48

Chapter 48

"Are we all in agreement then?" Melania asked tiredly.

A series of nods came from around the quiet table. The solemn look on the faces of each member present from the Black family indicated the gravity of the situation.

Pollux Black placed a hand on his oldest son's shoulder in approval as he stood to his feet. Alphard Black seemed disturbed by the turn of events but he met the eyes of his favorite aunt Cassiopeia, Dorea Potter, and his own mother, Irma Black, sighing, "I never thought I would be in this situation. I am honored you all would consider pointing me to the interim head of the family. I assure all of you that should the real Lord Black awake tomorrow I will happily return the power of the family to him. I also respect my ladies' decision to keep Sirius as Heir to the family. I will inform him upon my return to Hogwarts of the decision of the family."

Dorea took a breath before saying, "Inform my son as well please, Alphard. I am sure he has been expecting something like this, but I am sure he will be happy that it was you that we chose to lead the family."

"Is there anything I need to know about the lad? Anything all of us need to know with Arcturus out of the picture?" Alphard questioned pointedly.

Dorea for her part didn't show a sign of discomfort, "Harry will seek blood for what happened to his godfather. As will I for what they did to my brother. Of that, I can assure you."

"That isn't quite what I meant." Alphard retorted sternly, "The boy knows things. Just before the break, he unveiled a magical brand that was on the arm of the Lestrange Heir. At first, I thought it was just a tattoo, but Harry knew that it was more than that. When Flitwick realized what Harry was trying to tell us, I saw a look of severity I had never seen on the man's face and I have known the Professor for over thirty years."

"My husband and I are aware of my son's knowledge of our enemies. Much of this information we gathered together over the years. While the family is just now recognizing that this Heir of Slytherin as our enemy, we have seen this man rising from the shadows for years. We heard whispers all over the world of his power." Dorea explained, "And we have done everything we can to learn as much as possible without tipping our hand."

"I doubt there is a person in this room now who won't see the man as an enemy." Alphard insisted stubbornly, "If there is more information of vital importance that needs to be shared I think we all have a right to know."

Dorea surveyed the men and women in the room. Pollux was looking at her with knowing eyes and she did her best not to wince in realization that the unspeakable knew more than the others. He was just bound by oath not to speak of it. Deciding that revealing a little would not damage their cause Dorea sighed, "The mark is a magical brand as I am sure Harry suggested to you. The heir of Slytherin has been personally marking his followers with parselmagic and the protean charm to give them this symbol. It can be used to summon other followers and communicate with this Dark Lord."

"Anyone who bears this mark is our enemy then." Alphard said with certainty.

Confirming this Dorea nodded, "There is no way to force the mark upon anyone. Not that we have discovered at least. They may hide behind masks, but this mark will reveal their true loyalties."

"Do we have any idea how many followers he has?" Irma Black asked.

"That's what makes him so dangerous." Pollux said, shaking his head, "Any set of wizarding robes is going to cover the arms. We can only begin to imagine how many will answer his call to arms."

"Would it not be best to take Arcturus and flee the country while we can? It seems we are doomed to face Civil War." Cassiopeia said with worry, "Without our true Lord I fear the leeches will begin to pick us off. Already we are much smaller in number than we were six months ago."

This question brought a heavy silence to the room. Dorea for her part shook her head, "If our country falls in the hands of this mad man the civil part of this war will be short lived. With the power of Britain in his hands he could conquer half of Europe before the ICW could launch a formidable response to attempt to stop him."

"I won't run from this man." Alphard agreed stubbornly, "It's not what Arcturus would have wanted. He is safe behind the wards of Potter Manor."

"My brother is a stubborn bastard." Dorea said fondly, "We must not give up hope that he will return to us. If he woke up and found out we all ran he would be furious."

Pollux nodded in agreement, "I will not run. We didn't during the Great War, and we won't start now."

"My husband extends an invite to our home for any who fear this Dark Lord. We will protect you." Dorea offered to those who still looked worried.

"That is a generous offer, Dorea." Alphard said with gratitude, while the others seemed grateful to have options, "I will also see to it that Orion, Walburga, Cygnus, and Bellatrix are cast from the family. I think it would be for the best that Druella is questioned extensively as to her knowledge of what happened, and whether Narcissa and Andromeda can be trusted."

