September was nearly over, and over the course of the month, more Boggarts had popped up around the castle, just as - according to Hagrid - they had years previously. Several Boggarts had been ousted from storage cupboards, Professor McGonagall had banished one from the cabinet in her classroom during one of Bill Weasley's Transfiguration classes, and Clarissa Whittie in Ravenclaw house had been sent to the Hospital Wing for a Calming Draught after a Boggart in the form of a disembodied hand had reached out from a bookshelf in the library and grabbed her by the arm.

However, the third years soon had their spirits lifted. In the common room, a sheet of parchment had appeared on the noticeboard, announcing the date of the first Hogsmeade weekend.

"That's only two weekends away!"

Tonks cheered, "Zonko's joke shop, here I come."

"Let's hope your mum has written back to Professor Sprout by then," Rowan said to Artemis.

"I wouldn't bank on it," Artemis muttered, darkly. Four weeks into term, Sara Hexley had still not replied to Professor Sprout's letter. Artemis knew this for a fact, as she had asked Sprout about it in every Herbology class of the term so far, and whenever she passed her in the Great Hall or the corridors. "I guess if she hasn't, I can always stay behind and Cruppy-sit."

Rowan and Artemis' Cruppies, who they had named Toto and Scully, respectively, had proved very popular with Tonks and Penny.

"I'm seriously regretting not taking Care of Magical Creatures," Tonks said, lying on the floor with both Cruppies climbing over her. "Although, is it just me or is one of Scully's tails shorter than the other?"

"It is not!" Artemis protested.

It was not all fun and games, however: Cruppy rearing was much harder than it sounded. The Cruppies, although cute, were incredibly destructive, chewing on anything they could find. Artemis and Rowan had created a makeshift pen, which seemed to contain them, but they were still having issues with training. Or, rather, Artemis was having issues with training. Rowan had managed to teach Toto how to sit and stay, but Scully had so far done nothing but whine and yap at Artemis whenever she tried to get him to do anything.

There was one inhabitant of the dormitory who was definitely not a fan of the Cruppies, obedient or not. Fergus the cat had taken one look at them, hissed, and climbed onto the top of the bookshelf. He now spent the majority of his time up there, only coming down when the Cruppies were safely contained in their pen in the corner of the room, and even then, he would sporadically throw them very dirty looks.

"It's alright, Fergus," Artemis said, reaching to the top of the bookshelf to scratch him behind his amber-coloured ears. "You know you're still my best boy, right?"

In response, Fergus turned and raised his tail, giving Artemis a clear view of his backside.

"Charming."

Professor Sprout called Artemis to the side at the end of their next Herbology lesson.

"I believe I have something of yours," she said, and pointed up to the top corner of the greenhouse. There, perched on of the branches of Sprout's Wiggentree sapling, was a familiar looking owl.

"Athena!" Artemis exclaimed. Her brother's old owl hooted gently in response. "Does that mean mum has sent back my permission slip?"

"She has," Professor Sprout smiled. "Now, might I suggest that you give your owl something to eat and drink before you send your mother a letter to thank her?"

"Yes, Professor," said Artemis, smiling so widely her cheeks hurt. "I'll do so straight away."

Rowan accompanied her to the owlery.

"I'm so glad you'll be able to make it to the Hogsmeade trip, Artemis," she said, as they offered Athena some food. "Where do you want to go first?"

"I need to go to the Three Broomsticks."

"Need to go there?" Rowan threw her a suspicious look. "Something tells me you're not just interested in the Butterbeer."

"Not exactly," Artemis confessed. "Do you remember the vision I had in the Cursed Vault last year?"

"Your brother..."

"Jacob told me to find this Ros person, and Hagrid said that Madam Rosmerta the landlady knew my brother very well when he was at Hogwarts."

"You think Madam Rosmerta might be Ros?"

"Hagrid even called her 'Ros', Rowan," said Artemis. Rowan sighed. "What?"

"I just..." Rowan's eyebrows knitted behind the silver frames of her glasses. "I just don't know if you've thought this through. What if this Rosmerta is the 'R' person who sent Ben those letters last year? This could be dangerous."

"But Jacob said -"

"I know, Artemis, but he also said to try and find all the other Cursed Vaults, and that's hardly a good idea either," said Rowan. "Remember Professor Dumbledore's speech at the start of term? You could release another curse if you go messing about with the Cursed Vaults."

"But what if another curse has already been released?"

"What do you mean?"

