The Convict Trio and the Wings of the Heir

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Chapter 8: The Basketb Tom Riddle Diaries

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It had been a week since Draco had picked up the strange diary. He had put it in a corner of his trunk and promptly forgot all about it for until now, when it had appeared in his hand as he reached for the Sneakoscope that was also stored in the back of his traveling case. With a casual shrug Draco examined the cover, noting that the owner was a person named T. M. Riddle. It was otherwise unremarkable, its pages completely blank. Draco took out his pen and idly doodled on it. He had most of a dragon done before the ink sank into the pages.

The same ink oozed up as if someone inside the page was writing.

"That's a nice dragon."

One of Draco's eyebrows arched high, and he quickly scrawled, "You can write back?"

"Yes, I can." The words were written in neat handwritten script that Draco couldn't recognize offhand. "I'm Tom. What's your name?" it wrote.

Draco eyed the book suspiciously, as if it would grab his face and eat it at any moment. With more caution, he wrote, "Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. Why would you want to know?"

The book was silent for a moment, before replying, "Ah. A Malfoy. A most prodigious pureblood family, are you not?"

Draco glared at the diary, extremely insulted. "Of course I am! Did you honestly expect our proud bloodline to contain filthy Muggle blood?"

Tom wrote back apologetically, "Ah. So sorry. You despise mudbloods and muggle-lovers, then?"

A derisive snort from the pale, pointy-faced boy. "Of course I do. What do you think I am? A Weasley?"

There was another long silence, and Draco was just about to close the diary when Tom spoke again. "Hmm... Perhaps.... Do you seek power?"

"Who doesn't?" An idea suddenly occurred to Draco, and he smirked, scribbling hastily before the ink could sink into the pages. "Are you an artifact of the Dark Arts?"

The writing came quickly this time, "Why would you say that?"

Draco laughed before he realized that Tom couldn't hear him. "Because if you aren't, then what usefulness DO you have?'"

"I could give you power, Draco. But only if you can tell me what I need to know." Draco imagined Tom was smiling deviously as he wrote. He shrugged and continued writing. After all, power was something he needed desperately.

"Power? What sort of power?'"

"I can enhance your wand's focus and open up your true potential. In other words, I can give you the power of a full-grown wizard right now. Imagine what you would be like when you become an adult."

Draco smiled unbelievingly. "Prove it, then."

A bolt of green energy burst from the diary's pages and struck Draco squarely in his chest, pulsing rapidly. It quickly surrounded his whole body in a glowing halo of viridian light before sinking deep into his skin. Draco's wand seemed to writhe in his hand, but when he looked down at it was still.

"Feel better now?"

His silver-gray eyes widening, Draco raised his wand and pointed it at Crabbe. The boy dozed on, completely unaware of the magical fireworks show that had just taken place. With a burst of thought from Draco, the snoozing boy changed into a snoozing pig. Then back again. Draco sat back, amazed. He had never been good at Transfiguration, but his wand channeled his thoughts and powers as if it could read his mind. A small jolt and a feeling of emptiness alerted him to the fact that Tom was getting impatient; he had withdrawn his powers. With a rather girlish pout he flopped onto his bed and wrote, "Good enough. What do you need to know?"

"I want you to tell me all you can of the person known as Lord Voldemort."

Draco blinked. "That's all?"

"I will ask you for more later."

Glaring at the book's arrogance, but wrote some more nonetheless. "Well, Father told me a lot about the Dark Lord. Said he had the right idea, killing all the mudbloods and Muggles he could get his hands on. You know that Father used to be in his inner circle?" Another petulant pout. "I wish I was alive during those times. I would have helped."

"Oh, was he? I'm afraid I've been out of the loop for so very long... "

"Obviously, you have." Draco paused for a moment, obviously deciding whether or not to write more. Finally, he scribbled shortly, "People say he's dead, now. I don't believe it."

"Who defeated him?"

The pale blond boy snorted incredulously. "Harry-Bloody-Potter. Just because of a spot of luck, he's famous as anything."

Tom seemed to contemplate his words, turning them over and over. "Harry... Potter. I see. Do you know where he is now?"

