Harry's Sixth Year Problems - part one





 
Harry's Sixth Year Problems - part one. 
Harry Potter was perplexed. Something was wrong. Ever since he and his two best 
friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, had returned to Hogwarts for the 
beginning of their sixth year, both his friends had been acting a little out of 
character. Everything had been fine during the summer holidays. He and Hermione 
had both spent the last two weeks of the holidays staying with the Weasleys at 
their home, The Burrow. It had been good fun, especially since Charlie Weasley, 
Ron's second-oldest brother, had been home for a visit, full of stories about 
his work with dragons in Rumania. He was a very broad-shouldered, cheerful young 
man, his face and arms bronzed from his outdoor life, and with the flaming red 
hair shared by all the Weasleys. Harry thought that, looking at Charlie, one 
could see what Ron would be like when he was fully grown up; the two were the 
tallest of the Weasley brothers, and very alike. Already, at sixteen and a half, 
Ron was the tallest student in Gryffindor House, and had to remember to duck 
through a lot of the older, lower doorways on his way around Hogwarts. Harry and 
Hermione had grown used to looking up when they spoke to him these days, 
although Harry was only a few inches shorter now. 
Yes, the holidays had been fun, but now they had been back at school for a few 
weeks Harry had become aware that all was not well with his two friends. Ron 
would fall into fits of unaccustomed gloom, and Hermione was unusually quiet, 
and spending long periods of time shut up in the girls' dormitory, possibly 
writing in her diary. And although they were both still perfectly friendly to 
Harry, neither of his two friends seemed to be as comfortable around each other 
as they usually were. When he came back from Quidditch practices, Harry was used 
to finding Hermione and Ron together waiting for him, playing chess in the 
common room or revising in the library, or perhaps collaborating on a new banner 
or jingle for the Gryffindor supporters to use at the next Quidditch match. 
But these days, he never did seem to find them together. He might almost have 
thought they were avoiding each other. If Ron was in the common room, Hermione 
would be in the owlery, or the library. And vice versa. Harry would have thought 
they had merely quarrelled - for they had had many quarrels in the past - but 
Harry knew there had been no big arguments. And they were not scowling or 
sniping at each other. When they were forced together at meals or in class, they 
were not hostile, just distant. Harry couldn't work it out. 
He had no clue as to what the problem might be until one day when he chatted to 
Ginny Weasley - Ron's younger sister - after a Gryffindor house Quidditch 
practice. The practice had gone well. Harry was in his second year as captain 
now, and he was pleased to see that the new members of the team were getting 
used to playing together. Five players had remained from last year's team but he 
had had to select two new Chasers - fifth years Ginny Weasley and Tony Forest. 
Looking at his team gliding and darting about the pitch, Harry thought he had 
made a good team selection. After the practice Harry changed out of his 
Quidditch robes and set off towards the school, thinking about the Potions essay 
he had to finish for Snape before bedtime. He hadn't gone far before he heard a 
voice calling behind him. "Hey, Harry, wait!" 
Harry turned and saw Ginny jogging to catch up with him. He grinned at her in a 
friendly way. Ginny had embarrassed Harry horribly in her first two years at 
Hogwarts by developing a huge crush on him, but now that she was a fifth-year 
she was far more confident and had grown out of her crush long ago. She and 
Harry got on well together when they met at school or at the Weasleys' house. 
"I think we've got a good chance of beating Ravenclaw, don't you?" said Harry, 
as they walked on together. 
"I hope so," said Ginny. "Gryffindor was unlucky to lose the Cup last year, we 
need to get it back again. Are you going to Hogsmeade on Saturday?" 
"I expect so," replied Harry. "I didn't know it was a Hogsmeade day." 
"Yes, the notice only went up just before dinner. I want to go to the new 
Magical Creatures shop in the village, it's supposed to be brilliant." Ginny was 
just as fond of animals as her brother Charlie, and was hoping to study 
veterinary magic when she left school. 
Harry wondered what he, Ron and Hermione could do in Hogsmeade. The usual 
things, he supposed - go to Zonko's Joke Shop, although they were a bit old now 
for practical jokes, go to the sweet shop, go to the Hog's Head - although it 
wouldn't be as much fun as usual if Ron and Hermione were still treating each 
other so distantly. He sighed, looked at Ginny and thought it was worth asking 
her if she could throw any light on the problem. 
"Ginny - you're Ron's sister - do you know if there's anything wrong with Ron 
lately?" 
Ginny looked surprised. "You see more of him than I do at school. Wrong with 
him? How do you mean?" 