"I have spent a fair amount of time with Andromeda, as has my son." Dorea claimed, "I believe the girl to be innocent of any wrongdoing. She is fond of her grandfather and I do not believe she would have allowed this attack to happen quietly. At the least, I believe she would have informed Harry. As for Narcissa, she is young. If we deem Druella to be unfit to raise her children we could discuss drastic options, but I don't think either girl would be beyond reproach."

"Sirius will be graduating soon as well." Alphard consoled, "I will see to it that the boy has the funds to make it out in the world while he finds his feet. Hopefully Charlus can knock some sense into him. When I asked what he wanted to do after Hogwarts he said he would like to continue to be magics gift to women."

The family groaned while a smirk pulled at the corner of Dorea's mouth. It sounded like something the boy would say. Discussions passed among the group of who would be keyed into the wards at Potter Manor while Alphard ran his fingers through the length of his beard in thought. Despite the straight face his aunt had kept he knew that the Potters were still keeping secrets from the family. Secrets that Arcturus likely knew. He would need to gain the boy's trust to learn more of what was to come, or perhaps the entirety of the Black family would fall to extinction.

.o.

It had been over a week since Harry and Elaina had delved into the Chamber of Secrets and defeated Slytherins monster. In that time they had rested in preparation for their next move. The two had discussed at length possible items that Harry knew to be Horcruxes.

He knew it was only a matter of time before he needed to bring Dumbledore into the loop. The man already knew so much, but with Tom already having discovered pieces of his past it was only a matter of time before the rest came to light. It would do no good for a wizard of Dumbledore's caliber to be left in the dark. He wasn't certain of the man's reaction, or when the right time to tell him would be, but he had a feeling it was coming.

Shaking that thought aside he watched as Frank attempted to handle Lily, Andi, and Pandora at the sametime. Frank was doing a decent job, but he was ultimately overwhelmed without taking down a single one of the girls.

True to Harry's belief the Marauders had not returned to this week's practice despite Harry inviting them through Sirius. James and Harry had not spoken since that night, and the time traveler knew the boy would be licking his wounds for a while. In the meantime he would not slow down everyone else. They all had a right to learn to defend themselves, and he wanted his friends to have the best weapons available, and right now, that was experience.

Clapping his hands together he listened to Elaina encourage Frank, "You're really fast, Frank, but you need to use the multiple opponents to your own advantage. You were trying too hard to out muscle your opponents. Move around. Make the spellcasters have to dodge each other. You never know when one of them might do you the favor and curse one of their own allies in the back."

Frank was patted on the back by the girls, while Elaina began a face-off with Alice. Harry had been working on tactics again today, but they had started the lessons with some insight on the Patronus charm. Lily and Elaina both were casting the spell with minor levels of success so were able to add lots of thought onto the lesson.

Harry then delved into his family's speciality of battlefield transfiguration. He kept it basic at first and created rubble while turning it into animate objects. The group struggled with the concept, but slowly they picked up on the idea of multi-tasking their spell casting. Pandora was more of a natural than the others, but her creativity with magic certainly assisted with that.

Alice was now attempting to employ the use of animating objects to defend herself from spells she didn't recognize in a one on one duel with Elaina who was allowing her room to make mistakes without crushing her. The girls were all talented witches, but Harry wished the Marauders had been here to help push the group with more partners.

As training came to an end for the night Elaina chatted happily with the girls who had become her closest friends and Frank came over to him with a grin, "Good lesson tonight, mate."

Offering the teen a light fist bump Harry accepted the praise, "Glad you guys enjoyed it. Congrats on being named Heir Longbottom by the way. I guess there was little doubt, but I saw your dad was accepted by the Wizengamot in the paper this morning."

Sighing Frank offered him a tired smile, "My family has taken the death of my grandfather hard. He was old so I always knew this day would come, but I thought it would be some years. My father never wanted to really be Lord of the family either. He didn't even ask if we wanted to see him sworn in."

Harry knew little of Neville's grandfather. He seemed to recall that Neville had admitted he had seen his grandfather die at a young age, which was the reason he could see thestrals, but that told him little of the man that was now Lord Longbottom.

The silence between the two lingered and Frank had a grin pass over his face as he said, "You know we are approaching a big Hogsmeade weekend with Valentine's right around the corner.."

