《The Secret of the Sivrils (Harry Potter fanfiction)》


 Train Journey to Hogwarts

    September (7th Year):


    I''m in a carriage of the Hogwarts Express, which is actually quite full, as this time it''s not just occupied by my siblings and I. Antonius and Dominic are in here too. Oliver is as well, though he''s hiding. I gave him a newt this morning before we set out. He hated the last train-journey, and he''s in a particularly bad mood, even though the train hasn''t even started moving yet.


    Just as I was writing, Max Castellanos slid open the door of our compartment and asked if he could join us. Only Dominic objected. He doesn''t like Max and that''s not really surprising.


    The train is just now leaving Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Max is sitting next to Antonius. Dominic has just left the carriage...


    For a while, I just sat looking out of the window, watching the scenery as we passed through. The others were talking about things in the background, but then I couldn''t help overhearing Jared talking about me and I started paying attention.


    "Cathy, you don''t really belong in Slytherin,"Jared said to me.


    "And what do you mean by that?"I asked, suddenly feeling annoyed.


    "Well, you used the Sword of Gryffindor, remember?"he continued.


    "Lotty got it out of the Sorting Hat,"I answered, trying to hold back my irritation.


    "Yes, but she didn''t use it,"Jared said,"so technically she was just a proxy to get it to you - really the Sword of Gryffindor had to have presented itself to you, and it only ever does that for a True Gryffindor."


    I angrily threw a paper bag at Jared and it splatted on his face.


    "Now, that was un-called for!"Jared objected.


    "Interesting theory,"Max joined in,"but you''re wrong, Jared."


    Jared flung the paper bag back at me,"I''m not wrong!"he said to Max.


    "You''re wrong about Lotty not using it,"Max said.


    Now even Lotty looked puzzled.


    "All she did was get it delivered,"Jared said.


    "No, she used it, but not as a weapon,"Max started to explain,"she used it as a key!"


    "A key?"Lotty asked, frowning.


    "Lotty, if Patricia and Richard hadn''t heard you''d pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat, they never would have helped me to get out of the Common Room,"Max continued to explain,"I was being so closely guarded by APS that the house-elf, Poppy, whatever his name is, couldn''t even deliver me a message! It was hearing about the sword that got not only Richard and Patricia to help us escape, but other members of our House too. Lotty used the sword as a beacon, a signal to to all true Gryffindors, that we were in a time of need! You don''t get any more Gryffindor than that!"


    Lotty was looking thoughtful,"I suppose,"she agreed.


    "I''m in the house I belong in,"I said,"I know that."


    "Or do you?"Jared went on,"you''re the one saying Silas Warren doesn''t really belong in Gryffindor."


    "I know I belong in Slytherin!"I insisted.


    "Why did Dominic go out?"Anita interrupted us.


    "Probably because of me,"Max said.


    "Maybe I should look for him?"Antonius suggested, getting up.


    "You should see if he''s alright,"Max agreed.


    Antonius returned around five minutes later, looking less than happy.


    "Did you find him?"I asked.


    "He''s with Regulus and some 6th Years,"Antonius replied,"told me to get out."


    "Really?"I said.


    "Yes!"Antonius answered,"said if I didn''t leave the carriage, he''d kick me out himself."The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Which 6th Years?"Jared asked,"I might know them."


    "Gerald, Elliot and Dennis,"Antonius replied.


    "I know them - trouble-makers,"Jared answered,"I''m going to be keeping an eye on them this year!"


    Max looked at Jared inquisitively.


    "Jared''s a Prefect now,"I said.


    "Yep,"Jared said.


    "You''d better not let it go to your head,"I said.


    "You''d better not go breaking any rules,"Jared replied.


    "I''m pretty sure you break rules all the time, Jared,"I responded.


    "Well, now my rule-breaking days are over,"Jared answered,"what better Prefect than a Prefect that already knows how to break all the rules and catch all the rule-breakers..."


    "I really want to talk about something important, but I can''t!"Anita suddenly said.


    "Why not?"I asked.


    "Because,"Anita said, looking at Max.


    Max noticed this,"alright,"he said,"I''ll leave! Don''t worry!"


    "You can come back in ten minutes,"I said.


    Anita glared at me.


    "Maybe I''ll go and annoy Dominic,"Max said,"like the good old days."


    "I''ll go with you,"said Antonius,"to make sure you don''t,"he added.


    I think he realised Anita only wanted siblings to be present.


    "It''s about the Sivril, isn''t it?"I asked Anita.


    Anita drew out the Golden Sivril.


    "I''ve been thinking about all the opportunities we have with this,"she said,"and I haven''t forgotten about the Locked Door that we still haven''t found."


    "Max sort of had heard of the Sivril already,"Lotty said.


    Anita frowned,"I''d rather it was just the seven of us that knew,"she said,"did you know I asked the Sivril yesterday how many Sivrils there are hidden around Hogwarts? There are seven."


    "Seven?"I said.


    "Yep!"Anita said,"Seven Sivrils! That could be one for each of us!"


    "Each of us?"Ed said, looking up from his book.


    "Yes, including Emily and Jeffrey,"Anita explained.


    "Oh, forgot about them,"Ed said, returning to his book.


    "I found one, Lotty found one,"Anita went on,"I was thinking it would be great if each of us could find one. Then we could all be the Keepers of the Sivrils and use them to find adventures."


    "I think I''ve had enough adventures for a while,"I said,"I''m hoping I get a chance to enjoy my last year at Hogwarts in peace."


    "Well, you don''t have to be the next one to find one,"Anita answered aggressively,"I asked the Golden Sivril if each one has different powers, and it said they''re all different. We already know the Golden Sivril finds things and answers questions, and the Silver Sivril shows certain memories that happened in places."


    "I was thinking it would be really useful to have of you were an Auror,"Lotty said,"when you go to a crime scene, all you have to do is roll the Silver Sivril around."


    "Maybe I could borrow it off you when I discover crime scenes at Hogwarts?"Jared suggested.


    "Why would you want to investigate ''crime scenes'' at Hogwarts?"Lotty asked.


    "Well,"Jared said,"Prefect, remember?"


    I rolled my eyes, Anita did too, then she pointed at me and laughed.


    "Twins!"she said.


    "Partners in crime, you mean,"Jared corrected,"I''m going to b keeping an eye on you two because I know you''re always up to no good!"


    "Well,"Anita said,"let''s get back to the subject before they come back. I was thinking, I haven''t asked the Sivril any questions today. So why don''t we all ask it one question each? Here on the train. Cathy can go first because she''s the oldest."


    I couldn''t think of any questions on the spot,"why don''t you ask it first, Anita? You found it. We''ll do it youngest to oldest."


    "Are there adventures waiting for us at Hogwarts this year?"Anita asked it.


    The golden ball spat out a parchment,"yes,"was the response.


    "Nice!"said Anita.


    I wasn''t so sure.


    Next it was Lotty,"will we find the Locked Door?"


    "That is for you to find out,"the Sivril responded.


    "Wasted that one,"Anita said,"I''m sure I''ve already asked it that before. Go on - Ed!"


    Ed took the Sivril, he looked at it for a moment, then asked,"how do you make a Sivril?"


    Anita gasped. None of us had actually thought about that.


    The golden ball rolled around and around on the floor for a while, making a strange humming sound.


    "Looks like you''ve broken it, Ed,"Jared observed.


    Just then, the golden ball spat out a small scroll of paper. Ed picked it up and unrolled it.


    "What does it say?"I asked.


    "It''s provided instructions,"he said,"first of all, we need an alchemy laboratory. We need to choose a base metal; silver and gold are the most powerful. We need to infuse an element with strong intent for the purpose, a magical core (like a wand has). We also require the infusion of any other parts necessary, and a combination of spells sealed within the ball. Moonstone is an essential component..."


    "It sounds complicated,"I said.


    "But also really interesting,"Ed replied,"I think I might try making one of these in the future."


    Now it was Jared''s turn, but we didn''t even pay any attention to the question he asked it, we were all too busy asking Ed to show us the scroll and discussing the sorts of Sivrils we could make.


    "Cathy - you now,"Jared said, handing the Sivril to me.


    "What did you ask it?"I asked, as I noticed him slipping a piece of parchment into his pocket.


    "Ah - nothing important,"he responded,"nothing you need to know."


    I looked at the Sivril and wondered what I was going to ask, but I didn''t have any ideas.


    "Go on!"Anita urged me,"the others are going to be back any minute!"


    I decided to ask it the first thing I thought of,"where is Silas Warren?"


    The others all gave me strange looks.


    "I would never have thought of that,"Lotty said.


    "How would it know?"Jared asked.


    The Sivril rolled out of my hands, dropped to the floor, and spat out a parchment.


    I realised when I went to pick it up, that my hand was shaking. Lotty had already seen what was written on it, and she was looking at me in a way that I didn''t like.


    "You will find him soon."


    Then the door to the compartment slid open and Antonius and Max returned.


    "You finished your family discussion yet?"Max asked,"or should I say - secret world domination plans?"


    "We certainly have,"Jared answered,"you gave us enough time to come up with a solid action plan and two pristine back-up plans to boot."


    "Yes, you are now welcome to return,"Anita informed them.


    "Would you consider joining our secret taskforce?"Jared went on.


    "What should we rename the capital of the world when our invasion has succeeded?"Anita joined in.


    "Carrowlandia,"Jared suggested,"no, that will be what we rename the Earth!"

 Careers Class

    Later:


    When we arrived at Hogwarts, as soon as the Sorting Ceremony was over, and Headmistress Wells had given her speech (a lot of new rules were annoyingly announced), I was sent up to the Headmistress'' Office.


    I remembered, with dread, that I would now be receiving whatever punishment the school had decided to give me for ''absconding from justice'' back in June.


    "Sit down, Carrow,"Wells ordered.


    I sat down feeling extremely anxious. I was hoping, hoping I wouldn''t be expelled. I was thinking surely they would have told me before, if that had been their decision? But you never could tell with Wells. It seemed as though she wouldn''t think anything of expelling someone on their first day back at school for something they did in the previous school year, after they had already made the journey there and come prepared for a new year ahead.


    "I''m sure you''re aware of the dreadful business you were involved in this summer?"Wells said,"where you, Antonius Parkinson and Kenneth Brass ran off into the Forbidden Forest, and one of you never returned!"


    "It didn''t exactly happen like that,"I was thinking, feeling frustrated.


    "The Ministry have completed a thorough investigation, and have decided to leave it up to us to punish you,"Wells went on,"and we have decided, after much discussion and careful consideration, that while this is a matter that would usually result in expulsion, you will not be expelled. Instead you will be confined to Hogwarts and the school grounds at all times. You are not permitted to go to Hogsmeade or leave the school grounds at any other time than returning home for the holidays. If, at any point, it becomes absolutely necessary for you to leave the school grounds, you will have to get permission directly from me and give at least three days notice. Understood?"


    I listened to this with rising and falling emotions. It was better than being expelled, but being confined to the castle and school grounds was going to be incredibly inconvenient. It also meant no more sneaky trips to the Foxhole Chamber, or Anita''s treehouse (which I''ve already warned the others that Silas might have discovered when he got his snakes to find me that time).


    "I understand,"I answered, unenthusiastically.


    "However, I am not finished,"Headmistress Wells continued,"though the Ministry has seen fit to clear you of any suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of Kenneth Brass, we have not. If you have any knowledge of what may have happened to him on that night, or any idea of his whereabouts, we expect you to let us know."


    I looked at Wells completely astonished. The ''disappearance'' of Kenneth Brass? Disappearance?


    "I thought you knew what happened?"I said.


    "Well, is there anything you should be telling me?"


    I was about to tell her what I knew, but stopped myself just in time. Of course Wells would have known what happened. If she now suddenly thought that Kenneth Brass was missing, when she had previously known he was dead, then something was seriously, seriously wrong!


    Before I left Wells'' office, she made me wear a bracelet, which I must keep on at all times. It is similar to the anti-apparition bracelet Hilary Winter put on me in the summer. It will inform all of the teachers (yes, apparently all of them!) if I step one foot outside of the Hogwarts Boundaries. It will also allow them to see wherever I am in the castle, whenever they want to check... so I can''t even do any out-of-hours sneaking around (which, in some circumstances, is necessary). It''s so frustrating! Also - there''s no way to remove it, and even if I could, it''s one of the sorts that would alert them instantly to the fact it had been removed.


    I met Antonius as I was going down the stairs. I''d forgotten he was going to be given the same punishment as me...


    "Well?"he asked.


    "I''m not expelled,"I replied, showing him the bracelet,"but I''m not allowed to leave Hogwarts, ever, during term time."


    "I''ll probably get the same,"Antonius said,"by the way, did you see my cousin in the Sorting Ceremony?"


    "I didn''t notice actually,"I said,"which cousin?"


    "Edwin,"Antonius responded,"he was sorted into Gryffindor. Aunt Pansy is going to be livid!"


    "Let''s just hope he doesn''t join APS,"I said, with a sigh.


    Antonius went up the stairs. I hoped he wouldn''t get expelled. I didn''t see why he would be, seeing as I wasn''t, but you never could tell...


    The Next Day:


    Fortunately Antonius wasn''t expelled, but, like me, he has to wear one of those annoying tracking bracelets. He''s also confined to Hogwarts.


    I didn''t sleep well last night, I was worried about so many things, and I have a heavy feeling of dread looming over me. I xouldnt stop thinking about Headmistress Wells'' comment on Kenneth Brass'' ''disappearance''. I know something is very wrong. Silas must be nearby! He''s up to something.


    I barely had the willpower to properly unpack, or explore the new dormitory (which is quite grand) - but while I was struggling to sleep, I wanted to get out of bed and finish unpacking to pass the time, or maybe tire myself out a bit more, but I couldn''t, because I knew it would wake Priscilla and the Sanding twins (though they were all snoring loud enough to make me want to wake them all up!).


    I''m actually writing this in the 7th Year Dormitory now. Classes are over, and I''ve finished unpacking (finally). I''m writing at a desk in my corner of the room. This Dormitory is a lot bigger than the ones I''m used to, and we all have our own desks for studying, bookcases too - my bookcase is looking sadly empty at the moment. If I''d have known, I''d have brought more books - thinking about it, I should have brought more books anyway! This is my final year, so there''s going to be a lot of studying, ans tests! Oh well, I can borrow plenty of books from the library, and bring a lot more back with me from home after the Christmas Holidays.


    As for Oliver, he''s somewhere in the school grounds (I think), probably looking for a new place to make his home. Hopefully he listens to me and makes it in the school grounds, as I won''t be able to visit him otherwise. It''s not like he can be summoned like Hoppy, though I suppose I could get Hoppy to look for him.


    Now I''m going to stop rambling and describe the day. The first class of the day was Transfiguration. At first, I was a bit confused, because it was just us Slytherins in the classroom, sitting at our desks - no sign of Professor Holmes, or any students from another house.


    Finally Professor Holmes entered, looking cheerful and enthusiastic to begin teaching the class, despite his lateness.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Well,"he said, clapping his hands together and grinning,"sorry to keep you waiting, I have been unavoidably delayed. However, here I am now!"


    "He may be here, but where''s the other half of the class?"I thought, looking over at the empty desks on the other side of the room.


    "You will not be sharing this class with another House today,"Professor Holmes informed us, answering my unspoken question,"due to a little mix-up in the timetables, not that it makes a difference to any of you, of course. Now I have decided, seeing as this will be your last year studying Transfiguration at Hogwarts, what better way to begin it, than with a challenge! I should like you all to demonstrate the utmost ability of your current skill, by transfiguring your inkwells, yes, your inkwells, into a very important and useful object. Think about the object you wish to use, and think carefully. Consider this your first test of the year!"


    I looked at the inkwell on my desk, wondering what sort of important object I could turn it into. I''d tried turning my dressing table into a writing desk at the end of the summer holidays, and it had ended up becoming a suitcase... but that had been because I was distracted, thinking about packing.


    I looked around the classroom, everyone else looked like they were also thinking about their objective. No one had done anything yet.


    "A useful object? I know - a quill!"I thought.


    Maybe it was the fact that it was an inkwell I was going to be transforming, that made me think of that. I waved my wand and my inkwell became an elegant quill with a black feather. I could write with it too - I''m sure it was using the ink that had been in the inkwell. I looked around and was surprised to see that I wasn''t the only one to have had that idea.


    Amelia Sanding had transformed hers into a silver quill, and she was also writing with it.


    Regulus had transfigured his into a flimsy-looking broom. Artemisia had changed hers into an inanimate Golden Snitch. Dominic had only succeeded in disappearing the inkwell and spilling the ink all over his desk. Antonius had transfigured his into a cauldron; but Priscilla - Priscilla had transformed hers into what looked like a wand.


    She held it in her hand and looked like she was about to cast with it, but Professor Holmes quickly stopped her.


    "No! I wouldn''t recommend that, Bulstrode!"he said, hastily snatching it from her,"a very, very remarkable thing, I just say,"he added, examining it closely,"but I would not attempt to use it, if I were you. Wand-making is a very delicate and complex process, and it requires a magical core - I suspect that anyone attempting to use a transfigured object as a wand will find themselves with an uncontrollable instrument that has the potential to cause untold harm. In fact..."


    He turned and aimed the ''wand'' at a small side-table,"Wingardium Leviosa!"


    The table shot itself up into the ceiling with shocking rapidity, then proceeded to fly chaotically around the room.


