May wore on, bringing another attack (a first year Hufflepuff named Robby Thomas), and more panic. The only things bringing hope to me were that Clarissa was doing a lot better, and that school was almost over and the attacker still hadn't found what he needed. We only had one more month, then everyone would return home, safe.

Not that I exactly wanted to return home, wherever that was. I didn't even know where I'd end up over the summer, though a group home was the most likely answer. The Lewis's had probably told the Foster system they didn't want me anymore way back in September, and they wouldn't go to the trouble of finding me a foster family for two months every year.

But, still, that would be all right with me if it meant that everyone else was safe as well. Anyway, James and Albus had already promised that I was spending at least a month with them over the summer, and they were making Wren fly in early as well.

Ciara and Nico had been leaving us alone ever since Wren jinxed Nico's hair. We couldn't really figure out why, but my best guess was that they didn't want us eavesdropping again.

The week before exams, I made Wren come outside, and not bring any books, which she loudly protested against. She finally gave in to my my stubbornness, though, and followed Albus and me outside to the lake. We sat with our backs leaning against a large tree, completely concealed from the castle and anyone coming to look for us.

"So, excited for the summer?" Albus asked, staring out at the lake. The giant squid was visible just beneath the surface, rippling the water as it glided around.

I shrugged. "Don't leave me at the Lewises too long, all right? It was bad enough when I was just slightly strange...now I'm a freak."

"Hey, you might not even have to go back there," Wren said optimistically.

Of course, I probably wouldn't have to, but I was preparing myself for the worst. A month with the Lewises was definitely the worst.

Instead of answering, I shrugged again. "What're you doing this summer?" I asked her.

It seemed like her smile flickered for a moment, but I suppose I imagine it because she was grinning a second later, and shrugging. "Just being lazy and bored until I can fly back here, I suppose. I don't really know. There's not much to do where I live. The ocean's too cold to swim in and there's no one about, anyway."

"Where do you live, exactly?" Albus asked.

"Maine."

"Where's that?"

She blinked at him. "What do you mean, 'Where's that'? You don't know where Maine is? You know it's a state, right?"

"The only states I know about are New York, Texas, and Hawaii," I confessed.

Wren gaped at us, and muttered something about Texas that sounded insulting, then tried to explain where Maine was. This resulted in Albus looking more confused than before, and me trying to tune her out, finally vowing I'd look it up once I got back to the muggle world.

Eventually, our talk trickled to nothing. We sat in peaceful quiet, watching some older students pet one of the giant squid's tentacles.

Albus abruptly threw his arm out, a signal for quiet, as if we weren't already. I was about to ask him what he was doing when I heard it too.

Ciara and Nico's voices drifting closer.

I closed my eyes, hoping they would stay on their side of the tree. Ciara's promise of making Wren regret what she did hadn't yet been fulfilled, but I didn't believe for a second either of the two had forgotten. Luckily, I heard them sit on the other side of the tree, apparently unaware of our presence.

"-has to be tonight, Ciara. School's almost out, and we'll have missed our chance."

A pause, then Ciara said, "I know...it's just...we're bound to get caught..."

"We won't, I promise. We'll find whoever is behind these attacks and catch them, then we'll see who the heroes of Hogwarts are!"

Ciara sounded unconvinced as she replied, "I don't know...it sounds too easy..."

"Are you scared?" The sneer that was almost definitely plastered on his face was evident in his tone of voice.

"No! I'm not!"

"Then come with me. I'll go without you, if I have to," Nico said casually.

Another pause. "Fine. Tonight, then."

I heard a shift, then Nico replied, "Meet me in the common room at twelve, all right?" I suppose Ciara nodded, because the next thing I heard were footsteps.

I was about to say something when I heard a distinctly Ciara-like sigh. "What have you gotten yourself into?" she muttered. I heard her stand up, then walk off as well.

I glanced at my two friends, grinning. This would be the perfect opportunity to get back at those two for being prats all year! We could get James, then take the Invisibility Cloak and scare them to death!