"Well - he just seems a bit gloomy lately. Different somehow. But he keeps 
saying there's nothing wrong. Hermione's been acting strangely lately as well." 
To his surprise, Ginny giggled. "Oh, well - I can tell you what *her* problem 
is," she said. 
"What?" asked Harry curiously. 
"Charlie," said Ginny, and giggled again. 
"Charlie? Your brother Charlie? What do you mean?" 
"Hermione's got a crush on him, that's what," said Ginny. "Didn't you notice, 
when you were staying at our house? She blushed every time he looked at her.
Mum and I were talking about it." 
"Oh." Harry considered this. "No, I didn't notice." Ginny looked worldly-wise, 
as if she was thinking, No, but you're just a man! "Well, I suppose that would 
explain why she's been acting strangely, if she's daydreaming about Charlie. 
Still doesn't explain what Ron's problem is though." 
"Perhaps he knows she likes Charlie and he doesn't like the idea," suggested 
Ginny. 
"Why should he mind?" asked Harry. "I should think he'd think it was quite funny 
- you know, and be teasing her about it." 
Ginny sighed again at the density of the male sex. "Not if he's jealous," she 
said patiently. 
"Jealous?" Harry was confused. "Of Charlie? But Ron doesn't want Hermione to 
like him that way - they argue all the time." "Well, perhaps I'm wrong then," 
said Ginny, as they reached the front door and Harry opened it for her. But her 
tone of voice said, But I don't think I'm wrong. Harry really didn't think she 
was right. But he mulled the new idea over in his mind as he walked Ginny along 
the corridors to the Fat Lady's portrait hole. He knew that, underneath their 
sniping and quarrelling, Ron and Hermione were really very good friends and 
cared about each other, just as they cared about him, Harry. But it had never 
occurred to him that Ron might want to have a closer relationship with Hermione. 
Although Harry could quite understand that if Ron did feel that way, the last 
thing he would want would be to find out that she had a crush on his admired 
elder brother. 
But, as Harry got out his Potions essay, and worried about his best friends, he 
did not know that in a few hours' time he would have a much bigger problem to 
worry about. Sorting out Ron and Hermione would have to take second place behind 
the danger Harry was about to face this term.
Part 2
When Harry got back to the Gryffindor common room, he found Ron scribbling at 
his Potions essay, muttering and clutching at his red hair as he wrote. He 
looked up as Harry got his quill and parchment and came to join him. "Good 
practice?" 
"Yes. I think we're going to have a really good team this year. Ginny's pretty 
speedy you know - and Tony Forest is quick too." 
"Great." Ron loved watching Quidditch although he freely admitted his height 
stopped him from being a very agile player. Ron looked at what he'd just 
written, sighed, and started erasing it. 
"Where's Hermione?" asked Harry, looking round the crowded room. 
Ron shrugged. "Don't know. She's finished her essay. Probably gone to the 
library." He did not look up. 
They were quiet for half an hour until Harry finished the last words of his 
essay, put down his quill and flexed his fingers. "I'm worn out - think I'll go 
to bed early." As he spoke, the portrait hole opened and Hermione came in. 
"Professor McGonagall says it's time first-years went to bed," she said, 
speaking so everyone could hear her. There were a few mutters and groans but 
most of the first-years started getting ready to go upstairs. Harry remembered 
that he, Ron, Hermione and the other sixth-year prefects were in charge of 
Gryffindor tower all week. The seventh-years, who included the Head Prefect, had 
all gone on a week's field trip with Professor Flitwick, which was part of their 
work for their N.E.W.T. exams. That left the sixth-years in charge. 
Harry looked around and decided Hermione and the others didn't really need him 
to help send the younger ones to bed. He was pretty tired after Quidditch 
practice, so he said goodnight to Ron, nodded to a few other friends and went up 
the spiral staircase. He dropped off to sleep almost as soon as his head hit the 
pillow, and never heard Ron, Neville, Seamus or Dean coming into the dormitory. 
Several hours later, a terrible noise jerked Harry out of his sleep. He had been 
dreaming happily about beating Slytherin at Quidditch, and was confused when he 
suddenly woke up. Someone - or something - was screaming in terror. 
Harry remembered his old nightmare - his mother screaming during Voldemort's 
attack - and cold sweat broke out all over him. But this wasn't his mother's 
ghost. Someone really was screaming - somewhere outside the window. As he 
realised this, Harry heard thuds as several of his friends got out of bed to 
investigate. He could hear Ron groaning, as he always did when woken early. 
When Harry pulled back his bed curtains, he saw Seamus and Dean peering out of 
the dormitory window. Ron was sitting, half-awake, half-asleep, on the side of 
his bed, and Neville's alarmed face had just emerged from his curtains. "What is 
it? What's happening?" 