    "Immobulus!"Professor Holmes cried, this time with his own wand, then he returned the table to its rightful place,"well,"he remarked, raising his eyebrows,"if you must know, that may have looked like the wand did something, but the truth of it is that we all can perform magic without using wands - wands help us to channel and control it, however, a wand that is not properly crafted, and has not chosen its wizard, can be an incredibly dangerous device. I would recommend, remarkable as it is, that you refrain from transfiguring objects into wands!"


    He returned the wand to its original form and continued the class.


    I thought the next class was going to be Muggle Studies (which was baffling, because I don''t have that class), but it was just in the Muggle Studies classroom, which was, at the time, the only classroom not in use for its usual purpose.


    Then I noticed we were joined by the Hufflepuff 7th Years, then Ravenclaw, then Gryffindor...


    The Headmistress addressed us, she seemed to be the one teaching the class.


    "As this is your first proper day of schooling her at Hogwarts during your final year, it is a good time to decide which career path you intend to take,"she announced,"consider this ''Careers Class''; you will only be having it once, and that is today. In this class, we will discuss your options and answer any questions you might have concerning your chosen field."


    I suddenly felt really nervous. I don''t know what I want to do. Years ago, I used to want to be an Auror, but that changed when I realised I would be a very useless one; because, though I like the idea of capturing dark wizards, I don''t like the idea of having them imprisoned in Azkaban. As an Auror, I would be like one of those Muggles that throws fish back in the water after catching them... this is largely due to the fact that it seems, these days, almost anyone can become a ''Dark Wizard''s just by making small mistakes. More and more things that weren''t crimes before, are now becoming ''crimes''.


    Losing your ambition, especially when it is a strong one, as mine had been, is the sort of thing that sets you adrift... I''ve been sorr of... drifting... ever since.


    After a long, somewhat boring lecture on careers and options that we had based on our current skill level in certain subjects, Wells asked us each to make a short speech about our chosen career path.


    Hilary Winter was first, she wanted to work in the Ministry, that didn''t surprise me. Someone else wanted to be a magical inventor (this made me think of Ed). A lot of students wanted to be Aurors (especially Gryffindors), some wanted to work in St Mungo''s, some in specific areas; like Herbology or Potioneering (this included Priscilla Bulstrode). Sheila Hunter wanted to be a librarian, some wanted to be professional Quidditch players. A Ravenclaw relation of Olivander''s wanted to become a wand-maker (this drew a very impressed response).


    I listened, with interest, to all of these ideas. Then it got to Max''s turn.


    "I''ve often thought,"he began, grinning,"that I would like to be - a magician! Like the ones in fairytales; the terrifying enchanter that lives in a spooky house where strange things happen, and people that venture near are never heard of again... and, well, I''m afraid, I have discovered that there is a name for that kind of profession in the Magical World, and it is ''Dark Wizard''s!"


    Murmurings of laughter followed this (including me).


    I heard someone mutter,"no wonder he''s always hanging out with the Slytherins."


    "Seeing the sheer number of you that want to be Aurors,"Max went on,"well, I have come to the conclusion I should probably pack that idea in and stick to card tricks!"


    More stifled laughter followed this. I was thinking he didn''t seem to have any serious ideas about his career-choice either. It wasn''t just me, then.


    Dominic''s turn was next.


    "I don''t know,"he said.


    "What sort of a Slytherin doesn''t have an ambition?"Wells remarked, cruelly.


    Dominic said nothing, but I detected a slight smile flicker onto his face for a moment that - worried me.


    Then it was Antonius,"I haven''t properly decided yet,"he said,"I have some ideas, but I need plenty of time to consider them carefully, and think about the impact they will have on my life."


    I was still feeling nervous. Maybe I could still become an Auror - with one specific purpose - catching Silas Warren! Speaking of Silas, I found myself scanning the classroom, expecting to see him there among the Gryffindors. I was very relieved to see he wasn''t.


    Then it was my turn. I don''t know why I said what I said, I just said it. It was the first thing that came into my mind. An idea that I have had occasionally, that flies past every now and then - one that I have never really given any serious thought to.


    "I would like to teach Ancient Runes, like Professor Willow,"I said.


    I''d said it now. I suddenly regretted saying it. Why did I say that? It was a fleeting fancy. Now would they pressure me to focus on that? I hadn''t decided yet on what I wanted to do, I hadn''t made up my mind - yet Ancient Runes is something I do love to study as a hobby. I don''t think I should like turning a hobby into a job, I feel like it would make me dislike it if I did it too much, and if I had to do it.


    But Wells actually seemed impressed,"well, if you continue to do as well as you are doing in Ancient Runes, maybe you could one day take over from Professor Willow when he retires. I will be sure to let him know,"she responded.


    I felt a little less nervous now. It was less - impending. More of a future thing. It''s always good to have a fall-back-on thing for the future. Of course, I couldn''t become a teacher of Ancient Runes here at Hogwarts any time soon, as Professor Willow already holds that position. I hadn''t thought of that. I suddenly felt much better, actually glad that I''d mentioned that. In a way, it was something I could work on, and I didn''t have to worry about it being a major thing... Then I realised something about myself. Part of my problem with finding what I want to do has to do with a fear of commitment. Or, at least, committing to the wrong thing. But what if there is no right thing?


    Anyway, I''ve decided, for now, that I''m just going to focus on the present, try to do as well as I can in my studies, and make the most of my final year.


    The remaining classes of the day included tests to see what standard we were currently up to. We had Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and Charms. But those tests weren''t interesting enough to write about in here.


    We had dinner in the Great Hall. I went for a short walk by myself in the school grounds, having a good look at the areas I was allowed in, and the beyond that I was not...


    Now I''m here, in my dormitory, writing about today. I''ll write again tomorrow.

 The Dangerous Potion

    Next Day:


    So we had Potions Class with the Gryffindors today. I found myself nervously examining their side of the classroom for any sign of Silas (again), but was reassured by his absence. Though not fully reassured. I''ve had an increasing feeling of impending doom looming over me...


    Anyway, he wasn''t there. Part of me wished he was. Not knowing where he is, not seeing him... It''s like when there''s a large spider in the room, and it''s run off and hidden somewhere, and you know it''s still there, waiting to reappear, and it could be right next to you...


    I was so distracted that Professor Park had to yell at me twice before I realised he was speaking to me.


    "Stop daydreaming about the Gryffindor boys and pay attention!"he snapped.


    "I wasn''t daydreaming about anyone!"I answered, horrified.


    I felt my cheeks blazing red, and Antonius looked at me in a way that made me want to melt into my potion cauldron and disappear among the bubbling ingredients.


    "Now, I need everyone to watch closely,"Professor Park demanded, striding up to a large cauldron he used for demonstrations.


    He sprinkled some sparkly, grey dust into it in a circular motion, then drew out his wand and softly spoke the incantation,"Sola Scintilla Ignis."


    A tiny spark dropped from his wand into the cauldron, and within a few seconds, a small fire was blazing on the surface of the liquid inside. There it remained, crackling as it gave off a light greyish white smoke that curled into swirls and whips before disintegrating into the air. It was fascinating to watch.


    "Now,"Professor Park said,"you are witnessing a very delicate and complex process. This is the final and most important stage in brewing an incredibly rare and advanced potion. It requires precision skill in the methodology. I need you all to watch me and pay close attention to everything that I do. This lesson is not about memorising ingredients, it''s about the methodology! Potion-brewing is more than simply adding the correct ingredients. It is more than just preparing those ingredients adequately. It is an art, you could say; but one that could have deadly consequences, if not perfected. This potion is particularly dangerous when brewed incorrectly. Danger of death is present during every stage of its creation, the final stage being the most perilous. Even if you survive the full brewing-process, the slightest mistake along the way, gone unnoticed, could render the potion itself as a deadly poison, killing the drinker in a most horrible manner."


    Everyone had his full attention now.


    "However, an interesting fact about this particular potion,"he went on,"is that it only works on the brewer. If anyone else were to drink it, whether brewed correctly or incorrectly, it would have no effect opon them whatsoever. Meaning that if this potion were to become a deadly poison, it would only poison the brewer. Anyone else who drinks it would find it as simple as a plain glass of water. Therefore, if any of you are fool enough to brew yours incorrectly, you only need to worry about poisoning yourselves."


    Some horrified gasps followed this remark.


    "This will be a test in your potion-brewing methodology,"Professor Park continued,"you will watch me, copy what I do and then drink the finished result. Any questions?"


    Several hands shot into the air at once.


    "Steel,"Professor Park chose.


    "Sir,"Richard Steel said,"surely it''s not safe? We shouldn''t really be taking tests like this in school , this could go very wrong..."


    "So?"Professor Park answered,"you''re all adults now. If any of you are under the age of 17, you may leave the classroom. You''re old enough now to be taught to take proper responsibility. The brewing of the most advanced and dangerous potions are best taught in a controlled environment; and for that purpose, this classroom is ideal."


    There was a horrified silence. I was wondering whether Professor Park was exaggerating, or trying to scare us. I''m sure he wouldn''t really put us in this kind of danger for a potions test? Or would he?


    "Now pay close attention,"Professor Park instructed,"any daydreamers in this class,"here he looked at me,"deciding not to pay attention, may find themselves trapped inside a nightmare they can''t wake up from. Literally, actually."


    As he glared over at me, I shuddered.


    I stared at Professor Park anxiously examining everything he did. He took up a stirring-spoon and informed us that it was ''resistant to magical fire'', which apparently was a very important detail. With this, he stirred the potion anti-clockwise in a steady motion for a whole minute, then took up a bottle of powdered mandrake root. He carefully measured out the quantity before dropping it into the cauldron, then quickly stepped back from it by at least five feet. Within thirty seconds, there were some popping sounds, then some loud bangs followed by great tongues of flame leaping out of the cauldron like snakes suddenly striking from an opened basket. This died down shortly, but still he waited at a distance.


    The fire crackled on for what seemed like a few minutes, then slowly fizzled out completely, leaving a hovering cloud of greyish-white smoke. Still Professor Park remained at least five feet back until the cloud of smoke had completely vanished. Then he returned to the cauldron.


    "As you can see, the fire has now completely gone out,"he explained,"it is very important to make sure that no evidence of that fire remains, by this stage.


    He lifted a bottle of dark purple liquid and dropped into the cauldron three drops, one after the other, pausing momentarily in-between.


    Then, as he stirred the potion, he instructed us,"stir it until the potion changes from black to dark red. It has to be dark red, not brown, not bright red and absolutely not pink! If you have trouble distinguishing colours, I''d suggest using a colour-comfirmation spell, or the eyes of a person that can, who, of course, you trust with your life. For that is what you will be entrusting them with."


    Finally, when his potion had become the desired colour, he spat into it, gave it one last stir, labelled it into a cup and drank it.


    We watched him expectantly, wondering what it was going to do - I wouldn''t be surprised if I wasn''t the only one wondering if he''d brewed his correctly.


    It didn''t seem to do anything.


    "Tastes like elderberry cordial,"Professor Park remarked,"perfect. Now - I hope you have all carefully noted every part of that process, for I will not be repeating it. Now - Steel, you''ll be the first to take this test."


    We watched in a sort of fascinated horror, as Richard Steel approached a table in a corner of the class (set apart, with plenty of space around it) and summoned his cauldron.


    "Inside your cauldron, I have made sure to have the first part of your potion fully prepared,"Professor Park said,"this potion takes around six weeks to brew in total, but you don''t have to worry about that part. If you are wondering whether or not this makes you the brewer, and whether or not it will work, no need to worry about that either. So long as you remember to spit into the cauldron before the final stir."


    Richard looked into the cauldron like he was thinking of being sick in it.


    "Sola Scintilla Ignis,"Professor Park prompted,"whatever you do, do not cast ''Incendio''!"


    "What would happen if I cast ''Incendio''?"Richard asked, sounding very nervous.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "A swift death,"Park answered.


    "Sola..."Richard began.


    "You''ve forgotten something,"Park quickly interrupted.


    "Oh - yes,"Richard said, picking up a small dish of the sparkly grey powder, he sprinkled it into the cauldron in a circular motion.


    Then he cast,"Sola Scintilla Ignis,"and stepped back quickly.


    The flames appeared as they had in the demonstration. Richard seemed to follow all of the steps correctly, and when he had completed them all and ladelled the dark red potion into a cup, Professor Park instructed him to drink it.


    Richard stared into the cup for a few moments, in the same way he had stared into the cauldron to begin with, then he quickly gulped it.


    "How does it taste?"Professor Park asked.


    Richard smiled,"like elderberry cordial,"he answered.


    "Well done,"Professor Park congratulated him,"now - Dominic Carrow!"


    Dominic was frozen at his desk. I heard Regulus (who was sitting next to him) mumble something encouraging, and Dominic slowly got up and approached the table. He looked pale and seemed to be shaking slightly.


    He reached for the powder.


    "Steady yourself,"Professor Park warned him,"this must be done smoothly. It''s not a process for the faint-hearted."


    The last remark about the ''faint-hearted'' seemed to inspire a defiant determination in Dominic. He stood a little straighter, put on a serious expression, and carefully sprinkled the powder in the correct motion before casting,"Sola Scintilla Ignis,"on he went, with so much determination that Park had to pull him away from the cauldron at the firey part where you have to stand back.


    Finally, Dominic drank his potion and returned to his desk, alive and well.


    "What does it do?"I heard Regulus whispering to him.


    "I don''t know,"I heard Dominic reply,"it tastes alright though."


    Patricia Finnigan was next, followed by Artemisia Sanding; then Luke Stevenson, Amelia Sanding, Amber Harris and then me.


    I felt terrified. Antonius must have sensed my fear, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it reassuringly,"you''ll be fine,"he whispered to me.


    The confidence in his voice gave me courage. I got up and went over to the table. I looked into the cauldron, then at Professor Park. He stood there, his hands behind his back, with a severe, stern look on his face. He said nothing and his expression did not change.


    As I sprinkled the sparkly grey powder, I remembered the Obliviated Memories potion I''d brewed with Priscilla Bulstrode in the summer, and I felt a bit more confident - that had been a very complicated potion, but it had been a success.


    I followed each step carefully, then ladelled it into a cup, but I didn''t want to drink it. I didn''t know what had been put into it before I''d completed the brewing process. I didn''t know what it was for and what it did, and I didn''t know for sure whether or not I''d done my part correctly.


    "If you don''t drink it, you won''t pass the test,"Park informed me, noting my hesitation.


    "What is the potion?"I asked,"what does it do?"


    "You''ll find that out when you drink it,"Professor Park answered.


    "I''d rather find out before I drink it,"I objected,"I would never brew a potion myself, if I didn''t know what it did."


    "Very well,"Park answered,"it restores to the drinker, the memory of forgotten dreams. If you drink it, you will remember every dream you had in the night."


    I heard some remarks from those that had already drank it that seemed to confirm this.


    "This seems like quite a simple potion,"I said,"why would you go through such a dangerous process to create such a simple potion?"


    "It also restores forgotten memories,"Park added,"or memories that have been obliviated or altered."


    This surprised me!


    "All of your obliviated memories?"I asked.


    "What do you mean all?"Professor Park asked me.


    "All of your lost memories,"I answered,"that you''ve ever had?"


    "No,"Park answered,"only those from the last three days."


    "Oh,"I answered, thinking.


    This was very interesting, but I still didn''t want to drink it.


    "What other ingredients does this potion have in it?"I persisted.


    "That is not necessary information,"was the response.


    "But what if I''m allergic to any of them?"I asked.


    "Well, which ingredients are you allergic to?"Professor Park asked me.


    "I prefer not to advertise my allergies,"I answered,"but I''d know if you told me the ingredients."


    I don''t like people knowing my weaknesses, if I can help it, incase they ever decide to use that information against me. A lot of APS members were present in this class. Even if they had no evil intentions, they could pass the information onto Silas.


    "Well, don''t drink it then,"Professor Park replied,"but you will fail the test."


    I put the cup down on the table. I wasn''t going to drink it. Not without knowing exactly what was in it. I''ve had allergic reactions to some things before, and it is not something I''d like to repeat.


    I felt like a complete coward and failure as I returned to my desk. Especially as I heard some of my classmates (mainly the Gryffindors) whispering around me and giving me judging looks.


    Lauren Golding was next. She made a point of drinking the potion immediately, gulping down the whole thing confidently, and then smirking over in my direction.


    Then Priscilla Bulstrode; she performed her part confidently, though at the end, before drinking, she felt in a pocket of her robes and a horrified expression crossed her face.


    "I can''t drink it!"she said,"I''ve forgotten my Bezoar!"


    Sudden laughter filled the classroom.


    "Silence!"Park ordered, drawing out from his pocket a Bezoar and handing it to Priscilla.


    She drank the potion, waited for a bit, then handed the Bezoar back to Professor Park and returned to her desk.


    "Elderberry cordial?"he asked.


    She nodded.


    So it went on.


    When it reached Antonius'' turn, he didn''t drink it.


    "Like Catherine, I like to know what I''m drinking,"he said,"even if this means failing the test."


    He returned to his desk next to me and smiled at me. I suddenly felt a warm feeling of happiness and security. I smiled back at him.


    When we had all finished, Professor Park addressed us all.


    "Only one of you passed this test today,"he announced.


    There were surprised murmurs, and one or two frightened gasps.


    "No need to fear. None of you have poisoned yourselves,"he went on,"Bulstrode passed this test, and it is because she is the only one out of all of you who thought to make sure she had an antidote on her, in case the process should have gone wrong. A bezoar is a universal antidote that will cure most poisons, including this potion when incorrectly brewed, and others like it. It will also work for allergic reactions,"here he looked over at me,"Parkinson and Carrow may not have passed this test, but they have passed a different sort of test. It is important to know exactly what you are drinking, especially if it is a potion. As for the rest of you... Dominic Carrow almost burned himself alive, and most of you all needed prompting from me on at least one vital step, which shows that, by yourselves, you would not have succeeded. I''m disappointed. You''ll be tested in potions at the beginning of every month. You will begin brewing your October potion tomorrow. Class dismissed."