Raising an eyebrow at the boy Harry glanced towards the teen to meet at the brown eyes of the newest Heir Longbottom, "And?"

Frank leaned in towards him, "Look man, girls talk. I am just trying to remind you that there is a big Hogsmeade weekend coming up."

Looking at the boy oddly now Frank looked exasperated, but one quick glance back at the group of girls made him straighten up, "Are you planning to ask Elaina to Hogsmeade?"

Bewildered by the sudden question Harry blinked twice before asking, "I'm sorry, what?"

Now looking like he would like to smack Harry, Frank sighed, "Look do yourself a favor and do so. You two are a thing right?"

Looking over to Elaina who glanced his way and offered him a slight smile before she turned back to converse with Pandora and Lily he shrugged, "Yeah, we are."

"Perfect." Frank said happily, "Then you should ask her to Hogsmeade. Trust me pal, I am doing you a favor."

Before Harry could question the boy Alice was upon the two looking as spritely as always, "What are you two boys whispering about over here?"

"We were hardly whispering!" Frank defended as he threw an arm around the girl, "Just having a little guy talk about upcoming events."

Alice's eyes widened, and turned accusingly towards Harry, "And?"

"He's hopeless." Frank chuckled.

Alice rolled her eyes and Harry could tell she was about to have words for him, but the rest of the group approached, and she immediately melted back to her smile, "Thanks for the lesson, Harry! Same time next week?"

"Sure, Alice." Harry said forcefully, and the girl just giggled as Frank shook his head.

The rest of the group followed, wishing him a goodnight until it was just Harry and Elaina when she laughed, "What was that about? I think Alice was about to hex you."

"Honestly, I am not really sure." Harry said, scratching the back of his head.

Shrugging her shoulders Elaina smiled up at him with light in her eyes, "Are we going to do it tonight?"

Nodding his head at once he began to head towards the exit, "I have the cloak and the map in case we need it. I have no idea what kind of reaction the object we will be trying to destroy will have."

Following behind him without hesitation she asked, "And you are certain it's going to be Ravenclaw's Diadem?"

"There are no other objects from Ravenclaw left. If we are going to find an item belonging to her tonight it will have to be the Diadem." Harry explained.

Sighing, the girl said, "This is another one of those things you already knew the answer to wasn't it?"

Catching him off guard with the question he froze mid-step before turning to face the girl. She offered him a weak smile at his expression which must have been like a deer in the headlights, "Your deductions were too big. They have been on a lot of things recently."

His brain was short circuiting. Harry wasn't sure what to say. She stepped closer to him, taking a hand of his in her own, "I know you trust me, Harry. I have known that for a while. The closer you have let me in the more you have slipped up. I didn't want to challenge you and make you close up, but I think I understand. I think I have understood since the Chamber, but the more you have let me in the more I have seen. You know things that no one else, even your parents know. There are only two explanations, and one I think I would've noticed by now, so that must mean-"

"Not here." Harry said quietly. A moment passed between them, and he squeezed the hand holding hers, "Tomorrow we will go home. I will tell you everything. Once we destroy this item together we will tell my parents what we have been up to, and I will bring them into the fold of what must be done next. Give me one more night."

"I wanted you to tell me on your own terms, Harry." Elaina said softly, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, "One more night. Then the truth."

"Then the truth." Harry confirmed.

"I'll protect your secrets, Harry. Just as we have protected each other. You have my word." She said confidently.

Harry wondered exactly how much the girl thought she knew. He supposed there had been enough oddities that have happened around them that she could have pieced it together. He had not told her about Voldemort getting a look into his mind, but she could tell when they had returned from the fight that something had gone awry between the three during their duel.

Taking a deep breath Harry sighed. It will all be okay. He told five people of his true origins in this timeline when he arrived. Other than being related to them he knew nothing about any of them. Elaina on the other hand had been at his side for months. She had earned the truth. He opened the door on Christmas, and the time to fully invite her in was coming.

Hand in hand the two stepped out of the Room of Requirement and the door sealed behind them. Curfew was swiftly approaching and Harry knew their chances of being disturbed were very little. Offering the girl at his side a smile he said, "Would you like to open up the room?"

Frowning at the boy she observed the wall that the door always appeared on and shrugged her shoulders, "It seems complicated."

