We then followed Harry inside the Three Broomsticks, who looked angrier than ever before.

     The moment we were inside, Harry burst out, "He was nicking Sirius's stuff!"

     "I know, Harry, but please don't shout, people are staring," Hermione whispered, looking nervously around. "Go and sit down, I'll get you a drink."

     Harry was still fuming when Hermione returned to our table a few minutes later, carrying four bottles of Butterbeer on a tray.

      "Can't the Order control Mundungus?" Harry demanded in a furious whisper. "Can't they at least stop him stealing everything that's not fixed down when he's at headquarters when Sirius is away?"

     "Shh!" said Hermione desperately, looking around to make sure nobody was listening.

      "I bet he was waiting for Sirius to get out of there, so he could have a go at his stuff and sell them!" he said. "No wonder he wasn't pleased to see us! Well, I'm going to tell Dumbledore what's going on, he's the only one who scares Mundungus."

      "Good idea," whispered Hermione, clearly pleased that Harry was calming down.

      "Ron, what are you staring at?" I asked with a grin.

      "Nothing," said Ron, hastily looking away from the bar, but I knew he was trying to catch a look at Madam Rosmerta.

      "I expect 'nothing's' in the back getting more firewhisky," said Hermione cheekily and I chuckled, but Ron decided to ignore us completely.

     The three busied themselves with drinking their Butterbeer, although now that we had mentioned Madam Rosmerta, I couldn't stop looking around for her either.

       I knew Draco now had her under the Imperius Curse and had her give the cursed necklace to Katie Bell in the girls' bathroom, probably any moment now.

      I felt my heartbeat pick up at the thought, pitying the poor girl. But there was not much I could do. Or rather, there was not much I wanted to do anymore, having learnt my lesson of meddling with time out of necessary.
 
      But as I was looking around the bar for Madam Rosmerta, my stomach gave a guilty lurch as I saw Neville walking toward the pub's door along with Seamus.

       "Will you guys excuse me for a second?" I said and without waiting for their reply and without even thinking of what I was doing, I made my way over Neville before he could leave the place.

     "Neville!" I called out, causing him to stop and look around at me. "H-how are you?"

      "Er... good, thanks," he nodded unsurely, having to idea what I was doing.

     And frankly, neither did I.

      I had no idea what I was supposed to do to help him, but Dumbledore had told me everything would fall into place in the right time. But when was the right time? And what was I supposed to do when it came?

      "Lexi?" Neville called out to me and I shook my head, regaining myself from a daze.

       "Uh... right..." I said awkwardly, not knowing what I was supposed to say. "I see you've been doing good in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

       "W-well we had a lot of practice with Harry last year," he said, looking confused.

      "C'mon, Neville," said Seamus impatiently from behind us.

       "O-okay," Neville nodded before turning to face me again, "I'll — I'll see you later, Lexi." And with that, he left the pub along with Seamus.

      Way to go, Lexi, I thought bitterly to myself before going back to our table.

      "What was that all about?" Ron raised a brow at me, to which I just shrugged carelessly and went back to drinking my Butterbeer.

     "Shall we call it a day and go back to school, then?" Hermione suggested after we had drained down our last drop of drink.

     The three of us nodded and with that we got to our feet, leaving the Three Broomsticks after Katie Bell and her friend.

       But the further we got from the pub, the louder my heart was throbbing against my chest out of anxiety as I watched the two girls walking before us.

     "It's nothing to do with you, Leanne!" We heard Katie say to her friend.

     But just then, Leanne made to grab hold of the package Katie was holding; Katie tugged it back and the package fell to the ground.

       She went to pick it up. But before we knew what was happening, in a blink of an eye Katie suddenly rose into the air, her arms outstretched, her face empty of expression. And then, she let out a terrible scream.

      Leanne started to scream too and seized Katie's ankles, trying to tug her back to the ground as we rushed forward to help.

     Harry and Ron managed to catch her but she was writhing so much they could hardly hold her. So they placed her down on the ground as we watched her with horror in our eyes.

     "Stay there!" Harry shouted at the others over the howling wind. "I'm going for help!"

      Short minutes later, he returned with Hagrid by his side. "Get back! All of yeh!" he shouted. "Lemme see her!"

     "Something's happened to her!" sobbed Leanne. "I don't know what —"

       Hagrid immediately bent down and picked Katie up in his arms and so without another word, he carried her away, her screams dying away as they finally disappeared out of sight.

     Hermione then hurried over to Katie's friend who was still sobbing and put an arm around her. "It's Leanne, isn't it?"

     The girl nodded weakly.

     "Did it just happen all of a sudden, or — ?"

      "It was when that package tore," Leanne let out a sniff, pointing at the package which now laid on the ground. An ornate opal necklace was visible, poking out of the paper.

       Ron went to reach for it, but Harry yanked him away in time, stopping him from touching it.

     "I've seen that before," said Harry, staring at the thing. "It was on display in Borgin and Burkes ages ago. The label said it was cursed. Katie must have touched it." He looked up at Leanne, who was now shaking. "How did Katie get hold of this?"

     I looked away from them and fixed my gaze on the necklace, hoping to God that they wouldn't try to question me on the matter.

      I had lied enough and I hated it. But I knew I couldn't tell anyone anything. Not anymore.

     "Well, that's why we were arguing," said the wailing girl. "She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it, said it was a surprise for somebody at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it... Oh no, oh no, I bet she'd been Imperiused and I didn't realize!"

      "She didn't say who'd given it to her, Leanne?" Hermione asked gently, patting her comfortingly on the shoulder.

     "No... she wouldn't tell me... and I said she was being stupid and not to take it up to school, but she just wouldn't listen and... and then I tried to grab it from her ... and — and —" Leanne let out another wail of despair.

     "We'd better get up to school," said Hermione, her arm still around Leanne. "We'll be able to find out how she is. Come on..."

      "Malfoy knows about this necklace," said Harry to me and Ron as Hermione and Leanne started walking away. "It was in a case at Borgin and Burkes four years ago, I saw him having a good look at it while I was hiding from him and his dad. This is what he was buying that day when we followed him! He remembered it and he went back for it!"

      "I — I dunno, Harry," said Ron hesitantly. "Loads of people go to Borgin and Burked..."

       But Harry ignored him as a frown was formed on his face. And with that, he turned to me, saying,

      "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you, Lexi?"