Artemis told Rowan what Hagrid had told her about her brother's theory regarding the Cursed Vaults and the Boggarts.

"It might just be a coincidence," she said, "but it is a little strange, don't you think?"

"Fine," Rowan gave in. "I guess if it is just finding out a bit more about the Boggarts it could be worthwhile. If we are both going to Hogsmeade, we will need to find someone to watch the Cruppies, though."

"I'll ask Hagrid. I'm sure he'd love to take care of them. Maybe he'll be able to do a better job of training Scully than I have so far."

Hagrid was thrilled to be looking after Toto and Scully, although Artemis and Rowan weren't the only ones to have asked him. When they arrived at Hagrid's hut on the morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Ben Copper and Charlie Weasley were already in the pumpkin patch with with their Cruppies.

"How's the training going for you two?" Rowan asked the boys.

"Not bad," Charlie said. "Watch this. Dragon, paw!"

Charlie's Cruppy placed a small paw into his outstretched palm. Charlie held out his other palm, and Dragon immediately swapped his paws over.

"How did you manage to teach him that?" Artemis was equal parts impressed and envious. "I can't even get Scully to sit for me."

"He can't be that bad."

"Want to bet?" Artemis asked. She placed her Cruppy on the floor and pointed at the ground. "Scully, sit!"

Scully looked Artemis in the eye, cocked his leg, and urinated on a pumpkin.

"See? He's useless."

"Well, I did offer to swap," Charlie said, crouching down to pat both Dragon and Scully. "But now I am pretty glad you didn't want to."

Artemis pulled a face at him, and turned to Hagrid.

"Hagrid, do you reckon you could teach Scully something?" she asked, throwing her arms in the air in desperation. "Anything at all? I'm not really fussed what."

"O' course I'll give it a go, Artemis," Hagrid said, he gathered all the Cruppies and picked them up, holding two in each hand. "Yer Scully jus' needs a bi' more time than the others, is all."

With the Cruppies safely wrangled by Hagrid, Artemis and Rowan joined Tonks and Penny to go to Hogsmeade. Artemis couldn't help but notice that Penny lacked some of her usual enthusiasm. They went straight to the Three Broomsticks, and ordered a round of Butterbeer.

"What do they put in this stuff?" Penny asked. "It's delicious!"

Artemis was scanning the room, trying to spot someone who might be Madam Rosmerta. Behind the bar stood a lady with a mass of curly dirty-blonde hair, who was pulling pints of Butterbeer for a group of goblins. Listening carefully, she heard one of the goblins refer to the barmaid as Ros.

"That's got to be her!" Artemis whispered to Rowan.

She got up from the table and wove her way through the punters to the bar, which the landlady was wiping down with a cloth.

"Excuse me," said Artemis, "are you Madam Rosmerta?"

"I am," the landlady replied, not looking up. "Can I help you?"

"I think you might be able to, yes. My name's Artemis Hexley. I think you might have known my -"

"Hush," Rosmerta's head had snapped up from the bar at the mention of Artemis' name, and her eyes flicked one way then the other, as if she were looking for anyone who might be listening. She leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice. "Go outside, and around to the right side of the inn. There's a storeroom through the door by the barrels. Wait in there and I'll come and talk to you."

Artemis opened her mouth to speak, but Madam Rosmerta shook her head, and pointed to the door. Artemis nodded, and she slipped back through the crowds and out of the bar. She followed the the directions Rosmerta had given her, and entered a storeroom around the side of the pub. The storeroom was stocked with more types of beverage than Artemis knew existed, and she as she waited for the landlady to follow her, she browsed their labels.

"You're Jacob's little sister?" Rosmerta's voice came from the doorway. "You're Missy?"

Artemis turned around to face her. The landlady was stepping towards her slowly, her eyes filled with a look of deep affection that made Artemis feel as if she were homesick for a place she could barely remember ever having been to.

"It's just Artemis," she said. "No one calls me Missy, not anymore."

"Jacob used to tell me about you. I imagined you to be... well, younger."

"I was."

Rosmerta smiled sadly. She was standing less than a metre away from Artemis now, still looking at her fondly. Artemis wanted to avert her eyes, but found that she couldn't look away.

"Hagrid told me that Jacob used to work behind the bar sometimes."

"In his sixth year, yes. He wanted to earn some money, and he was always such a character," Rosmerta said, chuckling to herself. "Used to make everybody laugh, did Jacob. Quick-witted, you know."

"Yes," said Artemis, nodding her head. "I know. He was always the clever one."

