions that began to slowly dawn on the faces of his best friend and sister.

"They can' use magic."

"Maybe someone else did then?" suggested Ron.

"But who and why?" demanded Hagrid.

"Hagrid," said Ginny thoughtfully. "Did you ask Firenze for help? I know he's not exactly on the best of terms with the other Centaurs but surely in an emergency - "

Hagrid looked blank. "Come again?" he said, cocking an ear in Ginny's direction.

It was Ron's turn to stare at Ginny.

"Which imaginary friend is this, then?" he asked evenly.

Ginny looked across at Harry who shook his head.

"Nothing," said Ginny quickly.

There was another moment of silence before Hagrid let out a heavy sigh and got to his feet.

"No use mopin', I suppose. Grawp was never 'appy 'ere. Thought Fump had changed that but still. Giants are best on their own," he said, sounding very unconvinced. "Never did do well in groups or chained to one place."

"What are you going to do now then, Hagrid?" asked Harry.

"Well, those carniv'rous giant daffodils near the front of the school are goin' to keep on growin' out o' their patch whether Grawp and Fump come back or not. And, as Ginny knows, the sixth years 'll be wantin' their lesson this afternoon, so - "

"Hagrid, you can't teach class in this state!" protested Ginny.

"I can," said Hagrid, with a burst of conviction. "An' I reckon I will, too. Now on with yeh all. I'll be all right and so will Grawp and Fump, don' yeh worry now. Shut up, Fang!"

Fang finally stopped his howling and stared up sheepishly at his master.

Harry, Ginny, and Ron got to their feet slowly.

"Good luck," muttered Ron, clearly displeased with himself that he couldn't think of anything better to say.

"We're just an owl away if you need us," added Harry.

But it was Ginny who looked back at Hagrid with equal if not greater conviction than he had shown them.

"We're going to find them, Hagrid. We're going to find all of them."

Before Hagrid could ask what Ginny had meant by "all," she had led Harry and Ron out of the hut and into a flurry of mid-November snow.

"I'm sure that remark will help him get over it well," Ron shot across at Ginny as soon as they were out of earshot of the hut.

"I meant what I said," Ginny replied unapologetically. "And unlike some people, I don't give up."

"You mean you're pig-headed and obstinate and refuse to admit that you're wrong."

"You would know."

"Ginny," said Harry, clearing his throat lightly. "Who is Firenze?"

"Firenze is a centaur; he teaches Divination."

"I suppose Professor Trelawney is just a figment of our imagination," remarked Ron acidly.

"No," replied Ginny with dignity. "There are two Divination teachers: Trelawney and Firenze. There have been ever since my fourth year, when Umbridge tried to give Trelawney the sack."

"Yeah," said Ron, "and she didn't get away with it, did she? Or maybe you don't remember?"

"I remember differently," asserted Ginny, looking fiercely at Ron.

"And now this Firenze has vanished," said Harry, only half as a question. "Along with Grawp and Fump."

"All of them magical creatures," mused Ginny, "magical creatures that can talk, well, sort of, anyway, magical creatures with human qualities."

Ron shook his head. "But there's one thing you've gotten wrong this time: I don't know any Firenze and neither does anyone else. But I do remember Grawp and Fump. So does Hagrid and so does Harry. Didn't you say that we'd lost our memories of everyone that had disappeared?"

"Yes, I did, Ron, but I'm not the one who's made the mistake."

Harry's eyes widened. "You mean - "

Ginny nodded. "Whoever's doing all this has slipped up and left us a clue. Just like he did with the rings."

Ron's lips tightened as he looked between Harry and Ginny.

"I don't believe I'm hearing this," he declared. "You two go on back to the castle. If I find Uric the Oddball strolling across the grounds playing pitch and toss, I'll make sure you're the first to know."

Ron began to walk off on a path to his right.

"Ron, where are you going?" demanded Ginny.

"The greenhouse," replied Ron, without looking back around.

"But Herbology isn't for another three hours," protested Harry.

"I left something there," replied Ron over his shoulder, sounding unconcerned whether Harry or Ginny believed him.