    When we were leaving the Great Hall, after dinner, Max approached me. I haven''t properly spoken to him since we were on the train. He was with Jeremy Jackson (Hufflepuff 7th Year) who was running after him, talking about something enthusiastically.


    "I bet we could do it, and you''d better do it quick, because you''ll be 18 next month, and then I''ll have to do it instead,"Jeremy was saying.


    "What are you two up to?"I asked, raising my eyebrows.


    "Sneaking into Hogsmeade,"Max began,"well, not sneaking ,"he quickly added,"I''m not banned... I mean... not that I''m referring to..."


    "It''s alright,"I said, understanding he wasn''t trying to make fun of my inability to leave Hogwarts,"how did you know?"


    "Know?"Max asked.


    "I''m not allowed to leave Hogwarts,"I said.


    "Antonius told me,"Max answered,"anyway, you know when we were in Potions earlier?"


    "Yes?"I said.


    "Well, I was very confused, because Professor Park said we were all adults,"Max went on.


    "So?"I said.


    "But we''re not!"Max answered.


    "You are 17, aren''t you?"I responded, feeling confused.


    "Yes, but that''s the thing,"Max said,"Muggles don''t become adults until they''re 18!"


    "Oh,"I said, starting to understand,"I forgot that."


    "So Jeremy and I have come up with a plan to go to Hogsmeade and buy Firewhiskey - well, see if we can, that is. Seeing as we''re of age, and old enough to risk dying in Potions Class, I don''t see why not."


    "Professor Park made us do the Deadly Potion Test too,"Jeremy put in,"we had it with the Ravenclaws."


    "How many of you passed?"I asked, remembering how well the Hufflepuffs usually did whenever we had potions with them.


    "About half and half,"Jeremy responded,"one of the Ravenclaws asked Professor Park about antidotes, and we all got the idea from her. Turns out that was the icing on the cake."


    "Did everyone drink it?"I asked, curiously.


    "Of course,"Jeremy responded,"why wouldn''t we? Professor Park had a bezoar ready, but I doubt he''d have needed to use it, he was scrutinising our every move. I''m sure he wouldn''t have let us drink it if he saw we''d gone wrong. But you know how he likes to scare everyone."


    "Anyway, I''m off now,"Max began.


    "Can I speak to you?"I quickly interrupted.


    "We''re already speaking... Oh...,"he said, he must have noticed the serious look on my face.


    I imagine it was a serious look, anyway.


    Jeremy went off somewhere, and I spoke to Max in a low voice,"I don''t suppose you''ve seen any sign of Silas?"


    "No,"Max answered,"it''s a bit strange. No one has even been talking about him. It''s like he''s been erased from history."


    "You don''t think he''s erased... himself... from history? Do you?"I suggested,"what if he''s obliviated everyone''s memories of his existence?"


    "I don''t think so,"Max answered,"why would he do that?"


    "I don''t know, but you never can tell what he''s up to,"I responded.


    "I wouldn''t worry too much if I were you,"said Max,"he''s a fugitive. The Ministry know about him and he''s on the run."


    I told him about Wells'' altered memory concerning the events of the summer.


    "That''s very strange,"Max replied,"but there''s no point in worrying about it too much. Silas is good at obliviating memories and things like that, but we beat him at that game before, remember?"


    I nodded, though still feeling unsure.


    "Cheer up!"Max smiled at me and put his hand on my shoulder.


    Then he went off.


    I''m not sure that his and Jeremy''s plan will be successful. I''m not actually sure myself whether we''re allowed to buy Firewhiskey at 17...

 Combining the Sivrils

    The Next Day:


    I''m writing this in my dormitory again, but this time I''m sitting in one of the armchairs by the fireplace. I forgot to mention before - there''s a large fireplace in our dormitory, surrounded by really cosy chairs.


    Artemisia and Amelia are playing Wizards'' Chess next to me. Priscilla isn''t in here, and I have reason to suspect she may be in the Room of Requirement.


    Jared asked me to look for Lotty earlier. I found her by the Quidditch Pitch. I asked her if she''d noticed anything suspicious among the Gryffindors. She said she was worried by the fact that they, like the teachers, all seem to have forgotten that Kenneth died. Even Lauren Golding thinks he''s missing. She doesn''t remember he died, but apparently she''s just as miserable as if she knew he had. I can''t help feeling sorry for her.


    Anyway, the reason I had gone to get Lotty, was so she could lend Jared the Silver Sivril. Apparently someone has been stealing Anita''s snacks that she keeps in the Common Room (she insists Martha steals them when she keeps them in her dormitory).


    Jared rolled the Silver Silver by Anita''s snack box, requesting the memory of the theft. It revealed Eric Macmillan, not only stealing Anita''s snacks, but biting a little bit out of each one...


    Anita was furious! We found Eric and confronted him, and he denied it; but of course, we knew he was lying. Eric Macmillan is such a dreadful liar, I''m surprised anyone believes any word he ever says.


    Dominic is still mad at Antonius. He has been hanging out with Regulus a lot, lately. I used to be annoyed at Antonius for being a bad influence on him, but I actually think Regulus is worse! He''s the type of person that encourages you to do things you wouldn''t otherwise do - things he wouldn''t do himself, but I think it''s because he''s curious to see what happens. Dominic can be so stubborn, and yet so easily-led!


    Anita pointed out a very strange thing to me earlier (when she wasn''t fretting over the fact that she had eaten snacks that Eric had bitten), and that thing was that sometimes we can see the giant squid from the Common Room windows... how I don''t know, I''ve no idea how it gets into the pool in the cliffs above the Black Lake, or how it even fits in there, but what can I say! It''s Hogwarts!


    The Next Day:


    I discovered that Anita, Jared, Ed and Lotty have been duelling in the Duelling Meadow. I saw them all returning to the castle grounds together, when I was going for a walk in-between studying. Jared and Ed were arguing loudly about it.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    "You hit me right in the weakest part of my arm!"Ed was going on,"it really hurts! Even now! I''m not going to practice duelling with you any more if you''re going to be such a dishonourable brute!"


    "I wasn''t being dishonourable,"Jared insisted,"I fought with honour the whole time! That shot I got at you was a valid shot, I didn''t mean for it to hit your weak arms! You should get better at shield charms!"


    "I wasn''t using a shield charm, because I was shouting for a break!"Ed retorted,"I''d had enough! Didn''t you hear me yelling?"


    "I didn''t,"Jared replied,"and I was honourable the whole time. I didn''t hit Lotty in the back when she was retreating, and I didn''t..."


    "That''s the bare minimum of decency!"Ed indignantly objected.


    "You were in the Duelling Meadow?"I greeted them.


    "Yep,"Lotty said.


    "Are you sure that''s a good idea?"I said,"Silas most likely knows about the Treehouse now, and it''s right above one of his old bases."


    "Well, we were all together,"Lotty said.


    "I think we should find a new place to practice duelling,"I suggested.


    "Maybe,"Lotty agreed.


    "We can''t just abandon the Treehouse!"Anita protested.


    "We have to! It''s too risky!"I insisted.


    "I''m not abandoning it!"Anita persisted,"you''re just saying that because you can''t go there!"


    I tried to get Anita to promise never to go to the Treehouse alone, but she refused.


    Annoyingly, I can''t stop her, and I can''t go to the Treehouse with her (I find this very worrying!).


    When Jared, Anita and I got into the Common Room, everyone was in an argumentative mood. Somehow the subject got around to Jared going on again about how he thought I didn''t belong in Slytherin.


    "I thought we''d settled this argument on the train,"I said.


    "You didn''t,"Jared responded,"all of that stuff Max said about Lotty using the Sword of Gryffindor as a beacon was nonsense - you use weapons to fight! Everyone knows that, and she didn''t use it to fight, neither did Max, only you did."


    "Well, then there''s one way to settle this once and for all,"I said, feeling very annoyed by this point,"Anita, could I borrow the Golden Sivril?"


    "Of course,"Anita answered, in a voice that lacked enthusiasm (she was still mad at me).


    I don''t understand why Jared is so adamant about this. I don''t know if it''s because he''s jealous that I used the Sword of Gryffindor or if it''s because he likes winding me up (could be a bit of both), but I decided I needed to settle the argument once and for all.


    "Do I really belong in Gryffindor?"I asked the Golden Sivril.


    It spat out a parchment which read,"If you really want to know, fetch the Silver Sivril."


    So we got Lotty, and, in a secluded part of the castle grounds, we used both the Sivrils together.


    They spun around each other in a spiral, producing a beckoning glow. I stepped into the light, and was drawn, alone, into... not exactly a memory, but it was like one. A memory of things that haven''t happened. A memory of things that could have happened.


    I was shown the memory of what would have happened if I had been sorted into Gryffindor.

 Catherine in Gryffindor

    I was shown the memory of what would have happened, if I had been sorted into Gryffindor.


    I saw myself at eleven-years-old, the Sorting Hat on my head.


    "Gryffindor!"the hat announced.


    I took it off and got up. As I walked over to the Gryffindor Table, awkwardly, I heard whispers darting back and forth - about me.


    "A Carrow in Gryffindor?"they were saying.


    I didn''t know where to sit, when I reached the table. My first instinct was towards the end, but there were a lot of older kids there, 6th or 7th Years, and I suddenly felt extremely nervous and lost.


    Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to face an eleven-years-old Silas Warren. He introduced himself with a smile, and showed me over to the table, where I sat with the other 1st Years that had been sorted. Kenneth Brass, Patricia Finnigan and Richard Steel were already there, while a Gryffindor Prefect was just bringing over Danielle Turner, who had been sorted just after me.


    Time rushed by me, as though it had been sped up. I was beginning my Second Year now. I watched Jared in the Sorting Ceremony as he was placed into Slytherin. I was unhappy about this (the complete opposite to how I felt in my real memories).


    The other Gryffindors teased and taunted me about my family, and the fact that Jared and Dominic were both in Slytherin. Every time I did, or said something they didn''t like, they would bring up things about my family and use it against me.


    Time went on, I became more and more anxious and I was really self-conscious about being one of the ''good guys'', and being on the ''right side''. I was ashamed of my roots and my family, and at school I became distant from them.


    When Ed was sorted into Ravenclaw, I was relieved, but this relief was short-lived, as he spent a lot of time with Jared, he became ''suspicious'' in the eyes of my ''friends''.


    The ''friends'' I had in Gryffindor were constantly making me change to be like them, and I so badly craved their acceptance that I was willing to change, even to the point of becoming distant from my own siblings, who, up until Hogwarts, had always been my closest friends.


    I was afraid of looking bad, I didn''t want to appear to be ok the ''Wrong Side''. I didn''t want everyone to hate me and accuse me.


    Silas Warren ended up being the friend I admired the most. I followed him around like a pet dog, desperate to earn his approval. Every time I stepped out of line with his followers, I would go to him for absolution. I always got it, though at a cost. I had to prove my loyalty, and that meant rejecting my family.


    When Lotty was sorted into Gryffindor, I was happy, but the happiness was short-lived. Lotty was very outspoken. If she thought something was wrong, she didn''t keep quiet like I did. This got her into a lot of trouble. She ignored threats and accusations. She didn''t care about looking like the bad guy or appearing wrong. She stood up for what she believed in and stuck to it. This has always been a quality I have admired in her, but in these ''memories'' I resented her for it. Because when she refused to submit, Silas and his followers took it out on me. I had lots of arguments with Lotty.


    As I witnessed this, I couldn''t understand how things could be so different, and I hated myself. Why was I so afraid of what people thought of me? Why did I so badly want to be accepted by these people who didn''t even care about me? Why did I push away and ignore all of the people in my life that actually mattered?


    We were kept propagandised by horror-stories revolving around worst-case scenarios involving the most extreme ends of Pureblood-supremacy. These scenarios were not discussed as speculation, they were taught as fact. That ''fact'' being that if nothing was done about the ''impending danger'' of Pureblood Slytherins and their families, these horror stories would become reality.


    As I observed, it sounded as though Silas was knowingly giving a self-fulfilling prophecy; but to everyone listening in the moment it made perfect sense and the urgency was keenly felt.


    Then Silas created APS/The Muggleborn Rebellion. He asked me if I wanted to join, and I did.


    I didn''t like the things they did in his gang, but I remained a member because I didn''t want to be seen as opposing the idea of Muggleborn acceptance, and I was terrified of being labelled a Pureblood-supremacist; or as ''heartless, apathetic and selfish'' - which was how they described every Gryffindor that declined the invitation to join. I knew Lotty hadn''t even been asked, but I didn''t care about that, I was annoyed at how her connection to me was causing trouble for me at school.


    A lot of the time, I was unhappy and stressed, and this caused me to be a lot more bad-tempered than I usually am. Silas encouraged me to embrace my anger and turn it into hatred for those that opposed us. ''Stay angry''...


    Antonius became one of my targets. I knew he was a Pureblood-supremacist and I was encouraged to torment him at every opportunity. His attitude towards me was completely different than in my real memories. He despised me as I despised him.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    At the beginning of my 6th Year, I never inspired Anita to do the mermaid prank, and the Golden Sivril remained undiscovered.


    Then I saw a ''memory'' that didn''t include me. So I wondered why I was shown it. It was the time Ed dropped his wand down the foxhole. I wasn''t there, instead I was in the Great Hall at the Hallowe''en Feast with the Gryffindors. I didn''t find the Foxhole Chamber, Lotty did. She wasn''t able to tell the others about it, and she found that so disturbing that she just decided to forget about it.


    Then Dominic called Max a ''Mudblood'' in the Great Hall. Silas didn''t tell me about the trial. Lotty told me. I followed her to the Courthouse, and there witnessed Dominic''s punishment. Lotty tried to stop it. I stood back and did nothing. I didn''t know what to do.


    Afterwards, I went to speak to Silas. He told me the reason he hadn''t informed me of the trial was because Dominic is my cousin, and he thought I wouldn''t want to be involved. He also tried to justify what had happened by telling me people like Dominic need to be ''controlled'', or they will go on to do terrible things in the future.


    Even though I didn''t thoroughly agree with Silas'' reasoning, I told myself over and over that he was doing all of this with good intentions. It was horrible and it seemed so extreme, but if it really did help prevent Dominic from becoming a Dark Wizard and hurting other people, then maybe, horrible as it was, it was necessary. All the same, I tried not to think about it.


    Then I witnessed Antonius'' trial. Antonius and I hated each other. As he was tortured and repeatedly defined Silas, I didn''t know what to feel. I knew it was wrong, but I didn''t feel the same admiration for him as I did in my real memories. I tried to numb myself to the horror of it.


    Then Max stood up to Silas, he managed to stop the trial, even though the other APS members accused him of treason. To my horror, I watched as, however reluctantly, I joined in the chant of ''traitor!'' at Max. I also noticed that Julia Brown was still with APS; but she didn''t join in the chanting, she fought with Max and the Slytherins to end the trial, and she was being called a traitor too.


    I left with the other Gryffindors, and in the memory, I was shown that it was Max and Dominic that took Antonius down from the stake and comforted him, and they helped him back to the castle.


    I was disturbed and distressed by what had happened, but I buried these feelings. When members of Silas'' gang talked about it, I said the opposite of what I felt, condoning what happened and agreeing with them, even though deep within me, I knew I was wrong.


    I was a Gryffindor, and yet I was afraid. I was so terrified of being seen as the bad-guy that I was willing to become the bad-guy.


    It was Silas Warren that asked me to the May Festival, and I went there with him.


    When Max was put on trial, I didn''t try to stop it like I did in my real memories. I told Silas I didn''t want to go to it, and he let me stay behind in the Gryffindor Common Room when it happened.


    Then Kenneth Brass was killed. This time Silas framed it on Dominic. He got Antonius to ''rescue'' Dominic from the tower cell. Dominic ran into the Forbidden Forest. When he was accused of killing Kenneth Brass, I believed it.


    Silas sacrificed Dominic in the ritual. When it was complete, Silas became possessed by the dark force. He returned to Hogwarts, not as himself, but as something different - inhuman. As soon as he was within the castle walls, he began to burn and destroy all in his path, killing indiscriminately, wreaking chaos and destruction.


    Lotty pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and went to fight him. He killed her in front of me.


    I picked up the sword where she had dropped it, and with it, I ended Silas'' rampage of destruction. We both fell to the floor, mortally wounded.


    As I lay dying, choking on blood and smoke, I heard the screams of the wounded and the grief-stricken, the flames roaring around me, the horrified shouts of Aurors and ministry officials as they flooded into the castle.


    Then it was over for me. The end of a tragic story. Silas was dead, but so was I, so was Lotty, and Max and a lot of other innocent victims.


    Finally, the memory was over, and I was returned to reality. Solid, comforting, relieving reality! Very much assured I didn''t belong in Gryffindor, but now very unsure about myself.


    How could I have allowed myself to become that?


    I realised that, as a Slytherin, I''m already seen as the ''bad guy''. Beyond hope - by the likes of Silas'' gang. I''m not afraid of what they think of me, because I have nothing to lose. Also I''m with my fellow Slytherins. Even though I hate the idea of Pureblood-supremacy and hating Muggles and all of that stuff, being among people with those ideas reminds me that they are human beings; they''re wrong, misguided, but they''re still people. I have a connection with my fellow Slytherins, they''re my people, my family and it''s us against the world. It has given me more courage than I could have had on my own. I''ve ended up becoming more courageous as a Slytherin than I ever was in the Gryffindor scenario.