Albus seemed to have the same idea, and grinned weakly back at me. It was obvious he wouldn't be partaking in this pranking, but would be cheering us on from the safety of the Gryffindor common room.

Wren also shared my thoughts, based on her frown, and shook her head.

"No way. We are not sneaking out."

"Why not? It's the perfect opportunity!"

"Remember what happened last time I snuck out? I walked in on an attack and got my memory wiped. Not happening again."

I shrugged. "All right, fair enough, you stay."

Her eyes widened. "No! You can't go!"

"I won't be alone," I said, rolling my eyes. "Albus, you won't go, will you?" He shook his head. "Well, James will, and he has the Invisibility Cloak. We'll be fine."

Wren still looked worried, but realized she couldn't argue with me when I was being stubborn. If things came down to it, she would probably beat me in a duel. However, I doubt she'd want to duel at all.

James thought my idea was brilliant, and immediately began making plans.

We would be waiting at the steps down to the dungeons at midnight, and follow them when they appeared. The footsteps alone would make them the slightest bit paranoid. Once we were in a deserted part of the castle, we would start the pranks. Knock into a suit of armor. Tap on a window. Run past them, so they could feel our presence but not see us. Then, laugh as they ran screaming away.

At eleven forty-five, James, Albus, and I climbed through the portrait hole. Wren had gone to bed, frustrated with how stubborn we were being. I remember her saying that we were acting like idiots. Albus was more than happy to help, though, and he would be staying up, waiting for us to return. Every half hour, he was going to open the portrait hole and peer out. If we were there, we would hiss his name, and he'd let us back in, telling us whether we needed to take off the Cloak before, if there were still people in the common room, or after.

James threw the Cloak over the two of us, chuckling as it swished into Albus's face, making him sneeze. We quickly tiptoed down to the dungeons, waiting on the stairs for Ciara and Nico to pass.

It was almost 12:30 before they showed up, wearing black cloaks and keeping to the shadows as much as possible. I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing as Ciara seemed to notice something odd.

"Do you hear anything?" she whispered.

"You're just being paranoid, Ciara," Nico answered, obviously exasperated. 

Ciara, obviously not pleased at being labelled "paranoid," quickly shut up. As we followed, though, it was evident our footsteps were unnerving her. She kept glancing over her shoulder nervously, straining to see in the dark.

Eventually, we reached a part of the castle where James and I felt safe having a bit more fun.

James reached his hand out, under the cloak, and rattled a door handle. Even Nico heard that, and both he and Ciara jumped. "Turn on a light," he whispered, walking closer to the door as James and I quickly backed away.

Ciara muttered, "Lumos," and the tip of her wand lit up. She held it close to Nico, who was studying the door handle.

Eventually, he shrugged. "Must have imagined it." Ciara seemed unconvinced, but seemed to decide that she was going to prove just how brave she was and took the lead. Though, that might have been because our footsteps were coming from behind.

Next, I punched a suit of armor.

That might sound painful, and it was, a bit, but the sound was worth it. I don't know if you know this, but suits of armor are hollow, so the sound echoed in it for several seconds, magnifying quite a bit before it died down. Nico actually dropped his wand.

"Who's there?" he called, quickly picking it up and pointing it at the suspected culprit, the suit of armor. James and I, safely on the other side of the hall by then, stifled our laughs in our palms.

Ciara pulled on Nico's arm. "Let's just k-keep going..."

They resumed walking, now glancing about at every sound. James nudged me, then pointed to spot ahead of them. I nodded in understanding. We were going to run past them now.

Keeping a firm grip on the Cloak, James and sprinted down the hall, swooshing past the two Slytherins. Nico didn't even hesitate; he turned tail and took off the way he had come. He was the perfect Slytherin, in my opinion. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of screaming, but Ciara remained, so I supposed we might get a scream from her.

For a few minutes, she didn't seem to realize Nico had left. She remained frozen in one spot, peering into the darkness with her wand raised. Her voice quaked as she asked who was there, then commanded us to reveal ourselves. She turned to get back up from Nico, then realized she was alone.