"Ron, wait!" Harry cried after him. "You and Ginny need to talk this through!"

But Ron either did not hear him or chose not to respond.

"Let him go," said Ginny, taking hold of Harry's shoulder as he sighed. "He's beginning to doubt himself already, I can see it, but he doesn't want to let on. He'll come around eventually." She tugged onto Harry's arm and pulled him back in the direction of the school. "Tell me what happened with Professor Janus."

Harry broke into a blow by blow account of his lesson with Janus that took them all the way to the main door to the school. He was particularly chuffed about his successful flying lesson and seemed a bit put out when Ginny didn't share his enthusiasm.

"He really said that?" she asked, after Harry mentioned Janus' comment about the faltering memories of the participants in the first war. "He all but admitted he knows about the modified memories. Oh, Harry, I'm sure it must be him who's doing all this! And it all fits. He wouldn't have known about the rings, would he? Only me, you, and Ron knew! So he wouldn't have known to remove them. And I'll bet he didn't know about Grawp and Fump either! Hagrid always kept them a secret."

"But Ginny, he can't be working for the Death Eaters, surely? What about his talk with Malfoy this morning?"

"It isn't only Death Eaters that can do evil things, Harry."

"I know that but the Death Eaters must be involved. Otherwise, how could Malfoy know what he does? And if you believe what Trelawney said then Voldemort's coming back. Maybe he already is back."

Ginny frowned. "I admit I don't understand how it all fits together but Janus seems to know too much for someone who isn't mixed up in all this somehow."

At this, Harry could do little but agree with Ginny, though he wondered why it made him feel so disappointed.

"Ginny," he said. "If you're right about Grawp and Fump, then we've got another big problem."

"I know," said Ginny. "I thought of it, too. It means that whatever's making people disappear isn't the same thing that's making our memories of them go away as well. It's not the same spell at least."

"And so even if we get everyone's memories back, it doesn't mean we can get back all the missing people," finished Harry.

Ginny nodded and sighed.

"So, now what do we do?"

"Well, before we do anything else, we're going to get you up to the infirmary."

"I told you there's nothing wrong with my leg! Janus - "

Ginny put her hands on her hips and stared up at her boyfriend defiantly. Though Harry didn't dare to say it, he couldn't help but think that she looked strikingly like her mother.

"And who has your best interests at heart - Janus or me?"

"Oh, I don't know," replied Harry smirking.

Ginny led Harry by the arm up the stairs toward the hospital wing.

"And what are you going to do while I'm there?" Harry asked in a tone of mock indignation. "Wait on my every demand, I hope?"

Ginny shook her head. "I'm going back to Gryffindor Tower to rescue something of my essay for Potions. And if and when I get finished with that, I'm going to borrow your map."

"My map?"

"The Marauder's Map," clarified Ginny. "Please don't tell me you've forgotten about that, too."

Harry shook his head. "But what do you want that for?" he asked.

"Just an idea."

***

"Crucio!"

Wormtail's body twisted on the floor like an angry rattlesnake.

"Please, my lord," he croaked, spittle trailing out of his mouth. "I beg - "

"CRUCIO!"

Wormtail was beyond words as the second curse struck his body. He continued to writhe on the ground, seeming for a moment to lose consciousness completely, only to be denied the bliss of blackness by another spasm of pain. The voice inside Malfoy's head now told him to stop, reminding him that Wormtail was still needed, that the alternatives were limited. Nevertheless, it was all Malfoy could do to keep his wand at his side as he felt his body burn in rage.

"I wonder if you appreciate, Wormtail," he hissed, "exactly how much your grave omissions have endangered our still very fragile arrangements. I remind you that you are my last line of defense. I trusted you and yet you have failed me: first the mudblood's wizard rings, then that brainless oaf's brother, and now - this!" Malfoy gestured to a spot on the floor just in front of Wormtail from which he recoiled. "Now Potter is starting to believe Weasley! Soon others may follow."

"M - my lord," said Wormtail, still wincing and catching his breath. "I - I could not have k - known these things. But still, none of them would have aroused suspicion if it weren't for the Weasley girl. No one - "

Wormtail's protests ended in a whimper as Malfoy pointed his wand back angrily in his direction.