    Then I realised the impact I''d had on the situation was far greater than I had ever imagined. It hadn''t seemed like much at the time. I''d always considered my greatest achievement to have been slaying the Basilisk, but the Basilisk hadn''t even featured in the ''memory'' the Sivrils showed me. The extremely important role that I''d played had been discovering information, taking a stand against Silas, and supporting Max, Lotty and Julia. Also the relationship I had with Antonius played a major role in the outcome of the situation. I discovered Silas'' plans for the ritual from Antonius, and I shared that information with the people that needed to know. This lead to Max being able to rescue him and stop the Ritual.


    But I couldn''t help feeling completely horrible and utterly disappointed in myself. Was I really that kind of person? I was a Gryffindor and yet I was a coward. I cowered away and hid - only at the very last moment did I do something, when it was already too late. I craved honour so badly that I lost every shred of it.


    "Cathy?"I looked up, Lotty had spoken.


    Of course. My siblings hadn''t been able to follow me into this memory. As I threw my arms around my sister, hugging her tightly, I was vaguely aware of Anita and Jared asking me what I''d seen.


    Eventually, I told them,"I saw what would have happened if I''d been sorted into Gryffindor."


    "What happened?"Anita asked.


    "It didn''t end well,"I answered,"I wasn''t able to stop Silas, and a lot of people died."


    "Is that all?"Jared asked.


    "Why are you crying? It''s not real,"Anita said.


    I wiped some tears from my face and answered,"it seemed really real..."


    I''ve been questioning who I really am, and it is causing me misery, but now I have decided I''m going to learn from it. I am never going to forget this very important lesson that I''ve been taught, and I''m extremely grateful that things turned out the way they did in real life.

 The Sivril Seekers

    The Next Day:


    I was invited on a treasure hunt (just the thing to cheer me up). Lotty was with us (me, Anita, Jeffrey and Emily) and she brought the Memory Sivril.


    "Now to resume our search for the Locked Door,"Anita announced.


    Ed and Jared had been asked to join too, but they were both busy. Ed with studying, and Jared with ''important prefect business'' whatever that may be. Sitting in front of the fire, sipping tea, I suspect.


    It turns out Anita and Lotty have been trusting the Sivrils to Hoppy for safekeeping while we''re at Hogwarts. Lotty had asked the Golden Sivril if there was a particular way to use the Silver Sivril, and it had provided her with a detailed answer. Lotty didn''t tell us what it said, just that she was going to ''test it out'' and ''explain along the way''.


    We followed her to the fountain where we''d found the key to the Locked Door.


    "Show us the memory of how the key got into the fountain,"Lotty asked the Sivril, as she dropped it into the stone basin.


    The water began glowing with silvery light, we stepped into it and we''re drawn into the memory.


    It was sometime in the past, a lot longer ago than we''d imagined. An elderly wizard with a troubled expression on his face was walking rapidly up the path that leads towards the fountain. He withdrew the key from a pocket in his robes and stared at it, turning it over in his fingers, nervously.


    Then, after a few moments, he said,"may you remain lost, until discovered by those of truly honourable intent!"


    With that, he flung the key into the fountain and hurried away. The memory ended, we looked at each other surprised.


    "At least that means we have ''truly honourable intent'',"Jeffrey said, cheerfully.


    Next, we followed Lotty to the fountain where she''d discovered the Memory Sivril. This time she asked it to show us the memory of when the Silver Sivril was hidden.


    To our interest and surprise, we saw the same elderly wizard as had hidden the key. He was hurrying towards the fountain, holding the silver ball in one of his hands, and warily looking around as though he didn''t want to be seen by anyone. He placed the ball in the hand of the statue on the fountain, then cast a non-verbal spell with his wand, and the ball appeared as a stone part of the fountain.


    Then he said,"and there may you remain until you are found by the one who is destined to discover you."


    This time we all looked at Lotty.


    "Looks like you were destined to find this,"Emily remarked.


    "I''m not sure how much I like the sound of that,"Lotty said,"it sounds like a lot of responsibility for something I don''t even know!"


    "You do realise,"I said, thinking,"this means the key to the Locked Door has something to do with the Sivrils?"


    "And whatever it is, it must be important,"Emily observed.


    "Let''s go to Wise Wizard''s Walk next,"Anita suggested.


    I couldn''t follow them there, as it was outside the school grounds, but they told me they were taken into a memory of the same wizard hurrying along again. He took out the Golden Sivril and dropped it into the lake.


    "And there may you remain,"he said,"until the time is right for you to be found again."


    After that, we weren''t sure where to look, so we rolled the Silver Sivril around random parts of Hogwarts. We even asked the Golden Sivril for clues, but it wouldn''t give us any; and when we asked it to give us clues on how to find any of the other Sivrils, it wouldn''t give us any for that either.


    Beginning of October:


    I haven''t written in a while, I''ve been studying a lot. I''ve also been very occupied with certain other matters... I''ve gotten Oliver to keep an eye on Anita if she ever goes to the Treehouse. There''s still no sign of Silas, or any news of him.


    Earlier today, Professor Livia was going on about us Slytherins being ''takers'' in a rare class with the Hufflepuffs (we usually have DADA with the Gryffindors).


    "Any questions?"she asked, following a long lecture on the inherent differences between the two Houses, with particular emphasis on relationships between the two being problematic. I put up my hand.


    "If everyone in the world gave, then everyone would receive,"I said.


    "Well put, Carrow,"Professor Livia responded,"but if I everyone took, we would be left with nothing."


    "Yes, but if everyone receives, they would also all be takers,"I went on.


    "What would you describe yourself as then?"Professor Livia asked me,"a Giver or a Taker?"


    "I give and I receive - a giver and a taker,"I answered.


    "Well, then, Carrow, what have you ever given?"Professor Livia replied, in a tone that very much annoyed me.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    It annoyed me a little bit too much, so my response wasn''t as wisely thought out as I would have liked,"well, for example, I''m giving you my opinion right now!"


    Laughter followed my statement.


    "Miss Carrow - that''s like giving a rotten apple in exchange for a fresh one!"Professor Livia quipped back.


    The laughter doubled. I was glad when the class was finally over.


    The next class had been Herbology, and I''d noticed Professor Longbottom had been holding a Rememberall through a lot of it, he looked confused. This made me think of the Obliviated Memories Potion again, and the potion from Professor Park''s ''deadly class''. I still have plenty of my own OM Potion, and I know Priscilla has hers. I have some ingredients remaining, so I''ve been thinking of brewing some for Lotty, Max and Antonius. Unfortunately I don''t have enough ingredients for anyone else. There is the Forgotten Dreams Potion though... I wonder what ingredients are required for that one...


    Anyway, it''s the end of the day now, and I''m in the common room, sitting by the windows. Some of the 6th Years are making a lot of noise over by one of the fireplaces. Clara Goyle appears to be using her broom to clear away cobwebs.


    "Why not just use a vanishing spell?"Gerald Casper just suggested to her.


    "I don''t want to accidentally vanish the ceiling,"Clara answered.


    I''m pretty sure there''s a Protection Spell inside Hogwarts that prevents us from using vanishing spells for that very reason...


    Jared is playing Wizards'' Chess with Anita. They play it a lot. I don''t know where Antonius is. I haven''t seen him much, lately. I know he has been studying a lot more than usual. He''s probably in the Library.


    I feel comfortable sitting here, I want to remember all of this and take it all in. This is my final year at Hogwarts, and after it is over, I''ll never experience this again. Just a casual, peaceful evening in the common room, writing in my diary as life goes on around me. I''m going to make the most of it while I still can.


    Gerald Casper has just transfigured Clara''s broom into a cake! An admiring crowd is gathering around it...


    "Don''t eat it!"I just heard Clara yell,"he''s bitten a chunk out of my broom!"


    Gerald just swished his wand and transfigured the cake back into a broom. Eric Macmillan (of course it''s him!) is coughing and spluttering, spitting out bits of the end of Clara''s broom!


    "I hope you know I use that broom for all sorts of things!"Clara is yelling at him.


    "There''s plenty of spiders nesting in it,"Gerald just added,"you probably ate a few of them. They''re crawling around in you alive, likely enough right now!"


    Eric just burst into tears and ran off. It serves him right. He shouldn''t be so greedy!


    A Few Days Later:


    Jared is in the Hospital Wing. Apparently he ''kicked a cauldron too hard in Astronomy Class''. I''m not even sure what a cauldron was doing in Astronomy Class!


    I tried visiting him, hoping to get an explanation, but apparently he wants peace and quiet, so visitors are prohibited.


    Later:


    After dinner, Anita asked me to follow her. She lead me into the Library where we met Emily, Lotty, Jeffrey and Ed. They were sitting around a smallish table in a corner.


    "What''s this about?"I asked.


    "We had an idea,"Anita explained,"it was Ed''s idea actually. To find out more about that wizard we saw in the Memory Sivril."


    "Why don''t you just ask the Golden Sivril?"I asked.


    "We did,"Anita responded,"and it gave us his name, Patrick Moonwood. We''re going to see if we can find out anything about him in this Library."


    Ed cast a Revealing Spell combined with a Summoning Spell and using the newly discovered name. We were not prepared for what happened next...


    A lot of books began flying from bookcases all around the Library, stacking themselves into large, tall piles on our table, which looked as though it was going to collapse under the weight. Most of them came from the highest shelves, and they brought clouds of dust with them, as they smacked themselves down heavily onto the building piles.


    "Ed! Can''t you stop it?"I yelled above the noise of stacking books.


    It was chaotic! It seemed as though we were going to be buried! By the time it was over, we were coughing and sneezing as the dust settled around us. The books all seemed to be really old...


    "Let''s have a look then,"Ed said, taking up a book,"he must have been a really famous wizard. Weird how none of us have heard of him."


    "Oh!"Emily suddenly exclaimed, while looking at one of the books.


    "What?"several of us asked at once.


    "He was a librarian! Here at Hogwarts!"she responded, then she showed us his name written on the inside of the cover of the old book she was holding.


    "That explains why we got so many books,"Ed observed, he was also examining the inside cover of the book he''d picked up.


    "This is even better!"Emily went on,"we''ve got dates! He was a librarian at Hogwarts during 1661 and..."she looked in another book,"1697, 1656..."


    "Well, now we know what century he was from,"I remarked.


    "I wonder if he invented the Sivrils?"Jeffrey suggested.


    Anita asked the Golden Sivril.


    Patrick Moonwood, it turns out, is one of four wizards involved in the creation of the Sivrils. We also managed to find out that he was a Hufflepuff, and each of the four wizards were from a different house. Though today, that was all we were able to find out.


    Then we got to work on the difficult task of finding out where the books belonged, and returning them to their places... I''m not sure they were all returned to the correct shelves, but they were tidied away, at least.


    "Maybe Moonwood has a portrait somewhere in this castle?"Emily suggested,"if he does, that would be excellent!"


    "We should look for one!"Jeffrey agreed.


    "I think two good places to start would be here in the Library and in our common room,"Emily went on.


    "Why?"Anita asked.


    "Because he was a librarian, and he was a Hufflepuff,"Emily explained.


    As we were putting the last pile of books away, the conversation turned to Jared.


    "I''m still wondering how he managed to end up in the Hospital Wing from kicking a cauldron,"I said.


    "It was an enchanted cauldron,"Anita said,"didn''t you know? Someone pranked him. They enchanted the cauldron to follow him around everywhere, and it was following him all day! He must have gotten annoyed with it, and kicked it!"


    I had not noticed this!


    "I saw,"Lotty put in,"I didn''t realise it was a prank, though. I thought he was bringing it around with him because he couldn''t be bothered to carry it. He was coming out of Potions Class when I saw him."


    "Did it have anything in it?"I asked.


    "No, just an empty cauldron,"Lotty answered,"noisy though!"


    "It was annoying everyone with it''s noise wherever it went,"Anita added.


    "But - Astronomy Class?"I said,"that was in the daytime! I didn''t even know they had Astronomy Class in the daylight."


    "Well, that''s where it happened,"Anita said, shrugging her shoulders,"maybe he was planning on throwing it off the top of that balcony place with the big telescope."


    "They do sometimes have Astronomy Class in the daytime,"Ed said,"not very often, though, and usually in the summer because it gets dark really late in June. You don''t have to look at the night sky all the time when you''re learning Astronomy. There are books, charts, things like that."


    We looked at all the portraits in the library before leaving. None of them were of Patrick Moonwood. I don''t know why we didn''t think of asking any of the portraits about him. Some of them were asking us why we were staring at them so intently, and some told us to mind our own business, but we still didn''t think of talking to them. I just thought about it now, while lying in bed, writing about today in my diary. We could also use the Golden Sivril and get Hoppy to help. If there is a portrait of Patrick Moonwood in this castle, I''m sure we''ll find it before the week is over.

 The Hidden Portrait

    The Next Day:


    I was casually examining some plants I''ve been growing in the Greenhouses for a Herbology project. I was alone to begin with, but then I heard quiet footsteps and whispering.


    "Are you sure this is the best place to hide it?"I heard a familiar voice say.


    "Absolutely, even if Professor Longbottom finds it, he''ll probably forget about it,"someone replied.


    I decided to make my presence known,"if you''re planning on hiding something in here, it''s probably a good idea to make sure no one else is in here first!"


    "Cathy!"Max greeted me, as he suddenly appeared from behind a large potted plant.


    "So, it''s you!"I exclaimed.


    I wasn''t surprised to see the other person was Jeremy Jackson.


    "How did your plans to buy Firewhiskey in Hogsmeade go?"I asked.


    "Those plans..."Max said,"well, they didn''t go to plan, put it that way. No one would sell Firewhiskey to ''Hogwarts students'' 17 or not, but..."


    He revealed the object they were attempting to hide - a small bottle of Firewhiskey.


    "So, are you still going to hide it in here? Even now that I know?"I asked.


    "Well, if the secret of our Firewhiskey gets out, we will know,"Jeremy put in, cheerfully,"also, if it gets stolen, we will also know!"


    "How will you know someone else hasn''t found it?"I said,"hide it somewhere else, please!"


    "Don''t worry, we''ll hide it somewhere you don''t know about,"Max assured me, with a grin.


    "If you didn''t buy it, how did you get it anyway?"I asked.


    "Who says we didn''t buy it? Well, we didn''t exactly,"Max answered, looking slightly offended,"we earned it. Had to go on a whole quest!"


    "Yes, we haven''t got time to tell you the whole story now,"Jeremy said,"but next time, maybe."


    "Yes, when you aren''t in a mood to accuse us of crimes,"Max said.


    "I''m not accusing, I''m just curious,"I answered, awkwardly.


    They left the Greenhouses and I remembered to meet the Sivril Seekers outside the Library. The "Sivril Seekers" is a name that Jeffrey came up with.


    Anita and Jeffrey were already waiting, but there was no sign of the others.


    "Any progress?"I asked.


    "Emily and I looked in our common room,"Jeffrey answered,"no luck there, but we did ask one of the portraits if she''d heard of a librarian here called Patrick Moonwood. She asked the other portraits, and apparently one of them had."


    "So, you had the idea too?"I said,"what happened next?"


    "Well, the portrait was a man from about three hundred years ago. He said he was a student here when Patrick Moonwood was the librarian,"Jeffrey answered,"he said he was very strict, and quite bad-tempered, but that people said he''d been affected by a great tragedy that had happened at some point in his life. That is all he knew."


    "Sorry I''m late!"Emily announced as she joined us,"any news?"


    "Jeffrey was telling us your news,"I said.


    "Yes,"Emily responded,"I''ve been asking portraits around the castle to look for Patrick Moonwood, and some of them are being very helpful."


    We heard a sudden noise behind us, like something being knocked over, a scuffling sound, and running footsteps disappearing into the distance.


    "I bet that''s Hector!"Anita exclaimed.


    "Is he still following you around?"I asked.


    "I haven''t noticed him following us around since we''ve been back at Hogwarts,"Emily answered,"but if someone was spying on us, it''s most likely him!"


    "I hope he didn''t overhear anything important!"Anita said, fiercely,"we should go after him!"


    "He probably just overheard us talking about Patrick Moonwood,"I said.


    "Yes, but what if he finds Moonwood''s portrait before us, and Moonwood tells him where to find a Sivril!?"Anita said.


    "I wouldn''t worry about that,"I said,"Moonwood hid the Sivrils, remember? I doubt he''d let someone like Horrible Hector get his hands on one of them."


    "Too true,"Emily agreed,"let''s not worry about it. What''s done is done. Let''s get on with this treasure hunt!"If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    We rolled the Golden Sivril around along the walks with portraits (which I''m sure is all the walls); we found a book with torn pages underneath a cabinet, and a candle-stick that grew legs and ran away when we tried to pick it up, but no particular portraits were highlighted.


    When we spoke to the pictures on the walls, none of them knew anything we needed to know.


    Then we reached the History of Magic Classroom, and seeing Professor Binns hovering around reminded me that the Hogwarts ghosts have been around for a long time.


    "Let''s ask him!"I suggested.


    Anita shuddered.


    "Excuse me, Professor?"I asked him.


    "What is it that you require?"he answered, slowly.


    "Did you ever know of a librarian here called Patrick Moonwood?"I asked.


    "Hmmm, let me see,"he answered,"Moonwood... the name does ring a bell. Somewhat distant, very distant in fact, but I believe I have heard that name before."


    We listened eagerly, hoping to gain a scrap of knowledge, or a new clue.