"Dunno," said Dean. The screaming had now stopped. "Can't see anything, it's too 
dark. Must be -" he checked "-three o'clock?" 
"Maybe it was an animal - being killed by another animal in the Forbidden 
Forest?" suggested Harry, peering over Dean's shoulder but seeing nothing but 
blackness. 
"Didn't sound like an animal to me," said Ron sleepily. "Sounded like a person." 

They could hear confused voices outside their door. It sounded as though the 
whole of Gryffindor House had been woken up. Harry remembered that the 
sixth-years were supposed to be in charge. "We'd better go and send those kids 
back to bed," he said, reaching for his dressing-gown. 
"There's nothing happening now! Go back to bed!" he heard Hermione saying 
firmly, as he opened the door. She was down in the common room. Harry grinned. 
Dean was still looking out of the window. "I can see lights down there now - I 
think it's some of the teachers." 
Harry, with Ron behind him, went down to the common room. Quite a lot of 
students were milling about, talking and wondering what the screaming had been. 
Hermione was trying to reassure a first-year girl who was in tears of fright. 
The portrait hole opened and Professor McGonagall came in suddenly. 
"Back to bed, please," she ordered sternly. "You're in no danger." 
Harry wanted to ask her what the noise had been, but looking at her tight lips 
and her frown he decided he probably wouldn't get an answer. He joined the other 
prefects in settling down the rest of the House, and half an hour later was in 
bed himself, but he only managed to sleep rather restlessly for the remainder of 
the night. 
At breakfast the next morning, the whole school was buzzing with speculation 
about the screaming. Harry was wondering just as much as the others, but he 
still had time to notice that Ron and Hermione were as distant to each other 
today as they had been the day before. They both talked to Harry, but about the 
only words they addressed to each other were "Hermione - can you pass down the 
milk jug?" or "Ron - can I have the toast rack?", and even then their eyes did 
not meet as they spoke. Harry thought about what Ginny had said yesterday. Did 
Hermione *really* have a crush on Charlie? And would Ron mind about it if she 
did? He was startled out of these thoughts by the sudden arrival of Seamus 
Finnegan, who rushed late into the hall and came over to the other Gryffindors 
looking full of excitement. 
"Hey! You'll never guess what?" 
"What?" 
"Well, I just saw Hagrid and I asked him about last night. He said that when the 
teachers went out to see what the noise was, they couldn't find anyone out 
there. But now it's daylight, Hagrid says you can see where the ground's all 
trampled - just under Gryffindor Tower. And what's more..." Seamus paused for 
dramatic effect. 
"What? What?" 
"There's blood all over the ground there!" said Seamus impressively. The other 
Gryffindors stared at him. 
"What sort of blood?" asked Hermione. "Human or animal?" 
Seamus shook his head. "Nobody's sure - but Hagrid says there was a lot." 
The Gryffindors looked at each other. "Maybe something was killed there," said 
Ron. "But what killed it?" 
"And is it coming back to kill anything else?" asked Harry. Strangely enough, he 
didn't feel scared, but there was a prickle of excitement in his stomach at the 
prospect of a mystery to solve. 
Part 3
Hogwarts was buzzing with mystery. What had screamed in the night outside 
Gryffindor Tower? Had something been killed? And, as Harry had already wondered 
to himself, was it coming back to kill anything else? They talked of nothing 
else during breakfast and the first lesson of the day. The Gryffindor 
sixth-years had Transfiguration second lesson, so they made their way to 
Professor McGonagall's classroom and waited for her. Very unusually, she was 
late. When she did arrive, she looked tense. 
"I have a message from Professor Dumbledore," she said, leaning on her desk. "He 
wants the sixth-year prefects to go to the Great Hall now. The Transfiguration 
lesson is postponed. Off you go." 
The prefects hurried off to the Great Hall, wondering. When they got there they 
found the Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff prefects waiting there already. 
Professor Dumbledore was looking serious. 
"Ah, there you are," he said. "Now, as you know there was a disturbance last 
night. The teachers have done a quick search of the grounds, but we found 
nothing except some bloodstains, which I gather you already know about. There 
may be nothing to worry about. I don't want to disturb all the classes by 
sending all the teachers on another search, so I'm going to ask you prefects to 
check the grounds thoroughly. You must stay in twos, and if you see anything 
untoward, don't try to deal with it yourselves - report straight back here and 
we will decide what to do." 