"You dare to blame me!"

"N - no, of course not, my lord," Wormtail sniveled in response, "b - but surely just a very small memory charm - "

"No, Wormtail," replied Malfoy, surprising himself at his patience. "As I have explained to you many times, Ginny Weasley has an important part to play in our plans. If her memory is altered in the slightest, it will ruin everything. And should you continue to consider planting a memory charm on her yourself, as I know you are very close to doing, I will not hesitate to make sure that your death is long and painful. Now, get back on your feet!"

Still wincing in pain, Wormtail managed to rise, but he still had to hold onto the table that stood between him and Malfoy.

"You know what you have to do next, don't you, Wormtail?"

Wormtail nodded and Malfoy could see he was trying to look everywhere but at the revolting scene on the floor.

"We were very nearly discovered this time, Wormtail. Do you realize that? If the stupid cow hadn't tried to confront me so near our little hiding place, I doubt I would have gotten her here in time to prevent Janus from discovering. As it was, I had no time to banish her. You must quickly dispose of the body and perform the necessary memory modification before she is missed. The Room of Requirement will provide you with all that you need. I expect no mistakes this time. Now, I must go or I will be missed."

Malfoy swept past Wormtail and out of the door behind him. The wizard that had once been Peter Pettigrew clutched his stomach gingerly as he looked down to the floor into the wide and accusatory eyes of Madam Hooch, a pair of Omnioculars still clutched in her lifeless hands.

***

Two weeks had passed since Ginny had asked to borrow the Marauder's Map from Harry. Her search had not been fruitless, but what she had discovered was very different from what she had expected. She had thought of telling Harry right away but later decided to run further tests herself. Studying the map was a job for one person, after all. She would tell both Harry and Ron only when she was very sure of what she had seen. Then Ron would have to believe her.

At least that was what Ginny told herself. But the truth was she had kept running the tests even after there could be no doubt whatsoever as to what she had found. And yet even after all that had happened to her this year, she found her discovery very difficult indeed to accept. She wasn't at all sure what it could mean or how she was ever going to explain it.

Ginny had let everyone go down to dinner ahead of her, including Harry. Almost as soon as the common room was empty, Hedwig had tapped her beak at the window. As she had let her in, Ginny wasn't at all surprised to find that Hedwig had no letter for her. In the past few weeks, she had taken to flying down from the owlery to keep Ginny and Harry (and Snitch) company. Neither of them were very certain why and Harry could never remember Hedwig - or any other owl - behaving that way before. Ginny, for her part, couldn't shake the feeling that Hedwig was there to protect them, but how she did not know.

Ginny knew that she needed to get down to dinner soon but she found herself absently stroking Hedwig's feathers, her mind lost in thought as to how her new discovery could help to get her friends back.

"Where are you, Hermione?" she asked out loud, even though there was no one but Hedwig to hear her.

On an impulse Ginny dismissed as fruitless even as she followed through with it, she reached into her bag and produced a quill, ink bottle, and a small scrap of parchment. She dipped the quill into the ink bottle and wrote:

Hermione,

If you can receive this, please answer.

Ginny

Ginny quickly rolled the parchment up and handed it to Hedwig, hoping that the owl would lift out her leg to take it. But Hedwig used her beak to roll the parchment back to Ginny. She then reached up and rubbed the side of her beak against Ginny's arm as if to console her.

"It's all right, Hedwig," said Ginny, sighing. "I didn't think it would be that easy."

Ginny then got to her feet, took the map tightly in her hand, and walked quickly down to the Great Hall. The time for indecision was over.

***

"Is Ginny with you?" Ron asked as Harry sat down across from him at the long Gryffindor dinner table.

"She's coming," said Harry evenly. "You might actually think about eating dinner with us this time instead of just running away."

Ron and Harry both looked around to make sure no one was listening, though Ron immediately felt stupid for doing so.