    "However, I do not quite recall where it was that I heard the name, or whether or not it was in any way associated with any of the librarians in this school..."Professor Binns continued,"I believe there may have been a man of that name who was responsible for inventing a strategic device..."


    ''Strategic device''! We were all ears now!


    "...for the purpose of keeping away goblins. However, that device did not prove as useful as it was claimed to be, and, in fact, it ended up being captured and destroyed by the goblins, in the Goblin Rebellion of..."


    "What sort of device was it?"Jeffrey interrupted,"was it a round ball?"


    "Round ball? What are you talking about?"Professor Binns responded, seeming annoyed at being interrupted,"of course it was not a round ball! It was a shielding device, meant to be goblin-proof, however, it was later proven to be very much the opposite. The goblins made a point of taking great vengeance on any that possessed one of these devices and..."


    We slowly backed out of the classroom. It seemed that Professor Binns was not talking about the Moonwood we were looking for. At least, we hoped he wasn''t, as we didn''t have time to wait around to hear whether or not he was the correct Moonwood...


    Later on, we did find a clue. It was when we decided to go and ask the portraits in the Library (which, for some reason, we had forgotten to do).


    Some of them did remember Patrick Moonwood, but told us it was so long ago that they didn''t remember anything more than the fact that there was actually a Hogwarts librarian with that name.


    We were starting to feel like this search was leading to nothing, when one of the portraits called to us, as we were about to leave.


    "You want to know about Patrick Moonwood?"the portrait of an old woman dressed in the fashion of the late 1700s called to us,"you''re looking for his portrait, I hear?"


    "Yes!"Anita answered,"do you know anything?"


    "Oh I have heard of him,"the old woman answered,"you shan''t find his portrait, that I know; but there was a friend of his, you''ll probably find his portrait in the Slytherin common room, hidden, likely as not. That old Moonwood, he went a bit strange in his later years. I heard he destroyed the portraits of his departed friends. He tried to destroy all of them. He wouldn''t allow a portrait of himself to be made, that''s how I know you won''t find any portraits of his."


    "Do you know the name of his friend, by any chance?"I asked, eagerly.


    "Oh, I''m not sure that I know that,"the old woman responded,"though there was one friend of his that had a tragic fate, a terrible fate. I''m afraid that is what made old Moonwood into a very paranoid man. He was always so afraid of something that he was never able to explain, but people believed it had something to do with the death of his friend. That is all I know."


    We found this very interesting. Anita and I decided to go straight to our common room to look for the portrait, while Emily and Jeffrey waited outside.


    Anita rolled around her Sivril, trying not to act too conspicuous. It began making the humming sound near a cabinet, and behind that cabinet... we pulled out an old portrait.


    It had mould on part of it, and it was in quite a bad state. It was a portrait of an elderly wizard who appeared to be asleep.


    "Come on, let''s go,"Anita said.


    We ran up the steps that lead out of the common room, bringing the portrait of the sleeping wizard with us.


    "Did you find...?"Jeffrey began, then he saw it.


    We looked around for a quiet corner in the dungeons. First, we tried waking the wizard in the portrait by yelling, but it wasn''t until we allowed Anita to try her idea (throwing it around and kicking it), that we achieved a result. The picture was bouncing down some steps, when we heard a voice coming from it, among the clattering sound of it tumbling down.


    I quickly grabbed it and set it against a wall.


    "How long has''t I slept? T''hath been night for years,"were the words of the old wizard.


    "Oh no, he speaks in olden-days language,"Jeffrey observed.


    "That''s alright,"I said,"I can understand,"then I spoke to the portrait,"that''s because your portrait was hidden behind an old cabinet, and I''m guessing you don''t have any other portraits to go to?"


    "Eh?"the elderly wizard responded, before infuriatingly falling back into slumber.


    He did not wake back up. Even though we had to repair the portrait after we''d finished throwing it around, and still he didn''t wake up then.


    So we got Anita to ask her Sivril the name of the man in the portrait.


    "His name is Barnaby James,"was the answer,"he was a professor here at Hogwarts, from the late 1600s to the early 1700s. He taught Charms."


    "Did he have a tragic end?"was Anita''s next question.


    "He died peacefully in his sleep from natural causes, largely the result of old age, in the year 1735,"was the answer.


    "I don''t have any more questions left for today,"Anita said.


    "At least we know he''s not that friend that came to a tragic end,"Emily remarked.


    "I think it would have been easier if he had been,"I said,"then maybe we could have gotten a big clue as to why Patrick Moonwood felt he had to hide the Sivrils."


    "Do you think the Sivrils could be dangerous?"Emily asked.


    "Of course,"I answered,"do you remember that original riddle? ''But take great caution, for within is sealed, a deadly portion...''."


    "Maybe that''s the tragedy that happened?"Emily suggested,"I''m guessing Moonwood wrote that riddle and put it on the pictures after he hid the Sivrils."


    We were interrupted suddenly by a surprising voice.


    "The riddles wast writ by me!"


    It was the wizard in the portrait.


    "You wrote them?"I asked, eagerly,"the instructions on how to activate a Sivril?"


    "Not all art the same,"was his bewildering response,"I dids''t not want the knowledge to become lost. So thee hast a Sivril?"


    Excitedly, we showed him the Sivrils.


    "Ah, the Golden Sivril,"the old wizard remarked,"Moonwood made that one himself. Of the Silver Sivril, I am the inventor. I am glad to see that Moonwood dids''t not destroy the Sivrils after all. Arthur and I entrusted the Sivrils to his keeping. We hads''t a disagreement. Arthur desired to destroy, but I wished to preserve. Moonwood nev''r told whether or not he hads''t destroyed them, for our own peace."


    "Us? Who else?"I asked, hoping he would tell us about the other Sivril wizards, but he had fallen asleep again...


    "Don''t worry, he''ll wake up again,"Emily said, as we shook the picture and yelled at it,"I think..."she added.


    We gave up for the time being. I decided to keep the portrait, as I have a better understanding of Old English. So I put it under my bed.

 October Days

    A Few Days Later:


    Barnaby James has not spoken a word since. He remains fast asleep in his portrait.


    We used the Memory Sivril around portrait - nothing. We used it by the cabinet where we discovered his portrait; all it revealed was that it was originally hidden by a student, and Moonwood did enter the common room at one point, examined the walls and then left.


    We have embarked on more treasure hunts around the castle, with no new clues, and it all feels sort of empty without answers from that annoying, sleeping portrait!


    So we''ve decided to pause the treasure hunts for the time-being. At least until Barnaby decides he''s had a long enough nap!


    Later:


    Professor Willow was talking to me about my interest in teaching Ancient Runes. He seems to be more enthusiastic about it than I am.


    I feel so demotivated when it comes to career paths or anything to do with my future. I''ve always considered myself to be an optimist, but now I don''t feel very optimistic concerning the future, it seems riddled with hazards. I don''t even know if I''m going to have a future.


    All I can do is live one day at a time and see what happens.


    Though I''ve come to a conclusion. I should do this. After all, I did decide I was going to find out what I wanted to do, in my final year, and I''ve found something right at the beginning. Something I''m already good at and passionate about.


    Even so, it feels like I''m in the eye of the storm, and peace time is far, far away behind distant mist-shrouded mountains; but there''s no harm in laying the foundations, even based on the faintest hope.


    A Few Days Later:


    Regulus was talking to me earlier. This is a rare occurrence. He was asking about Lotty. He thinks Amber Harris (Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain) is mad not to let her join the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.


    "Why does she have to be in Gryffindor?"he was going on,"she''d have made our team last year. We could do with someone that flies like that. I reckon she''d make a good Seeker. We''re going to need a new one after this year, though I won''t be around for that, of course. What about your other sister? How''s she at flying?"


    I know Anita can fly quite well, though I''m not sure she''s interested in Quidditch. It could be a good idea, especially as I''ve received intelligence from Oliver that she has been to the Treehouse lately, several times, completely ignoring all of my warnings. She was seen going with Jeffrey, so she wasn''t alone, but two kids like that? They might as well be alone, with people like Silas about - out there, somewhere. Quidditch could be a distraction?


    Later:


    So I spoke to Anita about the Quidditch idea. She seemed - not very interested.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    She went as far as to say that she might consider it, if she has time. I get the feeling that she is up to something. I''ve actually had this feeling ever since before we returned to Hogwarts. I''m sure she''s working on some secret plan, and has been for a while...


    Even later:


    So it turns out that somehow Professor Livia found out about the hidden Firewhiskey... she also knows that students hid it. She just doesn''t know who.


    I asked Max and Jeremy if they were going to own up, but they''re more annoyed about it being confiscated than anything else.


    I just hope that Professor Livia doesn''t take it too seriously. She is known for meting out collective punishment, and we Slytherins always get the worst end of it!


    I overheard Jared telling Ed that he was someone''s ''nemesis'' earlier, and before I could put in,"don''t you mean you have a nemesis?"I heard Ed reply:


    "If you''re going to be bad, you might as well be bad with a passion."


    I really don''t think I want to know what they''re up to. Everyone''s up to something! The less I know, the better!


    I decided to go and see Antonius, as I haven''t properly spoken to him in ages. Lately it seems like I only see him in class. He was in the library, books were piled around him, he was writing.


    I went up and sat down next to him. He was so focused on his work, that he didn''t notice me for a while.


    "What do you want?"he asked, finally.


    "Just to spend some time with you,"I answered.


    "Don''t you have studying to do?"he went on.


    "I see that you''re busy,"I said, feeling slightly hurt,"but is there a time when you won''t be busy?"


    "I don''t know,"Antonius answered,"go and do something you need to do."


    When he said that, I suddenly felt like doing the opposite of what I needed to do! Yes, I do have some studying to do, projects to work towards, but I''m not in the mood to do any of those things. Especially not after that!


    I went to look for Lotty, but she was getting ready to go into Hogsmeade with Julia and Emily, and, of course, I couldn''t join them. They said they''d bring me back a bottle of butterbeer, and I told them to make sure Professor Livia didn''t catch them, or she might think they were the Firewhiskey fiends.


    Anita and Jeffrey were flying around on broomsticks by the Quidditch Pitch, and I wondered if Anita was taking consideration of my suggestion.


    I couldn''t help feeling a bit lost. No one to do anything with. I went to my dormitory. Maybe I could read a book? Even though I felt too miserable to focus on reading.


    Then I had an idea. The portrait under my bed. I looked around the dormitory, no one else was in there. I pulled the picture out from under my bed and set it down on my desk, leaning it against the wall.


    "Professor James?"I asked.


    To my surprise, the sleeping portrait awoke!


    "It is I,"he answered.


    I was so surprised, I didn''t know what to say. Then I made up my mind, and decided to speak slowly and clearly.


    "Who were the four wizards who created the Sivrils?"I asked.


    "The Sivrils wast invented by Moonwood and Spinner,"Barnaby answered,"Lucas and I joined later, and then Sivrils we made also."


    "Lucas?"I asked,"there were more than four of you?"


    "Nay, thither wast only four,"Barnaby responded,"I, like thee, wast a Slytherin. Moonwood Hufflepuff. Spinner Ravenclaw, and Lucas Gryffindor."


    "You mentioned before that there was someone named Arthur,"I went on.


    "That beest Arthur Lucas,"Barnaby replied.


    "I also heard that someone had a tragic end. Something happened that made Moonwood hide the Sivrils,"I went on, quickly, hoping he wouldn''t fall asleep again.


    "Terrible, terrible tragedy,"Barnaby muttered, then he said,"thee shouldst take great caution. The Sivrils can be very useful, but they can also be tools to great evil, they giveth thee ov''r to dark temptations..."


    "But who?"I began.


    Barnaby James had fallen asleep again, and I couldn''t get him to wake back up!


    At least I have some new information now. I was thinking, by the sounds of it... it couldn''t have been Moonwood or Barnaby, I know that, and there had been talk of Arthur Lucas wanting to destroy the Sivrils when they were discovered to be dangerous, so it probably wasn''t him... that left the Ravenclaw wizard.


    Now I was even more curious. What happened to Spinner?

 Halloween

    The Next Day:


    So, yesterday evening, when I got a chance, I told the others (Sivril Seekers) the information I had discovered.


    "A Ravenclaw wizard named Spinner,"Emily said, thoughtfully.


    "I''ve never heard of any of them,"Lotty said.


    "All we know is that Moonwood was a librarian here, and Barnaby James taught Charms,"Emily pondered,"I suppose the other two could have worked at this school too."


    "Why didn''t he tell you what happened to this ''Spinner'' person?"Anita asked.


    "He fell asleep, as usual,"I said,"and wouldn''t be woken up."


    "I wonder if he was like that in normal life, or if that''s just his portrait,"Jeffrey said.


    "Well, I hope he wasn''t like that in real life,"I remarked,"imagine his classes! It''s one thing falling asleep in class, it''s another thing falling asleep teaching a class!"


    "Maybe it''s because his portrait was hidden in the dark for so long,"Emily suggested,"he must have been asleep for centuries."


    A Few Days Later:


    The drama surrounding the Sivrils may have dried up a bit, this last week of October, but as for other drama! Well, Eric Macmillan only went and got himself transfigured into a bottle of wine by Professor Park in a rage. Apparently he brought a book on wine-making into class, instead of a book on potion-making, and then repeatedly insisted to Professor Park that it was, in fact, a book on potion-making and that Professor Park needed to learn to read!


    I sometimes wonder if that boy is an actual liar, or whether he just believes all the lies he tells.


    Anyway, it gets worse! Professor Park seemed to have forgotten about Eric, who was languishing on his desk-bench as a bottle of red, alcoholic liquid; and continued the class, after a brief remark about him having to ''sit there and listen'' (Anita said she didn''t see any ears on the wine bottle, but none of us have ever been transfigured into an object before, so don''t know what it''s like).


    Professor Park was then called out of the class, before it was over, and Professor Livia stepped in to finish it off, and found the bottle of wine on the bench. Of course, she was horrified to find alcohol in a class of 2nd Years, and angrily confiscated it.


    No one knew what to do. Transfiguring students as a punishment is not allowed at Hogwarts, and no one wanted to snitch on Professor Park. Also Eric is not popular.


    "He''s still in Professor Livia''s office, I expect,"Anita was saying, with relish.


    "How long do you suppose he''ll stay like that?"I asked.


    Anita shrugged her shoulders,"forever - hopefully!"


    "I hope she doesn''t try drinking it,"I said,"you haven''t thought of that, have you?"


    Anita raised her eyebrows.


    "We need to do something about it,"I said.


    "I suppose,"Anita replied.


    "We need to tell Professor Park,"I said,"he''ll know what to do."


    Just as we went off to find Professor Park, we saw Eric walking down the hall in the direction of the common room, looking a bit sick, with bright red cheeks.


    "How are you?"I asked.


    Eric just looked like he was about to throw up, and pushed past us aggressively.


    Hallowe''en:


    In the morning, I saw a red fox running down the hill from the Foxhole Chamber woods towards the castle grounds.


    Well, that took away my appetite for breakfast! I couldn''t see where the fox went. Disappeared somewhere.


    Nothing else happened, but I spent so much time worrying and thinking about it, that I didn''t pay attention to announcements and mutterings and rumours flying around all day. So I was not prepared for what happened at the Hallowe''en Feast.


    We went into the Great Hall, but before the feast began, Headmistress Wells was going to make a speech, and an announcement.


    I noticed a young boy, probably a 1st Year, was standing next to her. At first, I thought he was a Ravenclaw, but as I approached our table, and was closer to where they were standing by the podium, I realised he had a blank uniform, the kind 1st Years have before they''re sorted by the Sorting Hat.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I found my place at the table in-between Antonius and Jared.


    "Today we are welcoming a new, though late, student to Hogwarts,"the Headmistress announced,"I would like you all to welcome Llywelyn Davies; he was unfortunately unable to attend Hogwarts for the first two months, due to unusual family circumstances; but we are welcoming him now instead. Llywelyn only turned 11 at the end of August. His family are all Muggles, so please be kind to him and help him to find his way, as it is likely all very new and confusing for him."


    The small boy said nothing, but stood there, looking bored. As I was looking at him, I felt a strange sense of familiarity. I took a deep breath, suddenly having a thought - a very unwelcome one.


    The boy sat down, and the Sorting Hat was placed on his head.


    After a few moments, it announced,"Slytherin!"


    There was a look of astonishment on Professor Wells'' face. I noticed some other teachers looking around with shocked expressions too, whispering among each other.


    "This might be a Hogwarts First!"Professor Wells declared,"I don''t think I''ve ever heard of a Muggleborn being sorted into Slytherin House before."


    I heard some angry whispers exchanged among students at our table. Jared got up to go over and welcome him to our House.


    No one was clapping him, as he approached our table - not even students from the other tables.


    I looked at Antonius and nodded towards Anita, then began clapping. Antonius, Anita and Jared followed my lead as Llywelyn took his place at our table, and a slow ripple of clapping spread throughout the Great Hall.


    Not everyone joined in. There was an air of uncertainty. Some of the Gryffindors had sort of confused half-claps and looked as though they weren''t sure whether this was a good thing or not, especially when other Gryffindors (who I recognised as APS) frowned at them.


    The biggest welcome came from the Hufflepuff table.


    This was an occurrence in which both anti-Pureblood supremacists and Pureblood-supremacists shared equal disapproval of a thing, and you may or may not be surprised to know that such an occurrence is not rare.


    "Now, let the feast begin!"Professor Wells announced.


    Even though I didn''t have much of an appetite, or at least, I wasn''t in the mood for participating in a great feast, I found myself eating things without realising. I ate a whole pie while thinking things over, and before I knew it, two cakes had gone, and an entire mug of butterbeer...