"Incredibly clever. Too clever for his own good, that Jacob Hexley."

"Did he ever tell you what he was doing? About the Cursed Vaults?"

"Not really. He was very secretive about what he was up to. Said that it was dangerous, knowing too much."

"Did he tell you why he left? Or where he went?"

"He didn't need to tell me where he went," Rosmerta told Artemis, "because he came here."

"What?" Artemis could barely breathe. "Is he -"

The landlady shook her head.

"No, he left again. I've not seen him in years."

"But why? And where is he now?"

Rosmerta sighed deeply. 

"Jacob said you'd turn up one day asking questions," she said. "Look, Missy -"

"Artemis."

"Artemis," Madam Rosmerta corrected herself. "I don't know everything, but what I do know, I will tell you. But I can't be gone long, or people will get suspicious, so you'll have to just be quiet and listen."

Artemis clamped her lips together and nodded silently, and Rosmerta began her story.

"Jacob started coming in here when he was in his third year. Normally he'd come in with a couple of friends, but sometimes he'd be alone, just sitting at the bar and writing, always writing. He'd talk to me, sometimes, and he'd say that he was trying to solve a riddle. He was talking about the Cursed Vaults.

"At first it was as if it were an eccentric but harmless hobby, but then I noticed that he started meeting with strangers. Adult witches and wizards. Goblins, sometimes. I used to tell him off something chronic, and ask him what he was up to, but he would just sit at the bar and smirk to himself. 'Ask me no questions, Ros, and I'll tell you no lies'. That boy," Rosmerta's mouth twitched slightly, and she shook her head. "It was towards the end of his fourth year, I think, when he had to take a couple of months off school, because, well, you know why."

"Because of our dad dying."

"Exactly. I think your father's death affected Jacob more than he let on, in spite of how much he disliked him."

"No," said Artemis. "Jacob didn't dislike our dad. They argued, sometimes, but..."

"I'm only telling you what Jacob told me. I gather that there was a personality clash, of sorts. If I'm being honest with you, I'd say they were just too similar. I met Leander Hexley back when I was a Hogwarts student myself, and... he was very like Jacob. Less warmth, perhaps, but the same intelligence."

"He was in Ravenclaw, too, I think," Artemis paused. "I don't really remember that much about him. I was only small when he died, and Mum has never liked to talk about him."

"No, I don't expect so. She took it all harder than anyone. Jacob was worried sick about her, and about you, of course," Rosmerta took another deep breath before continuing. "Anyway, it was when he returned to school that the castle became overrun with Boggarts, and Jacob was fascinated by them. He stopped talking about the Cursed Vaults, and started studying the Boggarts. He was looking at where he was finding them, and what forms they took, and how easily they could be defeated. He made so many notes about them, and then, at the end of his fifth year, the Boggarts disappeared, and Jacob barely spoke about them again.

"When he started his sixth year, that's when he came to me and asked me about the job. He was only sixteen, but he was so persuasive that I agreed. He did a good job, and he had such a way with people. Some evenings, it was as if people had come to the bar just to talk to him, and I never thought to wonder why. Not at that point, anyway. I thought it was just Jacob, being Jacob.

"It was in the second half of his sixth year that things became... well, Jacob became very strange. Tense, and almost paranoid, although when he was with others he was just his usual charming self. It was only when he thought no one was looking that his face would grow dark, and he'd stiffen up. He had this friend, Duncan, and the two of them had always been inseparable, but it was almost like they drifted apart, and in the June of '81, the worst happened."

"Jacob didn't do anything to Duncan."

"I know that, love. He would never have hurt Duncan. Not deliberately," said Madam Rosmerta. "But Duncan's death was to do with this plan the two of them had been hatching to get into one of the Cursed Vaults. And when Jacob returned to school in September, and was still hunting for them, the headmaster had no choice but to expel him. I didn't see Jacob again until November, after he'd been reported missing. He came here one night and begged me to let him stay here, and not tell anyone about it. He was terrified, and so desperate. I'd never seen him lose his cool before, so I knew it was serious. So I did as he asked. I offered him my protection."

"Protection? Protection from what?"

"Jacob was hiding from someone. Some people."

"The Aurors. They came to our house looking for him."

"Yes, the Aurors were looking for him because he went missing days after You-Know-Who was defeated. They were tracking down anyone that might have had a link to the Death-Eaters."

"My brother was not a Death-Eater."