All the prefects nodded, and started breaking up into groups. Dumbledore came 
over to the Gryffindors. "Harry, would you organize some pairs to search the 
owlery, the sheds, the herb gardens and greenhouses?" As Harry nodded, 
Dumbledore turned away to speak to the Ravenclaws. Harry turned back to the 
other prefects. 
"Dumbledore's right. We mustn't get split up - it could be dangerous. Seamus and 
Lavender, would you check the owlery? Dean and Parvati, you check the sheds. Ron 
and Hermione, you search the herb gardens and Neville and I will go to the 
greenhouses. OK?" They all nodded. "Meet by the front steps in half an hour." 
Harry had deliberately paired up his two best friends in the hope that if they 
were forced to spend some time together they might sort out whatever was 
bothering them. Neither had said anything or looked at each other when Harry 
named them; they had just nodded. As the Gryffindor prefects parted on the 
castle steps to begin their search, Harry saw Ron and Hermione start off towards 
the herb gardens, side by side but not talking - yet. He sighed and beckoned to 
Neville to follow him across the grounds towards the Herbology greenhouses. 
Thirty minutes later Harry and Neville walked wearily back towards the castle 
after a fruitless and anxious search of the greenhouses. When they got back to 
the meeting point by the steps, Dean and Parvati were waiting for them - they 
had nothing to report either. Soon, Seamus and Lavender appeared, but they too 
had found nothing. They waited for another ten minutes, not talking much, but 
there was still no sign of Ron or Hermione. 
"D'you think they're OK?" asked Neville anxiously. "I mean - they might have 
found something hiding in the herb gardens." 
Harry thought for a moment. "Neville and I will go and look. The rest of you 
wait here in case they come back." 
Neville's round face looked worried as he and Harry set off towards the herb 
gardens. He was obviously imagining all the nasty fates which could have 
befallen the two missing Gryffindors. 
"Don't worry, Neville," said Harry bracingly. "Hermione's probably just doing an 
extra-thorough search - so it's taking them a bit longer." 
But when they reached the herb gardens they couldn't see Ron or Hermione 
anywhere. The paths twisted and turned, and there were bushes blocking the view, 
so Harry and Neville walked in and out of the gardens, looking. 
"Ro-on!" "Her-mi-on-eee!" 
No answer. Harry was getting anxious. He strode ahead of Neville, and almost 
tripped as he rounded a corner of the path. Looking down, he saw what he had 
stumbled on. "It's - Hermione's wand. And that's Ron's! Why did they leave them 
on the ground?" 
"Something terrible's happened to them, I know it," said Neville. 
"They might be all right," said Harry, trying to cheer Neville up. "But I think 
we should get help. You go back and get Dumbledore and the others. I'll wait 
here to mark where we found the wands." 
"But you said we should stay together-" 
"Look, it'll be OK, just run back quickly. Take their wands to show Dumbledore." 
Harry pressed them into Neville's hands. "Quick!" 
Neville took to his heels. Harry looked around him. Near the place where he had 
found the wands was a large bush. Some of the twigs on it were bent and broken, 
as though someone had just disturbed it. Harry pushed them aside to have a look. 
His eyes widened as he saw, hidden beneath the bush, a flagstone with a rusty 
iron pull-ring in the top. It looked as if it had been disturbed recently - had 
Ron and Hermione lifted it and climbed down? What was underneath it? Harry 
hesitated for a moment. Should he wait until Neville came back with help? Or 
should he just have a quick look? Harry decided. He grasped the iron ring and 
started to pull. But it was too heavy to lift with one hand. He didn't have any 
pockets to put his wand in, but he didn't want to leave it on the ground as his 
friends had done - just in case. So he tucked his wand under his arm pit, 
grasped the ring with both hands and heaved with all his might. With a grating 
sound the flagstone lifted. Sweating, Harry looked down and saw nothing but 
blackness in the opening. 
"Hey!" he shouted. "Is there anyone down there?" 
And - very faintly - he heard an answer. 
"Harry? Is that you?" Surely that was Hermione? 
"Yes!" he shouted. Excited, he leaned over into the opening - and lost his 
footing. There was a brief moment as he fought to stay upright, before his feet 
slipped on the damp grass and he fell - into the hole. Harry yelled in shock as 
he plummeted downwards, his arms and legs flailing. The last thing he heard as 
he was swallowed by the darkness was the terrible crash of the flagstone falling 
back into place above his head and sealing the entrance. 
Part 4
Cold air rushed past Harry. He was falling and sliding down a tunnel, bouncing 
painfully off the earth walls - down...down...down - into total darkness. It 
felt as though he was falling for ages, but in reality it could only have been 
about ten seconds before he felt the tunnel leveling out and he slid fast and 
bumpily on to cold stone and slithered to a halt. He lay there, bruised, shaken 
and with the breath totally knocked out of him. There was a moment's total 
silence, before a tentative voice in the darkness spoke. 