Chuckling the teen shook his head, "I only made it seem so because I didn't want the Marauders or the others using it as a Safe Haven for their flings. It's very simple. Just pace back and forth three times and picture in your mind what you want to see. In this case, you need the Room of Hidden things."

Her jaw dropped at the simplicity of it and she laughed openly, "Well placed in Slytherin indeed."

Straightening her shoulders she relaxed and closed her eyes. Harry watched the girl carefully as she took three strides in each direction wearing a mask of concentration. After her third pass she stopped and for a moment nothing happened. Her expression slipped into a scowl before the door began to form, shock taking over her features immediately.

Taking a tentative step forward Harry followed close behind until the girl put her hand on the door, and gently pushed it open. The room that appeared before their eyes was every bit as massive as Harry remembered. Rows and rows of forgotten or lost items filled the room. In some areas piles were stacked all the way to the ceiling. As the two entered the room the doors closed behind them and Harry gestured for the girl to follow him.

Elaina observed the room in wonder as they moved through the rows. Flashes of his fight with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle entered his mind as he passed through the clutter. He remembered his old classmate casting the killing curse at him. The brief scream of the boy echoed through his mind as he remembered him falling into his own cursed flames.

Shaking the bad memory off he guided Elaina through the maze and with little difficulty he found the table where he had once left his copy of Advanced Potions Making. On it was a colorless tiara and the bust of an ugly old warlock. When he stopped in front of the table Elaina gasped, "This is it, isn't it?"

Shaking his head he eyed the historical artifact with disgust, "It is."

After confirming the object's nature his eyes caught a familiar object in his peripheral. Turning his head to the end of the row a large black cabinet stood nearby, and Harry felt his stomach sink.

Frozen in place from the headmaster's curse, Harry watched in horror as the half a dozen death eaters surrounded the disarmed weakened Dumbledore. Draco was shaking as he pointed his wand at the unarmed old man. Despite the odds stacked against him Dumbledore spoke to blonde Slytherin pleading, "Draco, years ago, I knew a boy, who like you made all the wrong choices. Please let me help you."

Shaking his head the boy looked terrified, "You don't understand. I have to do this. I have you kill you. Or he is going to kill me."

"No." The voice of Severus Snape joined those on top of the Astronomy Tower, and for the briefest moment Harry felt a flicker of hope.

"Severus, please." Dumbledore pleaded.

"Avada Kedavra."

Flinching as the green light flashed in his mind he recalled Dumbledore's final moments in his time. Harry had seen that Draco was considering lowering his wand. He didn't have what it took to strike the Headmaster down. Had those Death Eaters not breached the castle Dumbledore might have lived a little longer. Everything could have been different. It all started with this cabinet.

"Not this time." Harry muttered as he drew his wand prepared to blast the vanishing cabinets to smithereens, but instead he dropped to the ground screaming in agony.

In his throes of pain he turned to see who had attacked him. He knew he had been hit by the cruciatus curse, but as he writhed on the ground attempting to fight the curse no one was there. Elaina was gone. With immense difficulty he managed to dispel the curse and push himself to his feet with shaking limbs. What had happened? Where was the Diadem? How had he been so distracted by the cabinet that he lost track of the Horcrux? With only one explanation coming to mind, a feeling of horror overtook him. It must have possessed her.

With a jolt of panic he realized that since Fienfyre destroyed the room last time he had no idea the kind of defenses the Diadem could have had and realized what a mistake he had just made. Breaking out into a run Harry was out of the room in moments searching the corridor for signs of the girl. Running at full speed Harry charged towards the stairway realizing the girls intent to escape. If she escaped Tom would learn of the prophecy. He would learn that Harry knew about his Horcruxes, Potter Manor, and the basilisk. The Horcrux could not be allowed to escape, no matter what.

As he rounded the corner he resolved himself to stop the girl. He wasn't sure how, but he had to. As he hit the fifth floor sounds of spellfire erupted, and Harry came around the corner to see Elaina casting a killing curse at an unsuspecting Argus Filch. The man was launched backward as the spell impacted the squib. Harry's eyes widened as the man thudded against the ground. His legs stopped propelling him forward as he watched his friend murder an innocent bystander.

Before Harry could process what to do Professor Flitwick erupted around the corner, but at the sight of the girl he stopped in shock, "Miss Essex?"