    When we were back in the common room, I decided to share my worry with Antonius.


    "Did that boy remind you of someone?"I asked him.


    Antonius frowned,"I couldn''t help thinking he looked a lot like Silas did at that age."


    "Exactly!"I said.


    "What are you saying?"Antonius inquired.


    "What if he is Silas?"I suggested.


    "That''s a bit - far-fetched, surely?"Antonius responded,"he''s a 1st Year, and the Headmistress said he''s Muggleborn."


    "Yes, but what if he used some Aging Potion?"I said,"I know there''s a potion that makes you appear old, and there must be one that makes you appear young, and if he is Silas he could make the Headmistress believe he is Muggleborn somehow, so we wouldn''t suspect him, maybe?"


    "There''s a way to find out if someone''s under an enchantment,"Antonius said,"when they had the Triwizard Tournament, they would always put an age-ring, a protective circle around the selector thing, and that could see through enchantments. There''s also a way to find out whether he actually is Muggleborn, as well, though you probably wouldn''t like it."


    "Sanguis Identitatis?"I answered.


    It''s a sort of blood test, a way of telling whether someone is Pureblood, Half-blood or Muggleborn. It is considered Dark Magic by some (and Ministry officials are strictly forbidden to ever use it, bound by unbreakable oaths) as it has historically been used to find, discriminate against and persecute Muggleborns (some Half-bloods too). Some Dark Wizard families even go as far as to make sure people are tested before they are allowed to marry. It''s frowned upon in this current state of Wizardkind, and so it should be.


    Antonius nodded.


    "If we have to, we have to,"I responded.


    After all, we wouldn''t be using it to persecute the boy based on his blood-status, just to find out whether or not he was our arch-nemesis.


    "The difficult part will be obtaining a blood sample,"Antonius said.


    We had to quickly stop whispering when Jared and ''Llywelyn'' entered the common room. Jared was showing him around. Llywelyn followed, looking bored, until he got to the giant aquarium that is the windows looking into the Black Lake. At that point, I heard him asking Jared loads of questions.


    I found Anita by one of the big fireplaces and asked her if it was possible she could keep an eye on him.


    "Couldn''t you - befriend him, or something?"I asked her.


    "He''s a 1st Year, though,"Anita responded.


    "So? Emily is friends with you, and she''s a 3rd Year,"I pointed out.


    "Emily is actually more friends with Lotty than me,"Anita responded,"but, for the sake of the mission, I can try."


    "It''ll be easier for you than for me,"I said.


    "If you think so,"Anita answered, sounding unconvinced.


    Then my attention was drawn back to Jared and Llywelyn, as they had begun arguing.


    Llywelyn was insisting that magic isn''t real, yelling loudly in his strong Welsh accent,"this is a school for charlatans!"


    This drew a lot of angry stares in his direction.


    I heard someone whispering near me,"the audacity!"


    He then held up his wand and declared,"I''ll prove it!"


    He attempted to snap his wand, but it was more difficult than he had anticipated.


    "What are you doing?"Jared asked, looking amused.


    "All you need is to see the electronics inside!"Llywelyn insisted,"I''ll show you... I could show you... I need something to break this!"


    "Trust me, you don''t want to be doing that,"Jared said.


    Llywelyn looked around,"will anybody here snap this stupid fake magic stick for me?"


    Regulus immediately obliged.


    "No - don''t!"Jared objected,"don''t do that!"


    It was too late. Regulus snapped the wand in two. It sparked as it broke.


    "See!"Llywelyn started, then he grabbed the bits off Regulus,"give it to me!"he demanded.


    Regulus handed him the remains and Llywelyn examined them with an exasperated frown.


    "It''s well designed,"he muttered,"this disguise, very well disguised. Some sort of advanced technology."


    "That''s all magic is to you Muggles,"Regulus said,"another sort of ''technology'' for you to discover and exploit! It''s why we need to keep it away from you. You had no right to that wand!"


    "Regulus,"Jared began, in a warning tone.


    Llywelyn didn''t seem at all bothered by this speech, he listened, with a mocking expression on his face, and replied slowly, and with intentional spaces between his words,"magic - isn''t - real!"


    Then he marched off. Jared followed him, with raised eyebrows, he looked over at me and shrugged his shoulders.


    If that child is secretly Silas, he''s good at acting, though he may end up over-doing it a bit at this rate. Time will tell. Just, hopefully, we will have enough time for the telling.

 Llywelyn

    A Few Days Later:


    These last few days have been... let''s just say - eventful.


    As for the Llywelyn situation, obviously none of us attend any classes with him, but we overheard snippets from the 1st Years occasionally. He hasn''t been doing well in class, for obvious reasons, and also as a result of having to use a spare wand that hasn''t taken to him. Apparently he is on a mission to discover the source of all the ''trickery'' and ''expose us''. He has an annoying habit of saying ''magic isn''t real'' in conversations where spells, or anything relating to it, comes up. He also keeps on about how he doesn''t want to be here and how everything is so stupid. He''s been labelled as the ''worst Slytherin ever'', people in our house call him ''the Muggle''. He fits into a lot of the worst stereotypes Pureblood-supremacists have for Muggles. He doesn''t have any friends yet, but he doesn''t seem to want to make friends.


    Anita tried to talk to him a few times. She even asked the Sivril about him. It responded, cryptically, ''that is for you to find out'', refusing to give an answer. One time it did answer with: ''Warren is not the name of his family'', but that doesn''t rule anything out, as ''Warren'' is the name of the family that adopted Silas, not his actual name (which remains unknown to us).


    I''ve been starting to think, or at least - hope, that he''s genuine. Because, if he is Silas in disguise, he''s keeping up really well, day after day.


    When I was talking to Antonius earlier, he brought up the fact that a Dark Wizard once disguised himself as a teacher here and kept it up for a whole year. He used Polyjuice Potion and always had a flask of liquid with him, which he drank randomly (it was the Polyjuice Potion) and people didn''t pay any attention to it until after they''d found out. So we decided to look to see if he had anything with him - a drink he always carried around, or an enchanted item.


    We discovered there is a book he always seems to have with him. It''s not a book from here. It''s some Muggle book about ''Science and Engineering''. Jared got to have a look at it after dinner this evening. Llywelyn had left it unattended. He said he checked it for any spells, and it seemed completely ordinary. So, if it does have a hidden enchantment, it''s so deeply hidden that he couldn''t see it.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Apparently the boy came back and found him with it, and had the cheek to say,"good, you''re doing some real learning for once."


    Knowing Silas has been using enchantments from the Foxhole Chamber, I won''t be satisfied until either Ed, Lotty or myself have been able to check that book.


    As for updates on the Treasure Hunt, Barnaby James hasn''t said anything since our last conversation. I''ve asked Oliver to look for Sivrils in the castle grounds, if he can. We showed him what a Sivril looks like, but he told me he''s not good at finding things he can''t eat... still, it''s worth a try.


    Anita hasn''t gotten any more clues from the Golden Sivril, but Lotty got the idea to use the Silver Sivril to find more memories around the school. She tried in the library first, there were a lot of memories of Patrick Moonwood of course, but none of them useful that she could find. She did manage to discover a memory in the Charms Classroom when it was empty one time (she also discovered that Professor James did sometimes fall asleep during classes, and the students got up to mischief, or even snook out of the class when this happened, or attached random objects to his cloak as a prank, the list goes on... she did observe that his portrait is a lot worse, though), the memory she found was of Barnaby James gathering up books at the end of a class, when a wizard entered and spoke to him in a low voice about ''Spinner'' and ''Moonwood'' being in grave danger, and requiring their immediate assistance. Barnaby called the wizard ''Arthur'', so now we know what he looked like. Yet Spinner remains a mystery still...


    As for the boring business that has actually taken up the majority of time, well, that has been ordinary things; studying and studying for ages, and classes and tests, and preparing for more tests, and reading and... well, it''s not really worth writing about.


    Later:


    Ed got an opportunity to check Llywelyn''s book. He made a pretence (well, not exactly a pretence, as he actually is interested) in having an interest in the subject matter, and Llywelyn let him have it. He also performed a revealing spell on the book in front of him, and it didn''t seem to bother the boy. Ed is satisfied that Llywelyn is who he says he is.


    Anita told me she heard Llywelyn claiming that he was ''the only person in this school providing an education!'' after that.


    "He always has that book with him, though,"Anita said to me,"there could still be something magic about it that we haven''t found out. It could be his way of keeping himself disguised."


    "Well, why don''t you use the Sivril?"I asked, suddenly having an idea.


    "Is Llywelyn''s book magical or enchanted in any way?"Anita asked the Sivril.


    "The book is entirely ordinary, and not magical in any way,"was the response.


    "Well,"I said, raising my eyebrows,"that answers that question."


    I hope this is all just a false alarm. In a way, he''s strangely likeable. He''s unusual and amusing. I hope he''s real.

 Sanguis Identitatis

    The Next Day:


    Antonius was able to perform the ''Sanguis Identitatis'' today. Llywelyn had hurt himself during a flying lesson (he''d been trying to work out what was powering his broom mid-flight) and was taken to the Hospital Wing.


    Anita heard about it, and told Emily, who had the ingenuity (we have confided in her our suspicions) to scavenge a used-bandage. I know it all sounds pretty grim, but we got a blood sample.


    Antonius got ready to perform the test.


    "What is it again?"I asked, looking over his shoulder.


    "If it remains as it is, he''s a Muggle,"Antonius answered,"but we already know he isn''t. Red with purple swirls will be Muggleborn, purple for Half-blood, and blue for Pureblood."


    The test changes the colour of the blood, and the colour tells.


    It was blue...


    That could only mean that Llywelyn is Pureblood.


    This almost completely confirms my worst fear! I don''t know how he''s been keeping up his disguise so we''ll, but if this isn''t evidence, I don''t know what is!


    "Silas is Half-blood,"Antonius tried to reassure me.


    "Yes, he tells everyone that,"I said,"it''s not like anyone has performed ''Sanguis Identitatis'' on his blood! I bet he''s Pureblood and just pretends he isn''t!"


    I decided to call an emergency meeting.


    Later:


    We had the meeting at the Boathouse. Antonius and I went there together, we could instantly tell Emily, Jeffrey and Anita were there already, as we could hear their laughter - I looked down from up the cliff steps and saw someone, probably Anita, flying around the boathouse on a broomstick. It seemed sad to be the deliverer of such bad news...


    As we descended the many stone steps down the cliffs to the boathouse, it got a bit quieter. Fires were blazing in stone basins on corners of the stairway, the moon glowing silver behind the clouds. The air was soft and cool, but not cold despite it being November. Down and down we went. As we were nearing the Boathouse, we saw Jeffrey flying around on his broom, followed swiftly by Anita.


    Inside the boathouse, we found Emily, Jared and Ed. Lotty had gone to fetch Max, and they were taking ages, which was annoying.


    "So,"Emily said,"while we''re waiting around, you might as well tell us what''s going on first, Jeffrey has to make sure he''s in our common room before bedtime or he''ll get into trouble."


    "Same,"Anita agreed.


    "Well, I''m the Prefect, so you don''t have to worry about me catching you out late,"Jared said.


    "You''re not the only Prefect, Jared,"Anita answered,"that Clara Goyle got me into trouble the other day, just got hiding snacks behind some books in a bookcase where Eric and Martha can''t find them! I''ve had to get Hoppy to hide my snacks now!"This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I explained the results of the ''Sanguis Identitatis'', deciding I could tell Max and Lotty when they got here.


    Just as we were discussing what to do next, Max and Lotty arrived. They were running, and both completely out of breath.


    "What is it?"I asked.


    "We''ve come - to - tell - you,"Max said, in-between gasps,"that Silas Warren is back!"


    "That''s what I was going to tell you here,"I said.


    "So, you know then?"Lotty said,"I thought you were going to tell us about the blood test thing you did on Llywelyn?"


    "That''s how we found out he must be Silas in disguise,"I said.


    "He''s not Silas Warren!"Lotty said,"we''ve seen Silas! In the Hospital Wing! At the same time as Llywelyn! He can''t be in two places at once!"


    "What is he doing in the Hospital Wing?"Antonius said, standing up.


    "Apparently he''s been unwell for months and was unable to come to Hogwarts, but he''s beginning to recover now, and he was being checked by Nurse Pamela to make sure he''s well enough to attend school,"Lotty said,"that''s his story anyway, the act he''s putting on..."


    "He did look ill,"Max said,"but I suppose that''s easy enough to simulate with magic."


    "I''ve done it before,"Lotty said, looking at Emily.


    "All it can take is a few enchanted sweets,"Emily agreed.


    "So you definitely saw Silas and Llywelyn in the same place at the same time?"I said,"for certain?"


    "For sure and certain!"Lotty insisted,"Llywelyn was even complaining about the ''medieval'' medical treatment he was receiving, and grumbling he was probably going to die from his ''untreated wounds'' - which have actually been healing really well, by the way."


    "Did Silas notice him?"I asked.


    "Why would he?"Lotty answered,"he was more interested in telling Nurse Pamela how ill he''d been, then looking over at us with a sinister look on his face."


    "Well, there is something that we have to tell you too,"I said,"Llywelyn is Pureblood."


    "Pureblood!"Lotty gasped,"are you sure there hasn''t been some mistake? Maybe that was someone else''s bandage that got tested?"


    "It was his bandage,"Emily said,"I decided to volunteer for Nurse Pamela when I heard he was in the Hospital Wing, and I''m the one that removed the bandage when I redressed his wound. It''s his bandage and his blood alright."


    "If he''s Pureblood, then that means he has been adopted by Muggle parents or something,"Max said.


    "That''s very strange,"Antonius said,"we know all the Pureblood families, unless he''s connected to one of the ones that went underground, or was assumed destroyed after the Battle of Hogwarts?"


    "Or maybe he''s from abroad?"I suggested.


    "He looks like Silas,"Antonius said,"do you suppose it''s possible they could be related?"


    "Ask the Sivril,"I said to Anita.


    "What?"said Antonius.


    I''d forgotten Antonius and Max didn''t know about the Sivrils.


    "I can''t! I''ve run out of questions!"Anita said, glaring at me.


    "What''s this?"Max asked,"I''ve heard something about a Sivril before, but no one ever tells me what it is."


    Anita glared at me again.


    "It''s a magical object that Anita has,"I said, awkwardly.


    Fortunately that seemed to be a sufficient explanation for them, and the conversation steered back to it''s original place.


    "I suppose telling the teachers what Silas did last summer won''t be any use,"Max said.


    "None at all,"I said,"unless we''re able to make everyone a memory-restoration potion."


    I was thinking about the potion we''d learned to make in our first Potions Class back in September, it only worked for recently lost memories, but it could still come in useful...


    "Like the one you made last year?"Antonius said,"how did you make it?"


    "It''s a complicated process,"I said, realising the original Obliviated Memories potion is probably the best option,"all memory potions are. I suppose if I manage to obtain all of the necessary ingredients, I could brew up a large amount of it, then put it into smaller cauldrons before adding a memory from each person that needs it... but getting people''s memories will be extremely difficult if they don''t know what we''re doing. I could make memory restoration potion for all of us, though."


    We decided opon that course of action. We weren''t sure what else to do, but at least this was one plan to work on. All of the others are going to help me get the ingredients. Some are particularly difficult to acquire, but I remembered some are in the Foxhole Chamber. I can''t go there, but Ed and Lotty can!

 Dominics Gang

    The Next Day:


    Lotty and Ed agreed to go to the Foxhole Chamber together on the weekend.


    According to Anita, Llywelyn seems to be friends with Horrible Hector now... Lotty said she''d heard Luke Stevenson talking to Silas about Llywelyn. He said he''d been ''terrorising'' us Slytherins with his ''practical common sense''. She said Silas put on a fake laugh and changed the subject.


    Later: I was sitting in the Common Room this evening, quietly studying, when I was interrupted by a commotion in the room. Dominic was standing on a coffee table, clapping his hands together. Regulus was standing on the floor next to him.


    "Everyone listen up!"Dominic called,"important meeting!"


    "Only True Slytherins allowed,"Regulus put in,"remove him!"


    He meant Llywelyn. Llywelyn stood up the moment some students approached him.


    "Fine! I''ll go by myself!"he said, and went off to his dormitory.


    "Someone needs to make sure he stays there,"Regulus said.


    "It''s alright, I''ll lock him in!"a 3rd Year said, gleefully, and ran off after him.


    I didn''t like the look of this. Lots of students were gathering around Dominic now.


    "I''m not sure if you''re all aware,"he announced,"but Silas Warren is back! And you know what that means? More trials! More harassment! More obstruction to our education!"


    There were murmurings of agreement.


    "But if we all stick together,"Dominic continued,"they won''t be able to hurt us. Last year they made sure to separate us, and went for us when we were alone, like cowards! This year we won''t make it easy for them!"


    "No, we won''t!"Regulus said, punching his fist into the palm of his hand, aggressively.


    "This is the year we fight back!"Dominic declared.


    This was followed by cheering and applause, some students had fists raised in the air.


    "Maybe we''ll even get a chance to teach him a lesson!"Dominic went on, encouraged by the animated response,"him and all the rest of them! We won''t let them bring down Wizardkind!"This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Cheers and applause.


    "We won''t let them destroy magic! We won''t let them end our legacy and our culture!"


    More cheering.


    "I''m proud to be Pureblood! Let me hear you all say it!"


    "Proud to be Pureblood!"Regulus bellowed.


    Most of the students in the common room chanted the same, but not us Carrows, and Antonius didn''t either.


    "Let''s hear you all say it!"Dominic yelled again, looking over at us.