"N-Nico?" she called, her voice barely a whisper.

I stepped backward, and a floorboard creaked under my foot. Ciara let out a small whimper and dashed into a classroom across the hall. I heard a key being turned in the lock.

"Should we go back?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

James shook his head. "There's another way into that room."

"How do you know?"

"I'm pretty sure that's the Arithmacy classroom."

I stared at him in confusion. "You're not even old enough to take Arithmacy."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course. I don't take it. Dominque does. She said there were two doors, once. It saved her from being late to class a lot... The other door should be over here..." He led me around a corner, and we walked down another corridor, walking towards a door to the right.

I was surprised to see that the door was ajar. As a rule, the doors to classrooms were kept closed when they weren't in use. We slowly crept up to it and peeked inside.

The first thing I saw was Ciara, sitting on the floor in front of another door, apparently at the back of the class room. She was trembling, and staring through the keyhole. What she was apparently unaware of was that she wasn't alone. And I'm not talking about James and me.

Slowly striding through the desk to the back of the room was a cloaked figure I recognized all too well: the anonymous attacker. James quickly pulled me back into the hall.

"We need to get a teacher!" he hissed.

"Wait! What if he obliviates Ciara? We need to see what happens first!"

"Why would he obliviate Ciara?"

"Her parents weren't in the DA," I said shortly. That's what had happened to Wren. It wasn't that I wasn't concerned about Ciara's safety, because I didn't exactly want her to be seriously hurt, but I was extremely curious. Luckily, James was also extremely curious.

We pressed ourselves against the wall and listened.

Ciara's gasp was the first thing I heard. She must have lifted her wand, because a deep voice bellowed, "Expelliarmus!" I heard a small thump that must have been Ciara's wand hitting the floor, far away from her.

"W-what do you want?" she said. I could imagine her, stupidly and valiantly trying to buy for time, facing down a powerful dark wizard with no wand. For a split second, I wondered why she wasn't a Gryffindor.

"I want you," the attacker hissed.

"What?" I could hear the fear, and the confusion, in her voice.

"Imperio."

James gasped. I didn't know why. What was "Imperio"?

"Now, go take care of our little eavesdroppers. They are invisible."

I heard the click of a lock as the attacker obviously fled out the other door, then slow, steady footsteps as Ciara apparently marched towards us. A pause, probably retrieving her wand, then she walked out the door.

She looked completely normal at first. Then, I noticed her eyes. They looked, milky, and glazed, and I glanced at James, confused. Ciara looked around, and rather than wait for us to find her, James threw the Cloak off and tackled her from behind, knocking her wand out of her hand.

Ciara hit the ground hard, then struggled under James's weight. Soon, she seemed to be resisting whatever was making her struggle. Suddenly, she sat straight up, breathing heavily and wide-eyed. Her normal eyes.

She stared at the two of us. "What just happened?"

I honestly had no idea, so I glanced at James.

"You were imperiused," he whispered. "And the attacker is probably still around so shut up."

She lowered her voice as she asked suspiciously, "What are you two even doing out here? Did you do this?"

"No, and it's not important what we're doing," I said quickly.

"What is important is that we get to a teacher as quickly as possible," James said. "I don't have any idea where the attacker went, and he could be waiting for us."

"And how on earth are we supposed to get to a teacher without him knowing?" she asked, obviously irritated. I think she had probably figured out what brought us into the same hallways as her in the middle of the night. "If you haven't noticed, this hallway only goes one place. Ravenclaw Tower. and I assume the attacker went the other way, which is where we need to go."

James glanced up, for the first time taking in his surroundings. "Oh. Um. Right. Well..." He glanced helplessly at me. The obvious answer was the Invisibility Cloak, but could we really trust Ciara with knowledge like that? James wasn't supposed to tell anyone about it.

Of course, desperate times call for desperate measures. James sighed. "We have a way, but you have to swear, on your life, that you won't tell anyone. My dad will kill me..."