The girl wasted no time however in firing a killing curse at the man and after casted a blasting curse that destroyed many paintings, parts of the wall, and a good portion of the hallway. While Flitwick had dodged the killing curse the sheer magnitude of the blasting curse was not able to be stopped with a wave of his wand, even his shield collapsed under the pressure as he was thrown backward.

This was Harry's chance however to intervene as he attempted to stun the girl from behind. His spell whizzed past her however as she took off into a run. As he caught her glance over his shoulder he noticed the change in her. Gone were her beautiful heterochromia eyes and in their place were the red eyes of his enemy.

The sight of Voldemort possessing the girl he had come to care about sent a wave of fury and adrenaline through him as he pursued the girl. With reckless abandon he began firing hexes at the girl in the grand central staircase creating a massive ruckus. Portraits were obliterated, screams of panic could be heard from even the ghosts who were fleeing the conflict.

It was no time at all that they hit the Central Hall, then the Transfiguration Courtyard, and before he knew it they were reaching the Bell Tower Courtyard where her chances to escape would increase tremendously. Elaina was still several meters ahead of him and gaining distance. Before she could make it to the steps that would take her towards the lake a man appeared in a column of flames with a severe expression on his face. Gone was the care-free smile or the twinkling eyes of the Hogwarts Headmaster, and in his place was the wizard that Voldemort always feared.

"Ms. Essex. An explanation if you please." Dumbledore said with his wand in hand.

The girl looked to turn around to evade the older man, but Harry had closed the distance giving her only one method of escape. Darting towards a nearby set of steps that would lead her towards the greenhouses she was cut off by the arrival of Professor Flitwick who had his wand in hand looking ready to fight after being blasted into the wall. The girl had stopped in her tracks and was now backing up as she realized she was now surrounded. Dumbledore hardly acknowledged the presence of the other two wizards as he began to advance but Harry stopped him, "Wait sir."

Harry held his hands up to show he would not attack the girl as he approached cautiously, "Elaina. You are stronger than him. Better than him. Please don't do this."

"Oh this little girl stands no chance against me, Harry Potter." Gone was the voice of the girl he cared about, and in its place was the raspy voice he had heard when wearing Slytherin's Locket. A voice he had done everything in his power to forget.

"Is that you, Tom?" Dumbledore asked with his eyes widening.

"Hello, old man. The boy and I are talking. Excuse us." Elaina said with a laugh that sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Harry's ears.

"It's the Diadem that is talking, Elaina. You have to fight him." Harry pleaded.

With a sudden movement, the possessed teen was pointing her wand at his chest, and Harry raised his in self-defense with dread caking his stomach. Mockingly she now raised her wand in a sign of surrender with a sinister smile on her face, "Strike me down. Can you do it? Are you truly meant to be my equal?"

Harry froze at the words eying Dumbledore and Flitwick with concern, before addressing the girl again, "Elaina, this isn't you, please."

"Harry, what is this?" Flitwick asked quietly to his right.

Before Harry could answer, Elaina pointed her wand back at the ground, "You will have to kill me, or more likely, I will kill you. ALL OF YOU!"

With a flick of her wand a killing curse was sent towards Dumbledore, while she spun around and swept the water out of the fountain turning it into ice and transforming it into icicles that were hurled at Harry and Flitwick with speed that the duo were unprepared for.

As the group fought to diffuse her attacks Elaina cackled. With a swish of her wand blue flames created a circle around her causing Harry to take a step back in wonder. Flitwick for his part's eyes were as wide as saucers when he whispered, "Impossible."

Dumbledore was the only one that sprung into action. His first move was to attempt to stun Elaina, but the flames leapt to her defense absorbing the spell and they became slightly larger making the three wizards each take another step back. The next thing Dumbledore did was swirl his wand around his head creating a massive blanket he attempted to lay over the flames, but Elaina unleashed a barrage of spells at the man making him unable to complete his spell and was forced to defend himself.

This was enough to snap Harry out of his shock and into action as he casted jets of water in an attempt to put out the flames. Flitwick immediately shouted at him, "The flames cannot be put out through normal means. The headmaster will keep her busy. Do as I do!"

With a flourish of his wand Flitwick stabbed his wand towards the ground bellowing out, "Finite!"