    "I''m going to bed,"Jared said, getting up.


    "I should have already been in bed,"Anita said, also heading off.


    I closed my book.


    "If you''re not with us, then you are against us!"Dominic persisted,"what about you, Antonius? What''s gone wrong with you?"


    "I''m not proud of something I haven''t achieved,"was Antonius'' response.


    I looked at him, slightly surprised. I know he has changed a lot since last summer, but it seems he has changed a lot more than I thought! I felt a warm glow of happiness.


    "Then you are ashamed,"Dominic said,"they''ve succeeded in making you ashamed!"


    "I''m not ashamed to be Pureblood,"Antonius answered him.


    "I''m not ashamed either,"I said.


    Dominic gave us a sour sort of look and went on with his speech. I couldn''t be bothered to stick around to hear it. I decided go to my dormitory and continue studying there. It was hard to concentrate, especially with the Sanding twins having a noisy discussion in the background. I was also upset about what had happened in the Common Room. It looks like trouble. Like the war between houses that I feared was going to happen last year was going to happen now, any time. Would there be any peace?


    So a while later, after Priscilla entered the dormitory, I decided to go and see if the Common Room had gotten quieter. To my joy, it was almost empty. I sat down in a cosy seat by one of the fireplaces, and began reading.


    But it was difficult to focus. I found myself reading the same sentence over and over as my mind wandered off into the troublesome territory of overthinking. Before I''d even realised it, the book I was supposed to be reading was now on the cushion next to me, abandoned.


    It was while I was thinking and thinking; about the memory potion, and what I could do to possibly ease the tensions between houses... I knew I could get Max to help... That was when I heard something.


    It was a strange humming sound, almost musical, it was familiar, yet not familiar. I looked around and realised it must have gotten really late by now. The Common Room was empty of everyone but me, and it had gotten very dark, though the light from the fireplaces was still glowing.


    I got up and looked around to see if I could hear where the sound was coming from. It seemed to be coming from over by the steps leading up to the dungeons, where a small waterfall pours down. I couldn''t see anything there, but then I thought I heard whispering...


    That scared me! I ran as fast as I could out of the Common Room up to my dormitory. I was glad to find the Sanding twins were still awake, as I felt really unsettled hearing those noises in the dark Common Room all by myself. Priscilla was fast asleep and snoring loudly, even though the Sanding twins were still noisily buried in conversation.


    I got ready for bed and then remembered that I''d left my book in the Common Room. Well, it could stay there! There was no way I was going to go back into that place alone tonight!

 The Protest

    A Few Days Later:


    Lotty and Max have been keeping an eye on Silas, but he hasn''t really been doing anything. APS are just being their usual selves. Apparently it seems as though Silas really has been unwell, and is still recovering. I suppose none of us have any idea what he has been doing since that night he escaped from the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest.


    Yet it''s so weird and infuriating that he''s just walking around like normal, eating in the Great Hall, attending classes and being present in this school after he literally tried to kill me, Antonius, Max, Lotty, Julia and Emily, and succeeded in killing Kenneth Brass, who everyone now believes is just - missing. It''s like being trapped in school with a serial killer! Also Antonius and I physically cannot leave!


    The worry of it has been eating into my sleep! Also I have been continuing to hear strange, unexplained noises in the Common Room, every now and then. I heard it once when I was with Anita, but she insisted she couldn''t hear anything.


    Though some good news is we''ve got enough ingredients for the OM Potion now, thanks to Ed and Lotty''s trip to the Foxhole Chamber. So I''ve been able to begin brewing it in the Room of Requirement. I also have plenty of potion for myself already, so that leaves all the more for everyone else.


    As for Dominic''s gang (he has some sort of gang now), they seem to be recruiting Pureblood members from other houses. They''ve got some Ravenclaw followers, and at least one Hufflepuff. I''m not sure how I feel about it. In one way, I feel relieved that they''re standing up for themselves and sticking together, refusing to allow the abuse we suffered last year to continue; but in another way, I can see this escalating and evolving into something horrible.


    But that''s just it. Worry is a dreadful thing. It drags you down, clouds your vision and disrupts your thoughts. Even writing this, I''m just taking a deep breath and thinking about it.


    Worrying about something I can''t control is futile, but what if I can do something? What? I don''t know.


    I feel that I have a duty to do something. That sense I got, as I witnessed the Gryffindor scenario, where I didn''t do anything, and so much harm happened as a result. Well, that sense is with me now, and it''s frustrating!


    Other people are doing things now. Silas has more and more enemies. But what if those enemies of his end up becoming our enemies too? If I can do something, I must do it!


    Later:


    We had D.A.D.A with Gryffindors today (as usual), but Professor Livia was being extra annoying. She was going on about the fact that Pureblood students have been seen gathering together in groups, and remarked that this sort of behaviour should be prohibited, along with a snide and completely uncalled-for comment insulting our blood -status.Stolen novel; please report.


    That was when Dominic and Regulus stood up. As soon as they did, the rest of our side of the classroom (apart from Antonius and I) stood up and began to leave.


    Antonius and I, left sitting at our desk, were not sure what to do. Then I noticed Max had gotten up, and was leaving the classroom with them.


    We both decided then to get up and leave as well, as Max walking out alone with Dominic''s gang might not end up going very well...


    We followed them out into the hall, with Professor Livia shouting behind us, as she followed us out.


    "What do you think you''re doing? Leaving class like this! I''ll be taking 20 points from Slytherin from each and every one of you!"she yelled.


    Then she saw Max and stopped speaking, she looked like she was trying to work out what sort of punishment to give him.


    "And 20 points from Gryffindor?"Max asked, with a rebellious grin that really annoyed her.


    "That''ll be forty more points from Slytherin!"she stormed.


    There was a gasp of outrage from our classmates.


    "You can''t do that! He''s a Gryffindor!"Artemisia protested.


    Max looked a bit taken aback.


    "It''s what you deserve for disrespecting my class!"Professor Livia declared,"I won''t tolerate behaviour like this! If it was up to me, I''d have the lot of you expelled! As for you, Castellanos, you can come and see me later, for your detention. Detention for all of you!"


    The Next Day:


    Professor Livia told Antonius and I that because we were the last to leave the class, we were going to receive the smallest punishment. Usually she doesn''t differentiate, and punishes everyone equally. Though I''m not saying this is a good outcome. We left that class, and I do understand our classmates'' reasons for leaving, and I actually would think it more fair if we received the same punishment as everyone else. Though this is not the kind of thing Professor Livia usually does, and it struck me as odd.


    Our punishment was to be helping the Groundskeeper clean tools without using magic. Professor Livia said it would do us good to experience manual labour the Muggle way and have to ''get our hands dirty for once''.


    The Groundskeeper isn''t the normal guy, as he is away for two years in South America, so we have a temporary replacement. He''s a very old wizard that never speaks, and does everything really slowly.


    While we were cleaning the tools, I asked the wizard if he would like to retire soon. I meant it out of kindness, because I was wondering why he had to work, when he was so old and frail-looking, but he seemed really annoyed by that and glared at me.


    Antonius said I needed to think before speaking, because even if something is well-intentioned, it might come across as rude (when I had already realised this!). He then made me apologise to the Groundskeeper, which was infuriating, because I was going to apologise anyway. Antonius was in a very irritating mood after that (and he had the cheek to say I was the one being annoying!).


    After we''d completed our tasks, we decided to avoid each other for the rest of the day, in case an argument happened.


    I later asked Max what his detention was.


    "I haven''t had it yet,"he said,"but Professor Livia told me I''m going to be in the Castle Kitchens on the weekend, helping the house-elves for hours, and I''m going to miss dinner, and... I''m going to be doing all of that with Dominic."


    "Alone with Dominic?"I asked.


    "Yes,"Max replied,"apart from the House Elves. I suppose they won''t let him murder me, if he tries, but it''s going to be awkward."


    "At least you won''t starve, if you''re missing dinner in the Castle Kitchens,"I observed.


    "I didn''t think of that,"Max answered, with a laugh.


    "If you see Hoppy, say ''hi'' to him from us,"I said,"and let us know how it goes!"


    "I will,"Max answered, gritting his teeth into an awkward grin as he turned around and walked away.

 I Found Something

    Later:


    Barnaby woke up!


    I was in my dormitory, alone, when I heard a voice coming from under the bed. It gave me a shock, at first, but when I remembered the portrait was under there, I pulled it out.


    "Th''re wast a spider,"Barnaby James was grumbling.


    "Good, you''re awake!"I said.


    "Wh''re didst wend?"Barnaby went on.


    I think he was asking where it went (the spider).


    "I can''t see any spiders now,"I began...


    But then I noticed a large one creeping over the top corner of the portrait as I was holding it.


    I threw it across the room! The portrait bounced off the wall, Barnaby yelling as it did, and the spider fell onto the floor and ran towards me! I jumped onto a chair, and the spider ran under Priscilla Bulstrode''s bed.


    "What is happening?"Barnaby was yelling.


    I got up, retrieved the portrait, and sat at the other side of the dormitory, anxiously keeping Priscilla''s bed in view, in case the enormous arachnid should make a reappearance.


    "It''s alright,"I thought,"I''ll go and get Oliver."


    "Please stay awake,"I said to Barnaby,"I''m going to get my snake to eat that spider."


    "A snake?"Barnaby responded, looking bewildered.


    I went to the Transfiguration Courtyard. Oliver has a nest there, under a bench, under a tree. Fortunately he was in his nest, and not off on one of his ''travels''.


    "Could you come with me to eat a spider?"I asked.


    "Depends on if it''s a nice, big one,"Oliver replied,"I''m not going down into those horrible dungeons to eat a tiny little crumb of a thing, like last time!"


    "It''s a huge one!"I insisted,"and there might be more where that came from."


    "Nice and big and juicy?"Oliver asked.


    "Yes, very juicy,"I said, shuddering,"come on."


    Oliver hid under my cloak. When I returned to my dormitory, Oliver did find the spider, but Barnaby had fallen back to sleep. I tried to wake him, but it was no use.


    I was so mad at that spider! Now I''d missed my chance to ask him about Spinner!


    Oliver found three more spiders, while he was at it. That, at least, cheered me up a little bit.


    In frustration, I''d thrown the portrait onto the floor and slumped onto my bed, staring up at the top of it (it''s a four-poster) in annoyance. Then, after a few moments, I heard a voice.


    "Th''re wast a snake!"


    I sat up and looked down. Oliver was next to the portrait. Barnaby was awake, and looking around anxiously.


    I picked up the portrait.


    "Are you afraid of snakes?"I asked.


    "Dreadful creatures,"Barnaby mumbled.


    "Well, he ate the spider,"I said.


    Barnaby shuddered,"I cannot abide..."he began, then yawned.


    "Don''t you dare!"I said.


    "What?"he responded.


    "I want to ask you about Spinner,"I said,"who was he?"


    "Spinner wast a witch,"he yawned, then added,"Mary Spinner."


    And then, well, you can guess what he did next! The only sounds to be heard from his portrait were infuriating snores! I threw it under the bed and gave up!


    At this rate, we''ll have solved the mystery by ourselves before Barnaby is able to tell us what happened.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I went to return Oliver to his nest, but as I descended the stairs to the Common Room, I walked into a commotion.


    Llywellyn had gotten into a heated argument with some 3rd Years, and one of them responded by hitting him with a jinx that sent him whirling up into the ceiling. He was spinning around constantly, shrieking all the while! I didn''t know the counter spell.


    "Get him down!"I shouted to the giggling 3rd Years.


    "No! He can stay up there!"a boy with spiky, ginger hair (one of them) retorted.


    All of a sudden, there was a dreadful retching sound, and then the ginger boy (Gregory Harp) was covered in vomit that had come from the ceiling, and more precisely, Llywellyn, who had gotten sick from the spinning around. It may or may not have been aimed on purpose.


    There was an uproar!


    "See! That''s what happens when you spin people around in the air!"I said,"get him down now, or he''ll be sick again!"


    Soon Llywellyn was back on the ground, sitting on the floor, looking very pale and confused. Gregory had gone with the other boy (Nathaniel Highwater) to remove the vomit from his person; and a girl with short, curly hair (Cecilia Forrester) remained. She was marching up towards Llywellyn and was about to hex him, but I disarmed her with ''Expelliarmus''.


    "Stop all of this at once!"I ordered,"he can''t even defend himself."


    "Stupid Muggle,"Cecilia muttered,"well, we will get him back!"


    "He got you back, more like!"I said,"who hexed him in the first place?"


    "You didn''t hear what he said!"Cecilia objected.


    "It doesn''t matter what he says,"I said,"he can say what he likes, and so can you!"


    "He doesn''t believe in magic,"Cecilia went on.


    "So what?"I said,"what does it matter when you use it all the time? You know it''s real. He doesn''t have to."


    "I bet you believe in magic now, don''t you, Muggle!?"Cecilia yelled at Llywellyn, who was now lying on the floor, looking dazed.


    I went to help him up.


    "Come on, Muggle! Look at me and tell me that wasn''t magic?"Cecilia insisted.


    "Some kind of gravitational force manipulation,"Llywellyn was muttering,"I''ll have to find the machine that powers it. Operated by those sticks... voice activated remote controls..."


    "What Muggle nonsense!"Cecilia hissed.


    That was when I noticed Oliver was gone. He wasn''t hiding in my cloak. He''d gone off somewhere. He must have been frightened away by the commotion.


    The common room was mostly empty by this point (Cecilia had gone while I was looking for Oliver).


    I decided to risk calling to him, quietly (Llywellyn doesn''t know about Parcel tongue). I heard an answer and followed it. It seemed to be coming from the waterfall that pours down at the bottom of the stairs.


    I listened, closely, it was coming from... the drain...


    "Oliver!"I whispered.


    "I''m stuck!"Oliver replied.


    "How did you get down there?"I asked.


    "I fell down, looking for a place to hide,"Oliver responded, miserably,"can anyone get me out? There''s an interesting thing down here, by the way."


    There''s a small sort of pond basin in front of the drain. It has fake lillies in it. It''s a fancy drain, above it, it''s guarded by a stone beast with tusks and sharp teeth.


    Unfortunately, I had to venture into this pond of shallow water to get close enough to the drain. I couldn''t see Oliver down there, even when I cast ''Lumos'', it was too dark and shadowed.


    I drew out my wand,"Accio snake!"


    Oliver whacked into the metal grate of the drain.


    "Ow!"he objected.


    I tried getting Oliver through the grate, but it was difficult and he fell back down.


    "Please don''t do that again!"Oliver begged,"I''d rather stay down here!"


    "Accio grate!"I said, this time.


    Surprisingly, the grate came away easily, and I was able to look down into the space below.


    There was a small chamber there, beneath the floor of the common room. I still couldn''t see Oliver, so I decided to climb down.


    "What are you doing?"I suddenly heard Llywellyn''s voice behind me.


    "I''m looking for something I lost,"I said,"go away, please!"


    "What did you lose? I can help!"Llywellyn persisted.


    That didn''t work.


    "Well, are you afraid of snakes?"I asked.


    "No! I like snakes!"Llywellyn answered, eagerly.


    Well, that hadn''t worked!


    "I''d rather you didn''t come down here,"I said,"it might be dangerous. Just - go and read a book or something."


    "Is it a secret passage?"Llywellyn continued.


    I decided to ignore him and carry on with retrieving Oliver.


    It was as you would expect a drain to be, grimy and dingy and smelling, well, like you would expect. Sort of damp and mouldy.


    I cast Lumos and saw a place where the water was draining out further down, and when I crouched down, I could see that there was a sort of ridge above the flow of water, like a natural shelf space. There, I could also see Oliver, and - something else.


    A metallic green ball. It was making the same humming sound that I have been hearing on and off...


    "Is that a...?"I was wondering,"...is that a Sivril?"


    I got Oliver out first, and then reached down for the green ball, which I concealed within my robes, before climbing back up into the common room and returning the grate to its place.


    "I''m bruised all over!"Oliver mumbled,"I deserve ten newts for this! Ten!"


    "It''s difficult for me to get newts now that I can''t leave the castle grounds, but I''ll try my best,"I answered.


    "What''s that noise?"Llywellyn asked, looking frightened.


    I wondered if he could hear the humming sound too.


    "Do you hear it?"I asked.


    "I don''t hear it now,"he answered,"that horrible, whispery sound, it gave me the creeps!"


    I realised he was talking about my conversation with Oliver...


    "It''s nothing, don''t worry about it,"I said, not sure what else to say.


    "Did you find what you was looking for?"Llywellyn asked.


    I showed him Oliver.


    "Can I hold him? Please!"he begged.


    "Don''t!"Oliver hissed at me.


    "He doesn''t like being held by strangers,"I said.


    "Can I pet him?"Llywellyn persisted.


    "Ugh,"Oliver said,"alright, he can. Tell him I like newts."


    Llywellyn put out his hand, and Oliver slithered into his arms.


    "He - uh - he likes newts,"I said,"if you could find one for him, he would appreciate it very much."


    "Of course I will!"Llywellyn answered, enthusiastically,"I know where to find newts! I''ve seen some already, by the Black Lake! I''ll get him some later."


    "That''ll be a nice change from spiders,"Oliver mumbled.


    "I need to return him to his home now,"I said, taking Oliver back,"you can come and see me when you''ve found him a newt."


    "Of course,"Llywellyn responded.


    I went to put Oliver back in his nest in the Transfiguration Courtyard.

 The Green Sivril

    After that, I went to the dormitory. Fortunately it was still empty.


    I had to have a look at that green ball. I drew it out and held it in my hands. As I examined it, I heard the same strange humming sound I''ve been hearing on and off on odd nights.