"H-Harry? Is that you?" It was Hermione. 
Harry groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Every bone in his 
body ached, but, amazingly, he didn't seem to have broken anything. "Yeah. Where 
are you?" The darkness was complete - he couldn't see a thing. 
He heard a shuffling noise as Hermione crawled towards the sound of his voice, 
and then her searching fingers brushed his back. "Here." 
"Don't try to stand up," Ron's voice came out of the dark close by. "I did, and 
bashed my head. The roof's only about four feet high." 
Harry pulled himself together a bit, and realised he was sitting on cold stone 
slabs. "Are you both all right?" 
"Yeah. Just bruises. How did you get here?" 
"I was just about to ask you the same question!" said Harry ruefully. "When you 
didn't come back Neville and I went to look for you in the herb gardens. We 
found your wands and Neville went back to get help. I found the stone with the 
ring in it and I was just looking to see if you were there when I fell down. I 
suppose it was stupid really, I should have waited for the others. Now we're all 
stuck. I heard the stone banging down again." 
Hermione sighed. "We found the stone when we were looking in the herb gardens -" 

"The bush was already broken when we found it," Ron interrupted her. "Someone 
must have used that entrance not long ago. We wouldn't have found it if
Hermione hadn't been looking so closely." 
"We pulled up the stone and - well -" Hermione sounded embarrassed, "I fell down 
the hole, I don't know how, I was being careful -" Harry guessed she was blaming 
herself for investigating without getting help first. It was certainly a bit out 
of character, but he had to admit the secret entrance had been tempting - he had 
made the same mistake. "I felt myself slipping and I grabbed Ron and -" 
"We both fell down," Ron finished. 
"It was my fault." 
"No, it was just bad luck -" 
Harry interrupted. "OK, so now we're here, have you worked out what sort of 
place we're in?" 
"It's small," said Ron flatly. "About ten feet square I'd say. Stone - like a 
dungeon. And there doesn't seem to be any way out." 
Harry had been feeling around him on the floor. "I had my wand under my arm - 
but I dropped it when I fell. It might have rolled down the tunnel with me, but 
I can't find it." 
"Wands!" cried Hermione. "Did you say you found ours? What did you do with 
them?" 
"We've been kicking ourselves for putting them down," put in Ron. 
"Neville took them back to show Dumbledore," Harry told them. "He must have 
found him by now. They'll be coming to get us out." 
"Did Neville know about the stone?" 
"No," Harry admitted, still feeling on the floor for his wand without success. 
"But you found it - and so did I - I bet the teachers will, if Neville takes 
them to where we found the wands." 
"If," said Ron gloomily. "What if Neville can't remember where it was?" 
"Oh, I'm sure he will," said Hermione brightly. 
"Yeah - but Neville? Are you sure?" Ron was unconvinced. 
"He's not that useless. After all, Dumbledore made him a prefect, didn't he? He 
must know that Neville's got hidden talents-" 
"Yeah, well hidden -" Imprisonment was making Ron grumpy. 
"That's not fair, Ron, Neville's all right -" 
"Don't start arguing!" Harry broke in. The other two stopped talking. Harry 
sighed. The stone floor was feeling harder and colder with each minute he sat on 
it. "Still, I'm quite glad to *hear* you arguing. It feels like old times. 
Lately you've hardly been speaking to each other." 
"I don't know what you mean," said Hermione, after an uncomfortable pause. Ron 
didn't say anything. 
"Yes you do," said Harry, feeling that this might at least be a chance to thrash 
things out. "What's the problem? I'm getting tired of my two best friends 
treating each other like strangers." 
"We don't-" Ron and Hermione's voices said simultaneously, before they both 
stopped. Harry heard Ron sigh. He was obviously nerving himself to say something 
he couldn't say in daylight. After a pause he said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, 
Hermione. I didn't mean to be horrible to you - " 
"You weren't!" she said quickly. 
"Well, I wasn't very - I mean, I didn't know how to - well, I know about you and 
Charlie," he said with a rush. Harry could imagine that Ron's face was burning. 
"That you - like him I mean. And I don't know - I just felt strange about it. 
He's a great guy, really - it's none of my business - I shouldn't have given you 
a hard time about it -" 
"Ron," said Hermione's voice out of the darkness, cutting Ron's embarrassed 
ramblings short. 
"Yeah?" 