Before Harry could follow suit the flames lashed out at the professor attempting to down him, but before the young Slytherin could intervene a statue of armor leapt into the way of the flames destroying it, while a shield appeared in front of the professor to protect him from debris. Jerking his head to see who was arriving at their defense, Harry caught the ragged appearances of Professor Black and McGonagall. Both were wearing very solemn expressions and Harry didn't waste another moment to put some distance between the group to try and get the girls attention.

The flames were now ardently attacking the four educators, while they fought to contain the magic to the courtyard. Harry had to admit they were doing an admirable job, but the flames seemed to only grow with tenacity the more they were fought against. Clearly, the spell was designed to prevent people from mounting a successful defense.

With a wave of his wand, Harry protected himself from a bout of flames that came at him in the form of a small skinny dragon. With a shield and several rebuttal spells the flames temporarily dispelled, but more came at him, and with little hope he called out to her, "Elaina!"

The flames were becoming so bright and so large he could barely see his friend in the middle of the circle any longer. Attempting to push through the onslaught he heard the voice of Dumbledore call out to him, but he ignored it as a path seemed to open for him. As he pushed closer inch by inch he could see the dark haired girl with her wand pointed at the ground. Red eyes that didn't belong to her were peering at him, and Harry called out again, "Elaina, please! You are better than him. We can beat him together."

The screeching laughter seemed to encourage the surrounding flames as they swelled up, and the heat around him became blistering. Refusing to give an inch though Harry continued to push. He was within ten meters of the girl now, and he heard the raspy voice of the Dark Lord speak to him, "This girl had a hundred weaknesses to exploit, Potter! I will unhinge her mind, and make her believe she killed you. I will bestow upon her in the fleeting moments of her life nothing but misery and pain. This girl that cares so much for you, will die a hundred agonizing ways before I finally give her the sweet mercy of death!"

The pain he was feeling from the heat seemed to subside as desperation pumped through his veins, "Elaina, if you are in there, you have to fight."

The roar of the flames seemed to drown out his voice, but the red eyes of his enemy were locked onto his, "Elaina, none of this is your fault. I will protect you. I just need you to let me in. I would never hurt you."

Praying for a miracle Harry began to lower his wand as the flames reared up towards him, "And I know you would never hurt me either."

The flames were on him the moment his wand went to his side. He screamed in pain as he continued to walk through the fire to the girl. It seemed as if his skin was being flayed, but his eyes remained on the girl in front of him. He didn't know how long he was in pain, or how long it took him to get to her, but when he broke the circle he stumbled into the girl placing both of his hands-on each of her arms, looking up at her red eyes, "And I am with you till the end of the line."

The eyes he was staring into that were once laced with hatred fluttered closed for a moment. In between each flutter, the blue and green eyes he had come to cherish returned. Clearly, the girl was fighting with every bit of strength she had. With aching muscles Harry lifted his hands to the diadem on her head, lifting it from her hairline, and tossing it onto the ground nearby.

The moment the diadem hit the ground Elaina looked at him with eyes that shined with understanding and despair over what she had done. Turning away from the teen she pointed her wand towards the ground as if she had a fire extinguisher easily putting the flames out.

As Harry watched her the pain from what he thought would be third-degree burns was already beginning to subside. His skin was unblemished. The magic was something he could not even begin to fathom in the moment as he watched the rest of the blue flames dissipate.

The girl had tears in her eyes as she turned to face the boy who protected her since the start of the year. He felt the strength begin to return to his bones as he began to move towards her. Before he could, a red light tagged Elaina in the back, and she went unconscious into his arms.

Holding the girl close he surveyed the courtyard making him twitch as he realized it looked like a bomb had gone off. It had all gone so wrong. Filch was dead. It was only a miracle that only professors had been in her way after that. Harry could only imagine what would have happened if a student had been killed. The expression on Dumbledore's face told him this was anything, but over.

The headmaster's expression was thunderous as he turned to Black and McGonagall speaking commandingly, "Check in with the other heads of house and let them know the castle is safe. Make sure all students are in their Common Rooms. Notify Professor Hooch to check on the Ravenclaws. I will need Fillius' areas of expertise."

Neither dared to question the man as he then turned to Harry, "Mr. Potter, you will join me in my office. Ms. Essex will join us until a time I can guarantee the safety of everyone in the castle."

In solemn understanding, Harry watched as Flitwick levitated the girl and followed behind the Headmaster. He had a grim feeling about the coming conversation, and could only imagine its ramifications.