"Missy - Artemis, sorry - I know. The problem was, the timing of his disappearance made it look suspicious, and that Rita Skeeter didn't help, writing her poison in the Daily Prophet," Rosmerta called Rita Skeeter a name so rude that Artemis' eyes widened slightly, and the landlady has to take a deep breath to compose herself before speaking again. "No, it wasn't so much the Aurors that Jacob was worried about. He was hiding from... someone else."

Artemis frowned, and then she remembered the letters that someone had left for Ben to find the year before.

"Was the person he was hiding from called 'R'?"

"What? No, love. I never heard him mention an 'R'. He wouldn't tell me who was after him, he said the less I knew, the safer I'd be."

"If he wanted to keep you safe so badly, why come here at all? Why run away? He could have -"

"He left because he didn't want whoever it was that was looking for him to come anywhere near you, or your mother," Rosmerta said, simply. "He was trying to protect you, love. He was scared for you.

"Jacob stayed here, in my cellar, for the best part of a year, on and off. He said he needed to be close to the castle, that he was trying to finish what he started. He was writing more than ever, sending some peculiar messages and sometimes leaving for days at a time. When I asked where he'd been, he would say he was finding the things he needed."

"Needed for what?"

"He said that he was going to make things right, if it was the last thing he did. He was going back to the Cursed Vaults, opening and closing each one in turn, and leaving a trail."

"A trail?"

"He was worried that if he didn't succeed, he'd need someone to pick up where he took off. He said he wanted to help them," Rosmerta swallowed, and stared at Artemis as if she too was scared for her. "He was making plans, and notes, and compiling them all in a book. And then, one day, he set off to find something, or do something, and he never returned."

"He didn't tell you where he was going?" Artemis asked, and Rosmerta shook her head, sadly. Artemis bit her bottom lip, looking at her feet for a moment, before she turned back to Madam Rosmerta. "The book, the book Jacob was writing. Where is that?"

"He left it with me. Asked me to take care of it."

"Can I have it?"

"Well, I suppose in a way it belongs to you, anyway," Rosmerta said, with a sigh. "I'll have to find it, mind. Your brother wasn't the tidiest guest I've ever had at the inn," she looked at the door to the storeroom. "I've been gone long enough, people will wonder where I am. Come back here last thing before you go back to the castle, and I'll give you your brother's book."

Artemis spent the rest of the day in Hogsmeade with Rowan, Penny and Tonks. Everything they had been told about the village was true. Honeydukes sweet shop really did have every kind of treat imaginable on its shelves, and the girls had to physically drag Tonks out of Zonko's joke shop. They drew the line at visiting the Shrieking Shack, which was, as Rowan reliably informed them, the most haunted building in Britain.

At the end of the day, Artemis left her friends to walk back to the castle without her as she returned to The Three Broomsticks. Rosmerta passed her a black quill over the counter of the bar. Artemis stared at her blankly.

"I thought you said you were giving me a notebook?"

"He used to transfigure anything he didn't want people seeing into black quills," Rosmerta whispered to her. "You'll have to de-transfigure it."

"That's easy. Reparifarge!" Artemis pointed her wand at the quill, and it turned into a small, slightly battered, brown notebook. She opened it, and sure enough, her brother's name was written on the inside of the cover in his distantly familiar handwriting.

Madam Rosmerta must have noticed the look of longing in Artemis' eyes, because the landlady placed one hand gently on her cheek.

"He really loved you. Loves you," she said, using her other hand to tuck a strand of Artemis' dark hair behind her ear. "You know that, don't you?"

Unable to find the words to respond, Artemis nodded her head. She thanked the dewy-eyed landlady and ran back to the castle.

At the gates, Filch the caretaker was standing guard with his beady-eyed cat, Mrs Norris. He had a large hessian sack with him.

"What have you got there, Hexley?" he asked her, looking at the notebook she held in her arms. "I have a duty to search students returning from Hogsmeade village for any contraband items."

"This isn't contraband, Mr Filch. It's just a notebook."

"I'll be the judge of that."

Reluctantly, Artemis handed Filch her brother's book. Filch's long, knobbly fingers pried open the front page.

"Jacob Odysseus Hexley," he said, examining the inside cover. He snapped the book closed and placed it in his sack. "I'll be keeping this."

"You can't do that! It's mine. It belonged to my brother!"

"Your brother was a scheming little miscreant, just like you," Filch sneered. "Besides, I have instructions to confiscate anything that might be to do with the Cursed Vaults. It's for your own safety. Now, get inside, or I will string you up by your ankles."