    Then suddenly I felt as though I was in the middle of an earthquake! As the room trembled, it began to dissolve around me... into some other place.


    I was standing in a long, large grey hall. It was lined with marble pillars that went off into a neverending distance. I couldn''t see the ceiling, and the floor seemed to be transparent. When I stared down at it, it seemed as though I was walking above the stars.


    "Where am I?"I said out loud, my voice echoing.


    "You are within the Hall of the Green Sivril,"a voice responded, an eerie sort of voice that made me shiver as it rushed around me. I felt it like a boisterous gale in a storm. It was a whispery voice, like the wind itself. The words were barely audible, yet I understood them as though they''d been bellowed from gigantic horns.


    "What is the Green Sivril?"I asked, feeling uneasy.


    "The Sivril that lights the path to power,"was the whispering response.


    I suddenly felt strange. Fascinated, yet terrified. What had I discovered? What sort of a Sivril was this? Was it a bad one? Were there bad Sivrils? If this was the Power Sivril, what if this was the cause of the tragedy? After all, it is a well known fact that power corrupts...


    I wished that I was outside of the Sivril, back in my dormitory, and so it happened.


    I''ve decided to keep this Sivril secret from the others. I''m a bit scared of it for now, so I''ve decided to hide it for a bit.


    I can''t help wondering why I didn''t have to plant it and have some secret way of opening it, like the other ones.


    Anyway, I hid it in my pillows, inside the pillow case, because it was the only place I could think of.


    It''s hard to believe. I''ve found the third Sivril! I want to tell the others, but I feel, deep down, that that would not be wise. I need to investigate it more first.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    The Next Day:


    The Sivril remains hidden, though I had to remove it from my pillows, because when I tried to sleep last night, it made it very uncomfortable...


    Fortunately it hasn''t made that humming sound since the happening with the strange hall.


    In other news, apparently Llywellyn (who did get a newt for Oliver, by the way) has become obsessed with discovering the source of the ''technology that powers this school''. Apparently Horrible Hector has been humouring him.


    Later:


    Barnaby woke up again! There were so many questions I wanted to ask him! About Spinner, and the Green Sivril.


    "I found another Sivril!"I couldn''t wait to say it. I couldn''t wait to tell someone.


    "And which Sivril?"he asked.


    "A green one,"I answered,"I found it in the drain under the common room."


    "And what happened when ye took it up?"he asked.


    I described to him what happened, then said,"I didn''t have to plant it in the ground, or do anything."


    "The Green Sivril is earned through anguish and strife,"Barnaby responded,"it shall open itself for they that art in a time of great tribulation and reply to the call. Though take great caution. Of all the Sivrils, this one hath the greatest perils. Whatever thou doest, I give thee but one instruction. Retain it hence from the other Sivrils, for they art connected and influence one another. Always we kept this one apart."


    "Alright,"I agreed.


    Barnaby went on,"Moonwood did tell of a corrupting Sivril. Nev''r did he say which it wast."


    "You think it could be this one?"I asked.


    "I do,"he responded, grimly.


    "Should I keep it hidden? Is it too dangerous to use it?"I asked.


    "If it opened for thee, then thee must have necessity of it,"Barnaby replied,"wherefore ever, I knowest not. I do warn thee, for it will, alas, show thee more than one way to power, and most art not righteous."


    "How will I know if it''s showing me the wrong way?"I asked.


    "T''would depend on whether thou hast need of power, or whether thou desirest power,"he answered,"beware of wishing to retain it. Power is a thing not meant to be kept, only utilised to create necessary order."


    "I see,"I said,"who made the Green Sivril?"


    "Spinner and I,"he responded.


    "What happened to Spinner?"I asked, remembering the original question I had had planned.


    The story of what happened to Spinner must have some curse on it. He had fallen asleep again!


    Though at least I now have more information on the Green Sivril. Barnaby hadn''t forbidden me from using it, just urged me to exercise caution and keep it away from the other Sivrils, which is what I''m doing already.


    What if I could use it to defeat Silas? To heal the rift that he''s cut into this school, and bring people back together? Just use it for that, and then hide it again. Maybe back in the drain where I first found it, or somewhere more secure?


    But what was that Barnaby said? Don''t keep it? Is hiding it the same thing as keeping it? Does it mean I have to share it, or does it mean I shouldn''t hold onto it for longer than necessary?


    Maybe I should tell someone else about it. But who? For now, I don''t know.... maybe just Barnaby will do, even though I know it''s not really him, just a memory of him. It''s something.

 The Restricted Section

    A Few Days Later:


    I''ve been too scared to use the Sivril. The Sivril Seekers are continuing our treasure hunts, and I have not told them about it. I feel terrible keeping such a big secret from them, but I also have a sense of foreboding about that Sivril...


    If it''s dangerous, I don''t want to bring them into it.


    In other news, there have been more protests in class from members of our House. Always in D.A.D.A when Professor Livia makes any unreasonable remarks. They also put in lots of complaints about her teaching methods. It''s not exactly making them popular with the teachers... (not that they were popular with the teachers to begin with).


    Depending on what sort of mood she''s in, Professor Livia has started to keep her lessons more to the point and professional. Though sometimes, when she''s in a bad mood, I think she just wants to watch the world burn.


    A Few More Days Later:


    Antonius and I were studying in the library, when Silas walked in, saw us, and walked over to us.


    "I suppose you thought you''d seen the last of me,"he said, with a smirk,"I''m starting to see I made a grave error putting you in charge of the Slytherin situation,"he was looking at Antonius when he said this,"Dominic Carrow is doing a fine job all by himself."


    Antonius hid his face in a book, he was feeling, understandably, very unsettled in the presence of someone who he had thought to be his friend for the majority of his duration at Hogwarts; who, just last summer, tried to kill him in a cruel ritual without a second thought.


    "Even if you were to strike me dead right now,"Silas went on,"I''ve achieved what I meant to achieve. Now we just have to watch the dominoes fall."


    Then he walked off. I hate how he just confirmed the worries I''ve been having. There''s no doubt about it now, he does have a plan, a long-laid plan that has already been put into action, and is playing out well for him.


    Dominic, Regulus and their followers will not listen to reason, they will not listen to me, Antonius or anyone who disagrees with them. APS are just as bad.


    But I do have the Green Sivril now. Maybe I could find a way to change that? To reverse the effects of Silas'' plans.


    I looked at Antonius, he was looking pale and unhappy. I wondered if I should tell him about the Green Sivril. Would it be giving away Anita''s secret just by telling him about the Sivril that I found? Even if not, would it be wise? I was keeping it secret from my own siblings for their own safety, after all.


    Then I noticed an old friend of mine, Sheila Hunter, a Ravenclaw 7th Year, approaching the small table we were sat at.


    "Catherine,"she greeted me, before sitting at our table.


    I was surprised.


    "Hello, Sheila,"I answered, somewhat awkwardly.


    "I heard what Warren said to you,"Sheila said.


    "You did?"I responded.


    "I''ve always known there''s something wrong about him,"she went on,"especially recently. There''s something I have to tell you."


    Antonius put down his book.


    "I''ve become an apprentice to the school librarian,"she began,"she''s retiring in a few years, and I''m going to take her place when she leaves."


    "Oh, congratulations!"I said, not sure what this had to do with Silas Warren.


    "Thank you,"Sheila replied, hastily,"but what I need to tell you is this; you know how Silas says he has been away for months, ill?"


    "Yes?"I answered, curiously.


    "Well,"Sheila continued,"as part of my work helping the school librarian and learning on the job, I had to go down to the Restricted Section to organise some things. It has been taking a lot of work, organising things, and though I was supervised at first, I''ve started to go alone."


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "And?"I asked.


    "I''m not sure if you know, but there are more rooms and chambers below, that can only be accessed from the Restricted Section,"Sheila continued to explain,"they''re just old storage rooms, there''s nothing strange about them, apart from the lowest room."


    "What about it?"I asked


    "It looks like someone has been living down there,"Sheila said,"and there''s a table, it has candles on it, like a shrine or a memorial, and on the table is a picture of what appears to be Silas and his parents."


    "You think Silas was living down there?"I said.


    "I do,"Sheila said,"I think I should show you. It''s late now, and I''m going to be in charge of the library for the closing up. No one will notice."


    "What about our trace bracelets?"I asked.


    "Oh, never mind them,"Sheila said,"the teachers are hardly going to be examining your location all hours of the day."


    "What if it alerts them the moment we step into an out-of-bounds location?"I suggested.


    "Well, I suppose we''ll just have to find out,"Sheila responded,"I feel like you need to see the place for yourselves."


    "Why didn''t you tell the Librarian?"I asked Sheila, as she lead us over to the Restricted Section and unlocked it, leading us through.


    "I''m not sure how she''d take it,"Sheila answered,"also I''m not sure she''d believe it, she''d probably assume there''s some rational explanation."


    I wondered how such a thing could be considered ''rational''.


    "Do you know what he did in the summer?"I asked, as we descended some steps.


    "I only know what you''re supposed to have done,"she answered,"but I always suspected he must have had something to do with Kenneth Brass'' disappearance. The Ministry of Magic don''t clear people of suspicion in these cases lightly."


    "And what did I do?"I asked, as we descended into the dark storage rooms below.


    "You and Antonius ran off into the Forbidden Forest, Brass did as well,"Sheila said,"only he never came back."


    "Kenneth and Silas chased me into the Forbidden Forest,"I said,"they were going to put me on Trial. Do you know about the Trials?"


    "I do,"Sheila answered,"I suspected it might have had something to do with that. Do you know what happened to Brass?"


    "I know,"I said,"but I don''t know how to tell you. Silas has been modifying and erasing people''s memories. By the sounds of it, you included."


    "Nothing a Memory Restoration Potion won''t fix,"Sheila said.


    "I''m brewing some,"I said, excitedly,"to make one for you, I''d need one of your memories though."


    "You''re brewing a Memory Restoration Potion?"Sheila said, surprised,"no offence, but Potions never was your strong point!"


    "Well, I did really need it,"I answered,"also I got Priscilla Bulstrode to help."


    "Well, feel free to give me the recipe,"Sheila replied,"again, no offence, but for all I know, you could be making me a Memory Alteration Potion."


    "I can understand that,"I responded, feeling slightly hurt, but I remembered I have let her down in the past, and I''m glad she''s looking out for herself. We are in a time of great deception, after all.


    I went on,"you could ask Priscilla for the recipe."


    "I think I will,"Sheila said.


    Then she showed us into the room she''d been talking about. There certainly were signs that someone had been living there recently. There was a bed made from crates, cushions and curtains; there was a cauldron over the remains of a fire, the contents residing at the bottom resembled food more than more than potion.


    Then I saw the ''shrine'' Sheila had mentioned. It was a picture of Silas with a man and a woman. They must be his real parents. In the picture he was around seven or eight years old. As with most magical photographs, it was moving, and out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed something.


    Wanting to look closer, I took the picture out of the frame. It had been folded to fit into the frame, but the fold seemed deliberate, to conceal part of the picture. When I unfolded it, it revealed what I''d thought I''d seen. His mother was holding a baby.


    Did Silas Warren have a baby brother? By the looks of it, if that baby in the picture was his brother, then they''d be about six or seven years apart in age - the same age gap between him and Llywellyn Davies! What if Llywellyn is Silas'' younger brother?


    "Now you''ve shown me this,"I said to Sheila,"there''s something I''m going to tell you."


    Sheila raised her eyebrows.


    "You know that new Muggleborn student, Llywellyn,"I went on.


    "Yes?"Sheila answered.


    "Well, he''s not Muggleborn,"I told her,"and I think he could be Silas Warren''s younger brother."


    "How do you know he''s not Muggleborn?"she asked.


    "We performed Sanguis Identitatis,"Antonius explained.


    Sheila looked startled. He had been quiet this whole time, and both of us had forgotten he was with us.


    "Why?"Sheila asked, suspiciously.


    "Because he looks so much like Silas!"I said,"I''m not sure if you''ve noticed. Anyway, we performed the test because we suspected he might be Silas disguised as a First Year."


    "Why ever would he want to do that?"Sheila asked.


    "You don''t know Silas like we do,"I answered,"anyway, it turns out Llywellyn is actually Pureblood."


    "Well, that''s ironic,"Sheila responded, with a short laugh,"by the looks of it, you haven''t informed your fellow Slytherin''s. You probably should. Maybe they won''t bully him so much."


    "I don''t know,"I said, rolling my eyes,"they might bully him worse! They wouldn''t like the humiliation of finding out he''s been Pureblood all along."


    "Do you think he could be related to Silas?"Antonius asked Sheila.


    "I think..."said Sheila, taking the picture from me and examining it,"...that it could be possible, but isn''t Warren half-blood?"


    "He tells everyone he is,"I said,"but we don''t know for sure. Besides, even if he is, he could be his half-brother."


    We put everything back as it had been left/discovered and departed from the Restricted Section, which is, as I''ve often imagined, stuffed full of books; lots of which used to line the bookshelves of the Library before Wells took on the role of Headmistress.


    I also couldn''t help wondering if there could be another Sivril hidden down there somewhere.

 The Path to Power

    When we were on our way from the Library to the Common Room, we bumped into Max and Dominic. They''d just finished detention in the Castle Kitchens. Dominic pushed past us aggressively, and went off in a hurry. Max was looking awkward.


    "How did it go?"I asked.


    "How you would expect,"Max answered,"I''m glad it''s over."


    "So, I''m guessing you didn''t get along?"I asked, laughing.


    "You can say that again,"Max responded, with an awkward grin,"I even took advantage of the rare opportunity to apologise for everything terrible thing I''ve ever done to him, but that just made him more angry!"


    "That sounds like an expected reaction from him,"I replied,"but at least you survived."


    I looked around, and noticed Antonius had gone. He must have continued on to the Common Room.


    "I''d better go,"I said.


    "Before you go,"Max said,"you know that House-Elf friend of yours?"


    "Hoppy?"I asked.


    "So that''s his name, I keep forgetting it, yeah, him,"Max answered,"well, he seemed very upset about something, you might want to go and see him."


    "Do you know why he was upset?"I asked.


    "I don''t,"Max responded,"he wouldn''t tell me."


    I stood, thinking. It was getting late, but I still had time.


    "Anyway, see you when I see you,"Max added, as he went off up the Grand Staircase.


    When I found Hoppy, he was still upset, and holding a dead, potted plant.


    "What''s the matter?"I asked.


    "My Lady Cathy,"he answered, holding out the plant to me,"it is a sign, a bad sign."


    "Your plant died?"I asked, taking the plant from him.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "It is a sign that there is Dark Magic about,"Hoppy answered,"very old, very powerful Dark Magic."


    "Oh?"I asked, feeling suddenly nervous.


    "Hoppy keeps these plants for protection,"Hoppy said,"in the Castle Kitchen Gardens where Hoppy keeps the Sivrils safe, Hoppy has these plants there, but today they all died. These are strong plants, powerful plants. They shouldn''t die like that."


    "Do you think... maybe a bad Sivril... did a bad Sivril do that?"I asked, hoping it wasn''t because of the Green Sivril I had found.


    "Hoppy doesn''t know,"Hoppy responded, looking gloomy.


    "Have you told the other Sivrils Seekers?"I asked.


    "Hoppy told the Lady Anita,"Hoppy replied,"and she asked the Sivril, and the Sivril said it was because of Dark Magic. Very old, very powerful Dark Magic."


    "I''m sure it''ll be alright,"I said to reassure Hoppy.


    I didn''t feel reassured myself. Surely it can''t be the Green Sivril? Maybe it''s something Silas is doing. Yes, it has to be something Silas is up to!


    Beginning of December:


    I still haven''t told anyone about the Sivril. We''ll be going home for the Christmas Holidays this month, and I''ve decided it''s too risky to bring it home with me. So I''m going to use it again now. I''ll write here what happened.


    Later:


    The Sivril was the same as I remembered it, but this time I was less in awe, because I had experienced it before. Now, I was just more curious and less frightened.


    I walked along the hall, sometimes looking down at the stars, or ahead of me to catch a glimpse of where it lead, but it just went on and on. I stopped walking and looked behind. The same back there. It didn''t matter which direction I chose.


    I examined the edges where it fell off into space, wondering what would happen if I stepped off the edge of the path. The eerie, soft wind swished around me, but this time it whispered no words.


    I looked over the edge again. Stars and stars and a twilight void. Then, up above me there was a grey void, the pillars stretching up so far that I couldn''t see the tops of them, or what they might be holding up.


    "How can I stop Silas Warren''s plan?"I asked.


    "There will come a time soon, when he will be at his weakest,"the wind whispered,"and you will be able to put an end to all of his activities without any negative consequences for yourself."


    "How can you know that?"I asked.


    "From observation,"the eerie voice went on,"he has a fatal flaw in his plan that will become his own undoing. It is only a matter of time. Your opportunity will present itself. You will know when you see it. Do not miss it, or he may be the undoing of you."


    "And what about Dominic?"I asked.


    "In this matter, both of their destinies are intertwined,"the Sivril responded,"the same opportunity to take down one, will take down the other."


    "How?"I asked.


    "You will see,"the Sivril responded,"you will know when it happens."


    "So, it''s just going to happen anyway?"I asked.


    "You are the one to decide what happens,"the Sivril answered,"you will choose whether or not to take the power when it presents itself to you, or whether you wish not to participate, and allow things to continue as they are."


    The Sivril wouldn''t elaborate any more, and just gave vague responses. However, I do feel less worried now. Maybe there''s something I can do. Maybe soon.