"What are you talking about?" Harry could hear the astonishment in her voice 
even though he couldn't see her face. "I don't like Charlie - well, I mean, not 
in the way you mean, I think. What made you think I did?" 
There was a pause before Ron, also sounding surprised, said, "I - I - well, I 
heard Mum and Ginny talking about it in the kitchen one day. When we were at our 
house. They were saying you must have a crush on Charlie because you blushed 
when you looked at him. And I looked - and it was true, you did - so I thought 
-" 
"Oh, Ron!" Hermione sounded as though she couldn't decide whether to laugh or 
cry. "No! You've got it all wrong! I *like* Charlie - I mean, I like all your 
family - but I really don't feel anything special for him. He's a bit old for 
me." 
Harry had kept quiet for a while, feeling a bit embarrassed at being present 
during this conversation. Now he asked, "But why did you blush when you saw him 
though? Or was that just Aunt Molly's and Ginny's imagination?" 
"Um - no." Hermione sounded as awkward as Ron had done a moment ago. "You see, 
when I was staying at Ron's house I dropped my diary - and Charlie found it and 
gave it back to me - but he read something I didn't want anyone to see and he 
teased me about it - so every time I saw him after that I felt really 
embarrassed, I couldn't look at him. And - and I thought he must have told you 
what was in it, Ron, because you were being so strange with me, so that's why I 
couldn't face you either..." She trailed off. 
"No, he never said anything. But - what was in it?" asked Ron. "Of course, if 
you don't want to say -" 
"We'll understand," said Harry quickly. "Don't worry about it. I can't believe 
you two just spent all these weeks completely misunderstanding each other!"
He heard both his friends laugh in rather an ashamed way. But there was a less 
tense atmosphere. Somehow it was easier to talk in the dark. They were able to 
say things that were hard to admit face to face. 
"I ought to tell you. I want to, really, but-" But whatever Hermione was going 
to say next was lost. There was a grating crunch as some of the stone slabs 
around them started to move. Ron yelled as he felt the stone his feet were 
resting on drop away like a trapdoor. He scrambled back against the wall and 
found a solid stone to crouch on. Cold air gushed up from the hole which had 
opened in the middle of the dungeon's floor. Harry stumbled up from the floor 
and shivered. He put out an arm and touched Hermione's shoulder. The three of 
them huddled against the wall, half-standing, half crouching, with their heads 
almost touching the ceiling. They couldn't see anything but they could feel the 
sudden icier chill, and smell a dank, musty smell wafting up.
And they could hear...far below...footsteps on stone steps. There were steps 
inside that opening. Someone - or something - was coming up the steps.
Harry moved nervously, and his foot struck something. He groped around and felt 
what was on the floor - his wand! It must have rolled down with him after all. 
"I've found my wand!" he murmured, just loud enough for Ron and Hermione to 
hear. He heard Hermione give a little sigh of relief, and Ron mutter
"*Yes*!" very quietly. But the footsteps kept coming - they were almost at the 
top of the steps now - and Harry braced himself to strike a light with his wand 
and look into the face of the being they were about to encounter.
Part 5
Harry gripped his wand tightly in his hand, waiting for the right moment. The 
footsteps were very close - he swallowed - 
"Lumos!" he cried, and a light sprang from the end of his wand to illuminate the 
dungeon. It wasn't bright, but after total darkness it seemed dazzling, and they 
all blinked, disorientated. If Harry had looked to his left he would have seen 
the pale, shaken faces of Ron and Hermione, but he was staring in the same 
direction they were. There *was* a stone stair leading down in the middle of the 
floor, and standing on the second step from the top was one of the strangest 
people they had seen. He was a dwarf - less than four feet high, but very 
thickset, with huge muscular arms and a powerful chest. He had a long face with 
a short, grizzled beard and was dressed in a stained grey cloak. When the light 
had been lit, the dwarf had not made a sound but had frozen where he stood, 
staring at them unblinkingly with his dark, beady eyes. 
"Who - who are you?" Harry croaked, realising that no one else was going to say 
anything. 
The dwarf did not say anything. He looked quickly from Harry, still crouching 
with wand upraised, to Ron and Hermione, who were staring back in fascination 
and apprehension. Then, taking them all by surprise, he suddenly whirled round 
and ran back down the stone steps into the darkness below.
The three Gryffindors looked at each other in confusion, but Harry made a swift 
decision. 
"I'm going down," he said, moving to the steps. 
"We don't know what else is down there," Hermione breathed, but she was already 
moving after him. 
"Maybe one of you should stay up here in case Dumbledore and the others get 
here," said Harry, beginning to descend the steps. 