"In this school. He's a Gryffindor, of course. Perfect Potter. Just because of a bit of fame and good luck..." A scowl marred his features as he thought of the bespectacled boy. "Lord Voldemort will get him someday. I know he will.'"

"I imagine Voldemort will. Perhaps you can help him then?"

Draco smiled cruelly, his eyes dancing with malicious intent. "Gladly."

The book asked another abrupt question. "Do you know about a man named Albus Dumbledore?"

"Yes. He's Headmaster here at Hogwarts." Yet another ill-tempered sneer crossed Draco's face. "I think Professor Snape would make a better Headmaster, though. HE wouldn't allow mudbloods to enter... But he's been sent to Azkaban."

"Is he still there?" The book seemed most intrigued.

Draco wrote with a smirk on his face. "Actually, I heard he escaped. It was all over the Prophet. Azkaban couldn't hold him, I suppose."

Is that so... Well." Unknown to our little Junior Death Eater, Tom was slowly siphoning off the poor boy's power, gaining strength.

Draco snapped his fingers, abruptly remembering something. "When will I be able to wield that power permanently?"

The boy was again struck by the strange impression that the book was grinning deviously. "Later, Draco. Patience."

"D'you need to know anything else?"

"No, nothing else. Perhaps we can talk later, Draco."

"Maybe later. It's time for lunch now, I'd better get going." Without another word, Draco closed the book and tossed it into his trunk, setting off for the Great Hall.

The diary sat silently inside its dark home, but one could get the impression that it was chuckling darkly.

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Draco Malfoy walked - no, strolled jauntily - into the Great Hall. With great pomp and flair he sat at his reserved seat near the front of the Slytherin table. With great solemnity he nodded once towards each of the Slytherin prefects and to the Head Girl, also a Slytherin. With great.. err.. grace he picked up his fork, delicately carried a portion of roast beef onto his gleaming golden plate, and with great (we seem to be using that word a lot XD XD) care he began eating. Mutters of 'pompous bastard' floated over from the Gryffindor table, but Draco paid them no mind. After all, soon he would be able to crush them all with just a flick of his wand.

He abruptly colored as a cry of "Oi, Malfoy! Going to let off any more farts? Or is it bogies this time?" came from the Gryffindor table. Even some of the Slytherins started chuckling as Draco struggled to keep his temper, his hands visibly trembling and his face becoming a blotchy red. More laughs rose as Fred Weasley made his way over to the Slytherin table. With a cheerful grin he thrust forwards his hand, obviously wanting to shake.

Draco glared at Fred's hand as if it was a manticore about to maul him. He lifted his calm, cold gaze to Fred's, and asked icily, "What is the meaning of this?" His hand didn't move a fraction of an inch anywhere near the vicinity of Fred.

Fred's grin widened even more, if that was possible, as he spoke, "Why, I just wanted to congratulate you, Draco."

This comment made Draco even more suspicious than usual. With another glacial glare that promised serious bodily harm if Fred didn't explain his purpose right now, he spoke again. "Congratulate me on what, Weasley?"

"Why, congratulate you on evacuating the Slytherin table so fast last week, of course! We couldn't have done better with a dozen dungbombs ourselves!" Before Draco could react, Fred grabbed his hand with both of his and pumped vigorously and dashed off to exchange high-fives with George and Lee Jordan.

Another roar of laughter filled the room as Draco jumped to his feet, almost pulling his wand and cursing the trio of mischief-makers into oblivion. But he noticed the teachers eyeing him and backed down, dropping with an outraged sigh into his seat. Fortunately, there were no Stink Potions concealed in Malfoy's briefs this time, and he continued to pick at his food, although he was certainly more depressed than before. Crabbe and Goyle glared helplessly at the twins. For all their muscle and brute strength, they couldn't do a thing while the teachers were watching. Pansy Parkinson simpered and clutched Draco's arm.

"Did they hurt your feelings, Draco?" she whimpered, unintentionally making Draco's temper flare.

"I don't know about them, but your face is certainly hurting my feelings, Pansy," he snapped, jerking his arm away from her. Pansy stared at him for a moment before turning and bursting into tears. Draco shoveled a large chunk of meat and beans into his mouth, trying to convince himself that he wasn't feeling guilty.