"I haven't been running away. I just don't see what point there is in sitting here listening to more stories of disappearing students and imaginary centaurs. Or perhaps, by way of a change tonight, we'll talk about fiendish conspiracies masterminded by Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers."

"Ron, you are being a prat."

"I don't know what else to be anymore, Harry. Someone's got to talk sense. And apparently it isn't going to be you since you just believe everything she says now."

"Perhaps if you kept a bit of an open mind," suggested Harry, feeling his patience slipping away.

"An open mind?" said Ron incredulously. "Harry, what she's saying is - well, it's - I just can't believe it. I mean, really, Harry, how likely is it that - "

"I didn't believe it at first, Ron, I'll admit. I believed that she believed it but I couldn't see how it could be possibly be true. But you've got to admit, some very strange things have been happening. Professor Trelawney - "

"Looney and past it!"

Harry started again. "And do you really think Dumbledore would have sent us those owls if there was nothing at all to what Ginny was saying?"

"I dunno. He's been obsessed about catching You-Know-Who for so long, he probably sees him behind every corner. Think about it, Harry: while everyone else was getting on with their lives, he spent fourteen years preparing for his return!"

"And a good thing he did!" said Harry, raising his voice.

Ron put his hands up in self-defense. "I'm not saying it wasn't, but don't you think, brilliant though he is, that Dumbledore might have been barking up the same tree once too often now?"

"Well, what about the wizard rings then?"

"That's the daftest thing of all!" Ron's face reddened. "As if I had some kind of dreamy-eyed girlfriend that I wanted to be my soulmate for the rest of our - what? Why are you smiling?"

"Why is that so daft, Ron? Don't you think - "

"No, I don't." Ron suddenly went pale. "Harry, don't do this to me," he said pleadingly. "It's not funny."

"No one said it was, Ron, but what if you did have a girlfriend like that?"

"I - I don't - no, Harry, I - oh, bloody hell, what's she on about now?"

Harry turned back to see that Ginny was advancing purposefully toward them, opening and closing the Marauder's map in a furtive manner as she approached. She looked several times up at the staff table, then back to the map in her hand. Finally, she spread the map out on the table in front of Ron and Harry with a triumphant thump.

"There!" she said, pointing to a part of the map that seemed to represent the Great Hall.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" asked Ron, with an air of forced patience.

"Look closely at the people in the hall," said Ginny.

There was a moment of silence as Ron turned the map sideways so that neither he nor Harry were looking at it upside down. Harry studied the names on the sheet carefully but nothing seemed amiss: he could see himself, Ginny, and Ron gathered close to one another. There was the usual meager number of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws, and a much larger crowd of Slytherins.

"Look at the staff table," said Ginny, following Harry's eyes.

Harry and Ron did as they were told. At first, nothing seemed amiss: as usual, the names of the teachers were arranged in a long row at the head of the hall with Dumbledore at the center. Looking carefully up at the staff table, Harry could see what appeared to be exactly the same scene.

"I don't get it," he finally said, as Ron sighed and shook his head.

"Count the number of teachers on the map."

"Oh, honestly, Gin!" Ron protested.

"Go on, humor me, just the ones to Dumbledore's left."

Ron continued to sigh but Harry did as he was told.

"There are four," he said.

Ginny nodded.

"Now count the number of teachers you can see sitting up there."

Harry looked up carefully and counted silently to himself. A moment later, he did it again, and then a third time, a frown creeping across his face that grew in time with Ginny's satisfied smile.

"I keep counting five, but that's - "

Harry broke off and looked down at the map, then up at the staff table, and then down at the map again. It wasn't obvious, but there seemed to be a gap in the space immediately to Dumbledore's left, a gap that wasn't there when Harry looked up at the real table, a gap that was filled by -

It was Ron who spoke first. His disinterested and sarcastic tone of voice seemed to have vanished completely.

"B - but that's impossible," he said. "The map doesn't lie. Professor Janus - h - he doesn't show up at all but I can see him sitting right there!"

"Exactly," said Ginny, looking pointedly at her brother. "And now I want you to explain to me how it is that, as you keep insisting, nothing is wrong, when according to this map, we've been having lessons with a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who does not really exist!"