Fuming, Artemis stormed across the grounds to collect Scully from Hagrid's hut.

"What's wrong, Artemis?" Hagrid asked her when he saw the look on her face. Artemis told him about the caretaker confiscating her brother's book, but she didn't get the response she'd wanted from Hagrid. "Tha' Filch is a nasty piece o' work, Artemis, but 'e does 'ave a point. Yeh shouldn' be messin' with the Vaults."

Artemis opened her mouth to protest, but Hagrid quickly changed the subject.

"I've got somethin' to cheer yeh up! Look: Scully. 'Ere, boy!"

Hagrid held up a small piece of rock cake. Scully looked at it, cocked his head, and ran over to Hagrid, sitting at his feet and wagging his two tails as the giant fed him the rock cake.

"Hagrid, you did it! Good boy, Scully!"

"Turns ou' yer pup'll do anythin' for a bi' o' sultana-free rock cake," Hagrid laughed.

Artemis left Hagrid's hut carrying a wriggling Scully in one arm, and a large bag of rock cakes in the other. Her bad mood slightly alleviated, she walked back to the Hufflepuff common room in the castle dungeons to join her friends. However, as she passed the Potions classroom, she heard the unmistakeable voice of Professor Snape echoing down the hallway.

"Hexley. My office. Immediately."

Artemis sighed. What had she done now? She turned and followed Snape into his office at the back of the Potions classroom.

"I presume you know why I've asked you to come in here, Hexley."

"I genuinely haven't got a clue, Professor."

"Then perhaps you would like to explain to me exactly how and why Merula Snyde returned to the castle surrounded by what I can only describe as a swarm of flapping globules of nasal discharge."

Artemis snorted. Snape, however, did not look amused.

"I don't know how, Sir, it had nothing to do with me," she told him, trying and failing to hold back laughter. "As for why... well, knowing Merula, she probably did something to deserve it."

"As glad as I am that you find this situation entertaining, Hexley, need I remind you that underage misuse of magic is a serious criminal offence?" Snape gave Artemis a deeply scathing, scrutinising look, and as he did so, seemed to notice Scully in her arms for the first time. "Hexley, what in Merlin's name is that?"

"It's a Crup, Professor. His name's Scully."

"I don't care what you call it, Hexley. Why have you brought it in here?"

"Because you told me to come in."

Luckily, before Snape could take any house points from Hufflepuff, a loud bang came from outside the office, followed by a high pitched whimper. Snape shot Artemis a suspicious glance, to which she returned a shrug. Together, they followed the noise, and found four more Cruppies in an open storage cupboard playing with an overturned stack of cauldrons, which were now spilling out of the cupboard and rolling across the floor. Scully wriggled free from Artemis' arms and ran to join his littermates. At that moment, Liz Tuttle and Barnaby Lee ran into the classroom.

"They're in here!" Barnaby shouted. He looked thrilled, until he saw the murderous expression on Professor Snape's face.

Snape was apoplectic.

"What are these revolting little beasts doing in my classroom?" he snarled, shaking with rage.

"We're sorry, P-Professor," Liz stuttered. Artemis realised she had never heard her speak before. "We're raising Cruppies for C-Care of Magical Creatures. They m-must have escaped from the Common Room while we were all at H-Hogsmeade."

"Remove them at once," Snape uttered, his voice a low, rumbling growl. "I despise dogs."

"Actually, Professor, they're not dogs, they're Crups -"

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Lee, I asked you to get rid of them."

Barnaby and Liz scurried over to the Cruppies and tried to gather them together. Unfortunately, the Cruppies thought this was an excellent game, and scattered across the room, yapping playfully. Feeling Snape's anger radiating from him, Artemis opened the bag of Hagrid's rock cakes and whistled loudly. All five pups stopped in their tracks and looked at her.

"Here, Scully," she said, taking out a rock cake and, with considerable effort, breaking it into pieces. "Here, boy."

Scully ran towards her, and the other pups followed him. She knelt down and praised the Cruppies, giving them each a piece of rock cake. Barnaby and Liz retrieved the Slytherins' pups from her.

"Thank you, Artemis," Liz gave her a shy smile.

"Thanks, I guess," said Barnaby, gruffly.

"At least Hexley is semi-competent," Snape sneered. "All of you, get out of my sight."

The three of them ran out of the room, clutching the Cruppies. Artemis giggled gleefully into Scully's fur all the rest of the way back to the common room, and made a mental note to buy Charlie Weasley a Butterbeer next time they were in Hogsmeade.