He dropped his fork with a clatter and clapped his hands to his mouth; something had speared the roof of his mouth! Spitting into his hand, he could see that whatever it was had drawn blood. His gaze flew to the golden fork on the ground. It was writhing, attempting to pierce his shoe and get at his toes. With a vicious growl, he stomped it hard with his heel, killing it. It let out a pathetic little moan before bursting, spraying sticky green blood all over his expensive shoes.

Another roar of laughter came from the Gryffindor table, and Draco could make out that pompous fifth year prefect whose name Draco couldn't remember - Percival or Preecy or something - waving his arms frantically, trying to make everyone quiet. He wasn't doing a very good job, in Draco's not-so-humble opinion. Not even remotely close.

George Weasley stood up and cupped his hands, shouting over the row to Draco, "Even your fork doesn't agree with you, Malfoy? For shame!" He turned and gave his twin brother another high five. "Great work on that Animata Charm, Fred." They burst into guffaws as Draco slowly sank down into his seat, wishing he could do nothing more than make a hole in the floor and crawl into it and then die. Rage and embarrassment warred fiercely in his head.

Just as their amusement faded into low chuckles and the occasional pointed glance at Draco, another unexpected event occurred, making the day possibly the worst ever in the life of Draco Malfoy up to that point.

A solitary screech owl swooped from the ceiling, the enchanted sunlight shining on its feathers. One student pointed it out to his friend, then more, and then suddenly the gossip topic had changed from other things to why exactly an owl was coming in at lunch, not breakfast. The sinking feeling in Draco's stomach increased as the owl dropped low into a dive and whizzed past his head, dropping its letter into his pitcher of apple cider with a loud plop.

It was a solid scarlet color, and it smoked slightly at the edges.

For a moment, Draco stared at it, unable to comprehend just what was floating in the pitcher of juice beside him. Oh, he had seen many Howlers before, but they had always been sent to white-faced children, not himself. He thought wildly that perhaps a mistake had been made, that it had been meant for someone else with silver-blonde hair, but the Malfoy coat-of-arms that sealed the envelope made it quite clear who it was meant for. He gingerly picked it up and read the words on the front:

to: Mr. Draco Morticus Malicio Ferendi Yew Darania Lorobini Malfoy IV

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

With trembling hands, he cracked open the seal and slowly opened it. The dark interior yawned wide, and...

"DRACO? THIS IS YOUR FATHER, LUCIUS. I'VE DECIDED THAT IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO BECOME A MAN, AS THEY SAY. REMEMBER THAT DAY A WEEK AGO WHEN YOU CALLED FOR ME AND I WAS BUSY WITH YOUR MOTHER? REMEMBER HOW I TOLD YOU THAT BABIES WERE DELIVERED BY OWL POST WHEN YOU PAID FIFTY GALLEONS? WELL, I'M SORRY, DRACO, BUT IT'S ALL A LIE. I WANT TO TELL YOU HOW BABIES ARE REALLY MADE. YOU SEE, WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN VERY MUCH-"

Draco stared at the talking envelope with a growing sense of horror; when the hell was it going to shut up? I'm doomed. Doomed, all because of my stupid father. I'll never be able to show my face in respectable society again, he thought gloomily. When he came to, the envelope was still talking.

"-AND SOMETIMES WHEN THEY LOVE EACH OTHER A LOT THEN YOU CAN USE CERTAIN TOYS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS TO INCREASE PLEASURE, DRACO. REMEMBER THAT NARCISSA AND I WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR LOVING PARENTS, AND IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIMENT A LITTLE THEN WE CAN TAKE YOU TO A RESPECTABLE BROTHEL. WE'LL NEVER TURN YOUR GIRLFRIEND OU- WAIT. WHAT THE HELL? THIS IS A HOWLER?! WAIT! YOU STUPID BIRD! YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT! GET BACK HE-"

Lucius Malfoy's voice was cut off as the Howler disintegrated in a small puff of flames, leaving the Great Hall utterly silent except for the sound of one hand clapping and a thousand jaws hitting the floor in unison. Draco saw, with the kind of numb horror in his gaze that was usually reserved for victims of severe war trauma, that the Weasley twins were clutching their stomachs, laughing so hard that no sound came out, their faces purple. It looked like they were going to suffocate right then and there. Every single student (and the more demure teachers) had blazing scarlet faces.