"No way, you might need us." Ron was bringing up the rear. 
The steps were broad, and holding up the lighted wand Harry quickened his pace 
and hurried down them. Cold air struck off the stones, and the smell got worse 
as they descended. A flickering light began to reflect off the walls as they 
reached the bottom of the staircase and picked their way along a passage. The 
light came from a torch burning in a bracket. There was no sign of the dwarf, 
but there was only one way to go. They were running now, towards a lighted 
doorway. Harry reached it - and stopped so suddenly that the other two bumped 
into him. 
Another stone chamber - a larger one, lit by more flickering torches - but this 
room contained a sight that made their eyes widen with horror. A large wooden 
table stood in the centre of the room, and on it lay a centaur, his hooves and 
wrists tightly bound, his golden horse's body and human chest filthy and 
bloodstained, and his face pale. White-blond hair was matted around his 
unconscious face. Appalled, Harry and Hermione recognised him. 
"*Firenze!*" Harry cried. "What happened to you?" He rushed forward to the 
table, remembering the magnificent centaur he had met in the Forbidden Forest 
long ago, in his first year. What on earth could have reduced Firenze to this 
condition? Hermione was checking the pulse in Firenze's neck, and Ron hung back, 
looking around the room for signs of danger. There was another door at the other 
side of the chamber, but it was closed. The dwarf must have gone out that way. 
There was a groan, and Firenze opened his eyes - still a brilliant blue, but 
dazed now. "Harry - Potter," he said haltingly, focussing on Harry. "What are 
you doing here?" 
"Never mind that, why are *you* here?" Harry asked. "Liberatus!" As he spoke the 
last word, he aimed his wand and the ropes tying Firenze fell away.
Harry noticed for the first time a dirty bandage around Firenze's chest, which 
was heavily bloodstained. More stains on the table showed that the centaur's 
wound must be serious. 
"The dwarves - they shot me - arrow in the - chest," panted Firenze. "A vile 
trap - brought me to this chamber." 
"So it was *your* blood all over the grass last night, was it?" said Hermione, 
looking around for something to use as a new bandage, and noticing a wooden 
bucket underneath the table which contained a little grimy water. 
"But why did they want to trap you?" asked Ron, pulling out a large, fairly 
clean handkerchief and handing it to Hermione. "I mean - shooting a centaur -"
He broke off, obviously horrified at the idea. 
"And why did they bandage you up after they shot you?" Harry wondered. 
"They want - me to - tell them what the stars predict -" gasped Firenze, wincing 
at Hermione's touch. "They are working for Voldemort - he wants to know if his 
return is foretold -" 
"And you wouldn't tell them?" 
"I would not - if I could - I set myself against the heavens - if they predict 
evil -" Firenze was quickly becoming exhausted with talking. 
"We'd better get out of here," said Ron edgily. "That dwarf might be back with 
his friends at any moment." 
"We can't leave Firenze here," said Harry. "And we'd never get him up those 
steps, or into that first room - he's too big." 
"They must have brought him in that way," Ron said, pointing to the closed door, 
which was wider. 
"Can you walk?" Hermione asked the centaur. Firenze shook his head weakly. 
"Save - yourselves - I fear that -" 
"*No*!" said Harry. "We're not leaving you - and anyway, we can't get out the 
way we came, there's a stone over the entrance." 
Ron moved to the closed door and put his hand on the handle. "We'll just have to 
see what's through -" 
"No, Ron!" said Hermione quickly. "The dwarf went that way - you don't know what 
might be on the other side - they're working for Voldemort -" 
"But it's the only way out." There was a moment's pause as they all stared 
indecisively at each other. Then - 
CRASH! The heavy door burst open, knocking Ron sprawling on to the floor. Harry 
whirled, wand in hand, and saw two dwarves - the one they had seen before and 
another, with a wild black beard. They carried heavy wooden clubs. When the 
dwarves saw that Firenze was unbound, they started towards him, clubs upraised. 
Hermione screamed "No!" and flung herself in front of the helpless centaur. Ron, 
scrambling to his feet, yelled too. 
For a second Harry was motionless, then, raising his wand, he aimed it at the 
dwarves and shouted the words of a freezing charm. 
It didn't work. The dwarves paused in their tracks for a few seconds, then 
seemed to shrug off the spell and lunged at Firenze, snarling. Firenze seemed to 
have passed out again. Ron jumped at the black-bearded dwarf from behind, 
grabbing him round the neck, and they struggled, Ron getting the worst of it. He 
got a blow to the wrist from the dwarf's club that made him yelp in pain, but he 
didn't let go. Harry ducked as the other dwarf swung his club at him, and tried 
shouting another charm, but without success. He had to jump out of the way 
again. Hermione grabbed the wooden bucket from under the table and brought it 
down on the head of the dwarf who was grappling with Ron. There was a loud crack 
as it made contact, and the dwarf staggered back, stumbled, and fell to the 
ground with Ron on top of him. 