To my surprise, Ciara nodded quickly. "I swear...I won't tell a soul..."

"Not even Nico," I added quickly.

She scoffed at that. "You think I'd tell that prat anything? Not after tonight." She stood up, ignoring James's (grudgingly offered) hand.

I picked up the Invisibility Cloak off the floor, while James quickly explained what it did. We flung it over ourselves, Ciara trying to stay as far away from me as possible. That was pretty hard under the Cloak.

We tiptoed down the hall, trying not to make a sound. As we rounded the corner, I almost gasped. The figure was pacing in front of the door it had exited. It seemed...taller, I suppose, than it had previously. I didn't dwell on that, though. We quickly scooted around it. We were halfway down the hall, and starting to think we were in the clear, when someone stepped on a floorboard that creaked.

The figure's head snapped up, and we gave up on quiet. James shouted, "Run!" and we took off. We rounded a corner, and James threw the Cloak off of us, pushing it into my hands. Ciara kept yelling for help, and soon James and I joined her. In a matter of minutes, three aurors had found us. The attacker hadn't followed us, it seemed.

We led the aurors to the scene of the crime, which was now deserted, and Ciara, James, and I explained in detail what happened. I was surprised to note that she left all mention of our pranks out of her story.

We were sent off to bed quickly, escorted to our common room doors by an auror. As we parted ways with Ciara, she turned to me and whispered, "Don't think this changes anything. You're still a prat."

"Same to you," I and, irritated and tired. You'd think she could show a little gratitude after we just saved her life.

I suppose Wren had come to join Albus in the common room, because she was waiting for us anxiously when we stumbled in. Albus was asleep by the fire, but Wren assured us she had been checking for us every half hour. We woke Albus up and related our story.

"What a prat," James muttered when I told them what Ciara had said at our parting.

I rolled my eyes. "What else would I expect from her?"

Strangely enough, this attack wasn't mentioned in the morning. James, Albus, Wren, and I told no one, and apparently Ciara didn't tell anyone either, because no one knew anything about it in the morning.

Of course, I could see why McGonagall would choose to keep this quiet. Everyone needed to be focused on passing their exams, not panicking about attacks. Ciara hadn't been hurt, in fact, she had overcome whatever the curse was pretty easily.

When I voiced my ignorance of "Imperio," Wren dragged us to the library, where we could talk in peace.

James shook his head. "She doesn't know about the Imperius Curse...how..."

"Muggles..." I said, in the same tone he had used. "Why? What is it?"

"It's one of the Three Unforgivable Curses," Wren said in a hushed voice.

"Unforgivable curses?"

"The first is the Cruciatus Curse," Albus piped up. "You know about that one."

"Right, causes torturous pain. Ok. What's next?"

"The Imperius Curse," James said. "It makes the victim basically your slaves. You control their mind. You can make them do anything at all. Voldemort's followers used it a lot."

"You can fight it, though," Wren added. "That's what Ciara did, it sounds like. If you have a strong enough mind you can fight off the curse."

"All right..." I said quietly. "What's the third?"

Wren bit her lip. "Avada Kedavra."

I raised my eyebrows. "Avada Kedavra? That sounds like abracadabra."

"Like what?"

"Muggle thing, never mind." I sighed. "What's it do?"

"It...well, it kills the victim. Instantly."

I stared at Wren. "There's no way to fight it? It just...kills you? Just like that?" I snapped. 

James nodded gravely. "It's a terrible curse. The worst, in my opinion."

"Lovely. So there's a curse that can torture you to madness, a curse that can make you a mindless slave, and a curse that can instantly kill you. This magic stuff isn't so fun anymore."

~~~~

We're nearing the end...

This is getting intense! Any thoughts on who the attacker is? Comment them here!

I'm getting excited. Currently I'm working on the last few chapters, and though it's very sad to close this part of the series, I'm excited too. I hope you all are as well.

Vote and comment! Keep sending in questions!

~Ellie