Slowly, oh so slowly, Draco made his way to the stairs that led to the Slytherin dungeon. He stumbled and banged his head into the wall, drawing blood, but he didn't seem to notice. When he reached the stairs, he fell all the way down, bouncing limply and coming to rest in a boneless heap at the bottom. He rose slowly, bruised and bleeding in a dozen places, a slight manic grin resting on his face. He stumbled off to the Slytherin common room and slammed into the wall. Apparently, the deep shock had temporarily destroyed his ability to talk, and he continued slamming mindlessly into the wall that concealed the common room before he collapsed, unconscious at its feet.

Instantly the dead silence that had fallen broke into a thousand pieces. Some of the weaker girls fainted right then and there, shocked to the core by the revelations that Lucius Malfoy's extremely... unhealthy suggestions had brought on. The youngest teacher in the staff, Professor Sinistra, was sitting stock still, and it seemed that she was in danger of fainting as well.

Luckily, Professor >D was sitting beside her, and a quick waving of smelling salts under her nose revived her somewhat. She shook her head, dazed and confused. Nobody noticed the small beaker of neon pink potion that Nad slipped into Sinistra's goblet. Giving her a small tap on the shoulder, he gestured lightly at her untouched cup.

"Perhaps some wine would help you, Alexandria?" he said, smiling innocently. She nodded quickly and grasped the cup tightly in her hands as if it was the one thing that bound her to consciousness. Taking an eager gulp, she lowered the goblet and stared at Nad. A slight pink tint seemed to have passed over her vision. "Alright now?" Nad asked brightly, a small smile dancing in his eyes.

Alexandria Sinistra nodded fervently, wondering why she had never before noticed the entrancing way he smiled. "Yes, much better now, thank you," she said - or tried to say. It came out as a whisper that was barely audible. Nad seemed to understand perfectly though; he rose and offered her his hand.

"You don't look so good, if I may say so. May I escort you to your room?" Sinistra's room was in the middle of the Astronomy Tower. The perfect place to be alone with Nad, to feel his strong hands stroke her sl- She shook her head abruptly, but all thought was washed away in a ferocious electric jolt as Nad took her hand.

She drifted behind him, lost in a miasma of daydreams. Life with Nad will be so wonderful, she thought. We can run away together and- She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she never noticed >D pull out his wand and point it at her. After that, she didn't really notice anything at all.

"Imperio."

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Night fell at last. Crickets hiding within the dungeon walls chirped. Students slept peacefully in their beds. Stock-still jobberknolls kept close watch over the darkest corners of Hogwarts castle---

Waitaminute. Jobberknolls? How did they get in? Everyone knew Hagrid and Kettleburn owned a few, but, surely they hadn't let them into the castle?

Let's backtrack a bit, shall we? ^_~

o_O O_O O_o HURASHIBAKKU to that very afternoon during lunch hour...

Severus Snape downed a draught of his quickly depleting invisibility potion, making sure to take an extra vial along with him. He knew that supplies were limited, so he had cut back on his ventures into the outside world. Best to conserve ingredients, after all.

However...he wanted to know more about those two replacement professors. Sonores was too suspicious for his liking, and even Nads made him suspicious to a certain degree. Searching the banshee's office had resulted in nothing, as had searching Nad's. It was time to resort to other methods of spy work. Snape knew just the trick.

The Potions Master padded quietly out to Hagrid's hut (empty---he was out at lunch) and searched through the many creatures the half-giant kept. He had almost lost his hand (and/or other limbs) in the process, considering some were vicious enough to just snap at thin air. Soon enough, he found what he was looking for: Jobberknolls. Silent creatures that were not capable of uttering a sound until the time of their deaths, when they repeated everything they had ever heard in a long scream.

Severus placed some body-binding curses on the creatures. Couldn't have the blue speckled birds flying off at the wrong moment, could we? But now it was time for the difficult part. How to smuggle them into the castle without being seen? Birds floating about in midair were quite unnatural, after all, especially considering that they wouldn't even be using their wings.

This he was forced to do in an extremely meticulous manner. Hiding around a corner whenever someone approached, diving behind statues whenever necessary, etc. He even came across Mrs. Norris once; she had ended up yowling and running off as she caught Snape's scent. She had long since figured out that a bodiless scent meant trouble.

As he slowly made his way through the castle, he hid the petrified birds in strategic locations, making sure to have each within earshot of Nad's classroom and office, Sonores's classroom and office, and nearly any other spot that could possibly be used as a meeting place. When he finally began to make his way back to the Vincent the Valiant statue, his plan was already been set into motion---the birds would act as sound recorders for him overnight. He'd retrieve the jobberknolls in the morning and, hopefully, some new information would be had.

Severus allowed himself a triumphant smirk as he settled in for some reading and a good night's rest.

o_O O_O O_o End HURASHIBAKKU...

And so, the petrified jobberknolls kept their posts for the remainders of the afternoon and evening (not that they had a choice). Nothing of great interest had happened thus far, save for the rather entertaining pranks the Weasleys played on the Slytherins of Potions class.

It wasn't until 10 PM that Nads met Sonores outside her locked office. His light blue eyes twinkled with mischief as he slowed to a halt beside the banshee.

"Hello, Serena! I daresay it was a fun day, don't you think?" Nads proclaimed cheerfully as if she were an old friend. Well, truth be told, she was an old friend of his---he had even become an expert at reading her lips (he was wearing earplugs to save himself from her deadly voice).

"Invigorating. Absolutely stupendous," the banshee replied flatly accompanied by a scowl. She was never a very happy person, when it came down to it. Nads, of course, read her lips with ease and grinned.

"Don't be such a spoilsport! Just because you're such a pessimist, doesn't mean I have to be." Sonores halfheartedly grumbled some nasty words in response. Nad lowered his voice a bit before continuing. "Besides, the Imperius against Sinistra went exactly as planned. She'll do whatever we wish of her!"

"So what?" Sonores replied, scowl deepening. "Things always seem to go right for you. And what do I get? An escaped convict of Azkaban who can see through my damn glamorie."

"It's your negative karma, darling. Just try and lighten up!"

"Right."

>D shrugged. "It works for me!" He grinned as Sonores grumbled to herself. "Any new orders from our Lord?"

"Not unless you count the threats against our sanity and lives if we don't carry out the Plan flawlessly," she mumbled as she slouched forward. "If we screw up in the slightest bit, I'm heading to the nearest bridge and throwing myself off to spare Him the trouble."

XD's grin faltered slightly at her words. "Come on, Serena! Lighten up! Isn't the world such a beautiful place? Let out your feelings in one big burst of joy!!!"

".....Whoop-dee-fucking-doo." Another deadpan, sarcastic remark. Nads simply smiled weakly.

"...I suppose it's a start..."

"Yeah. Wonderful start. Watch as I frolic through a field of singing daisies."

>D's grin returned full-force. It must be his optimistic nature. "That's the spirit!"

Sonores's scowl deepened. One could nearly see the steam jetting out of her ears.

Sensing the danger, Nad quickly changed the subject. "So, anyway, we'll be watching out for our invisible convict Snape, won't we? Making sure he steals no more of my supplies?"

"Sure damn will. I'd love to tear that nosy bastard apart for seeing through my glamorie." She gave her companion a piercing banshee glare. "You will save him for me when the time comes, won't you, darling?" Sense the hostility!

But Nads was unaffected, of course. "We'll share him, dear." He grinned at her displeasure and gave her a quick peck on the forehead. "Cheer up! Of course I'll allow you to torture him as you please, as long as our Lord approves of it."

"The boy first, remember. That damn boy is our first priority."

"Of course! No need to worry. We'll have his blood giftwrapped and presented in a large purple bow to our Lord in no time!"

As the two spoke to each other, >D kept stepping closer and closer to his partner-in-crime. By this point, the banshee may as well have been in his arms, they were so close. Sonores had begun running her hand along his robes suggestively as the conversation continued.

"Purple bow? Why purple?"

"It's a sufficiently evil color. Haven't you noticed that green or purple tend to be the leading colors to symbolize evil, excluding black?"

".........No."

"...Ah. I see! Then perhaps I'm just observant."

There was a pause. Neither spoke for a little while, now wrapped up in each other's arms. The jobberknoll in the shadows continued its recording.

"So! Back to the subject at--"

"Shut up and kiss me, Nad."

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"OW!!! Whoever that is, get off my foot!"

"Sorry, Ron! Couldn't see where I was going."

A snort. "Whatever you say, Herm--"

"Guys! Quiet down!" Harry whispered urgently as he, Ron, and Hermione approached the darkened library. While Nad and Sonores were busily snogging at the latter's office, the Trio had snuck out of their dormitories with the ever-so-useful invisibility cloak. It was the night of their infiltration of the Restricted Section of the library (of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry of Scotland of the United Kingdom of Europe of Eurasia of Earth of---*gets whacked with a flying boot, thanks to Akanekins*).

The three crept into the silent library, shutting the large oak door quietly (or as quietly as possible, considering it, unfortunately, creaked quite loudly as they did so) behind them. Madam Pince was off in her apartment, presumably getting her good night's rest at this hour of the night.

"Lumos," Hermione whispered, lighting up the room with her wand. They tiptoed over to the Restricted corner, passing by all the normal, safe stacks of books towards the front. She placed her lit wand in the middle of the floor, where it will efficiently light the area up enough for the trio to read the various book titles. "Okay, then. Look for anything that involves potions. Moste Potent Potions seems like a good place to start; I heard Snape mention it during class once."

"You actually listened to that git's lectures?" Ron whispered incredulously.

"Of course I did! Unlike you, I cared about my grades in that class!"

"I cared, too!" Ron shot back, while adding with a mutter: "I just don't understand how you could force yourself to listen to anything without wondering how anyone's hair could get that greasy."

Hermione simply 'harrumph'ed and reverted her attention to the stacks of books behind her. Harry, who had long since gotten used to his best friends' bickering, was a step ahead of his companions. In fact, he had pulled out Moste Potente Potions and began flipping through to the index in search of anything useful.

"Polyjuice Potion...Inflammation Potion...Exploding Potion...Draught of Eternal Sleep..." Harry sighed in frustration and slammed the book shut. "Nothing in Moste Potente Potions, Hermione."

The straight-A student frowned. "Not in Moste Potente Potions? Where can we look, then...?" she asked herself thoughtfully, scanning the shelves for a title that could house a recipe for invisibility potions.

Ron snorted, discouraged greatly by the turn of events. "So what do we look for? The Invisible Book of Invisibility? Invisibility For Stupid Gits? We could spend weeks in here and still find nothing!"

Hermione shot Ron a glare. "It's worth a try. Besides, if we don't find anything this time, we could always come back." The red-haired boy mumbled something about wanting to go to sleep, but continued to search the shelves nonetheless. It was to help Harry, after all.

Things continued in this manner for about an hour. They had already gone through every single potions-themed book they could find to no avail. Where could the recipe be, then?

Harry searched through the books in the B section, highly discouraged and exhausted. He had no idea where this invisibility potion could be had, and, quite frankly, he was beginning to question if that Snape and Sonores conversation had all been a dream. The boy was just about to tell his friends that they've done enough for the day and to go back to their dormitories when...

"A Guide to Assassination: Silence and Constant Vigilance...?" Harry muttered to himself. Assassination? Assassins could use invisibility, couldn't they? He pulled the large, dusty book from the shelves. It was by a wizard named Marius Backstabbe--Hmmmm. Full of curiosity, Harry flipped the book open when...

His eardrums were nearly shattered. The book had just let out the loudest scream he had ever heard in his life.

In panic, Harry dropped the book, causing it to slam shut upon impact with the ground. The horrid shrieking ceased. His two friends, startled by the scream, gave the door a wary look, worried that Filch may have heard. The trio waited for a minute or two, and when nothing came, they each sighed with relief. Ron turned to give Harry a Look.

"Are you trying to get us in trouble, Harry?!" Ron hissed, eyes wide with panic.

"Sorry, Ron..." Harry replied, obviously spooked. "It screamed when I opened it. We need to see what's inside that...but...how do we get past that?"

"Let me take care of it," Hermione said as she brushed past the brunette boy and kneeled by the book. "Can I borrow your wand, Harry? Mine's being used to light the room."

"Oh. Sure," he replied as he pulled out his wand and handed it to the bushy-haired girl. She picked up the book for assassins and tapped it once with her wand.

"Silencio," she muttered, obviously an incantation of some sort. Harry clamped his hands over his ears to protect himself from the shrieking book as Hermione flipped it open once more.

His mouth dropped open in shock as the book did not scream. The girl smiled triumphantly. "I knew it would work!"

"How did you do that?" Ron asked incredulously, watching as she flipped to the index and immediately began scanning it.

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly! Don't you read?" Ron simply made a sound reminiscent of of 'hmpf'. "It was a silence charm. Simple, really. Did its purpose, didn't it?" Hermione replied proudly. "HERE IT IS!" she burst out excitedly, not realizing that she had raised her voice a bit too loudly and, quite honestly, not caring too much at the moment. "Cloak and Dagger: Includes invisibility cloaks and potions. We found it, Harry!" She dug through her robes, pulling out an ink well and a quill. "Did you remember to bring the spare parchment, Ron?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, sure," he said as he pulled out a rather crumpled-looking square of parchment from his own robes. He handed it to Hermione as she opened up to the specified chapter. With a squeal of delight, she began to copy down the entire recipe.

"Most of the ingredients appear to be simple enough, but it's a rather complicated procedure. Very precise," she mused. "One incorrect measurement could throw it off entirely."

"So what do you want us to do? Sabotage Snape's invisibility potion?" Ron snapped sarcastically. "Right. And how are we going to do that? Steal the ingredients before he can get to them?"

"Precisely!" Hermione replied as she shut the book with care. "We'll take them from Professor Nad's private stock. In the meantime..." She took a look at the potion description once more as she placed the screaming book back in its place. "The potion lasts for roughly one hour and fifteen minutes. We'll have to search for Snape's hiding place; it should be easily accessible to the school so he could wander around and return without being seen. Apparation in the middle of the Forbidden Forest would take too long--he must be on school grounds." She folded the piece of parchment up and slipped it into her robes. Hermione took her companions' silence as consent to her plan and smiled grimly. "Let's get back to the tower, then."

Ron and Harry exchanged looks once more. "Do you think we've been a bad influence on her?" Ron whispered to his friend as the two followed Hermione to the library doors. Harry merely shook his head in response and tiptoed out the doorway...

And bumped straight into Hermione. She had stopped dead just outside the room.

"Geez, Hermione, what's wrong with you? Let's go!" Ron hissed to his friend, irritation evident in his tone. That is, until he looked up to see what the object of her fixation was. He gasped. Loudly.

A man with matted, sloppy hair to his elbows, a waxy complexion, and glittering dark eyes stood before them. He blinked at them a few times and took a step closer. Despite having seen few pictures of this man, his identity was unmistakable.

It was Sirius Black.

Ron was the first to lose it in the silence that ensued. "RUN FOR IT!" he screamed as he turned tail and did just that. Hermione and Harry hesitated for only a second longer before following their red-haired friend down the hallway with fearful expressions. They didn't even glance back as Harry threw the invisibility cloak over his friends.

Unfortunately, they had simply leapt out of the frying pan and into the fire. The trio had run straight into Filch as they rounded the next corner, bumping the Invisibility Cloak off their shoulders. The trio stared at the caretaker. The caretaker stared at the trio. A malicious grin slowly spread across Filch's ruddy face and his eyes seemed fit to burst from their sockets. Filch was all-too-happy to drag them off for detention and a stiff talking-to from Professor McGonagall...

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Sirius muttered a curse under his breath and transformed into Snuffles as the children ran off. He had only come to investigate after he heard a scream from the library. And, of course, it just had to be his godson and friends. Not only that, but they were terrified of him due to his criminal status!

How Black longed to speak with James's son, to clear his name and tell Harry the truth. Too bad that won't be happening any time soon. He probably thinks I'm here to kill someone, with my reputation, he thought to himself with a mental frown. He had to be more careful about hiding from students now than ever before.

With a depressed whine, Snuffles bounded back to the Vincent the Valiant statue, ready to turn in for the night.