Hermione grabbed the club from the fallen dwarf's hand. "Harry!" She chucked the 
club to him and Harry just managed to catch it, staggering back under the 
weight. He and the other dwarf circled each other, clubs upraised. 
"Hermione!" Ron, pinning down the first dwarf, was having problems, as he was 
handicapped by his injured wrist and the angry dwarf was trying to throw him 
off. Hermione bit her lip, looking from Ron to Harry and trying to decide who 
needed her help more. Then she looked up as she heard a new sound - footsteps, 
hurrying along the passage down which they had come. It sounded like more than 
one person. 
"Harry! Are you there?" Neville burst panting into the room, followed closely by 
- Professor Dumbledore. Harry had never been so glad to see them. The dwarf who 
was threatening him looked shocked at the sight of Dumbledore, and turned to 
escape, but before he could take one step Dumbledore stretched out his wand arm 
and said two words. 
"Pacificus elvum!" At this, both dwarves flinched, and then seemed to freeze. 
The dwarf who was standing dropped his club to the floor and hung his head 
docilely. The dwarf who was pinned beneath Ron sudddenly stopped struggling and 
lay still and quiet. 
Dumbledore turned to Neville. "Tie them up, please. They won't give you any 
trouble now." He produced lengths of rope, seemingly from thin air, and handed 
them to Neville, who looked stunned at being entrusted with the task, but 
started binding the standing dwarf's wrists. The dwarf made no move to stop him. 
Hermione helped Neville to finish the job. 
"Well, I'm glad to have been able to help you," remarked Dumbledore, with his 
usual calm. "But you seem to have been doing very well by yourselves. We must 
get this unfortunate centaur back to Madam Pomfrey as soon as possible. She will 
be able to heal him." 
"How did you get here, sir?" asked Ron, climbing off the fallen dwarf as Neville 
and Hermione began tying the dwarf's legs. 
Dumbledore nodded at Neville. "Mr. Longbottom alerted us to your discovery of 
the wands. When we reached the herb gardens you were nowhere to be found, but we 
discovered the entrance you used. Rather an uncomfortable place to descend, but 
I was able to conjure up a rope ladder to help us on our way. Professor 
McGonagall and the other prefects are waiting by the stone to assist us on our 
way back." He looked at Firenze. "However, we won't be able to take this poor 
chap out that way. If I remember rightly, that other door leads to a passage 
which will eventually bring us out by the lake." 
Ron's mouth was open. "I thought - do you know about this place then?" 
Harry knew what Ron was thinking. These passages and rooms were not shown on the 
Marauders' Map Harry owned, which was supposedly a complete guide to the secret 
tunnels of Hogwarts. 
Dumbledore's expression was vague and dreamy. "It has come to my attention 
*once* before. I do think a headmaster should know just a little bit more about 
his school than do his students." His gaze became piercing, and Harry couldn't 
help feeling, uncomfortably, that Dumbledore probably knew all about the 
Marauders' Map. However, Dumbledore said nothing more on the subject, to their 
relief. Instead he said, "Mr. Longbottom, perhaps you would be so good as to 
return by way of that rope ladder and tell Professor McGonagall to arrange for a 
cart to meet us by the west end of the lake. We will need help to transport this 
centaur to the castle. You had better get Hagrid as well." 
"Yes sir," said Neville, hurrying to obey. Ron was still keeping a sharp eye on 
the motionless dwarves, while rubbing his wrist. Hermione was checking on 
Firenze, who was still unconscious. 
Harry looked at Dumbledore. "Sir - I tried to use a freezing charm on the 
dwarves - but it didn't seem to work -" 
"Ah. No. Very interesting creatures, dwarves," the Headmaster mused. "They have 
no real power to do magic of their own, but they seem to have a strange ability 
to block the spells of others. There are only a very few enchantments which will 
have an effect on them. Curious." 
"Firenze said - they attacked him because they were working for Voldemort. They 
wanted him to tell them what the stars said about Voldemort's return." 
"Yes. Well, I'm afraid these two won't be able to report back to their master - 
wherever he may be - for some considerable time. No doubt the Ministry of Magic 
will want to question them when they have taken them into custody." Dumbledore 
reached into a pocket inside his robes. "Have some chocolate, Harry. I think you 
all need a little something to keep you going until we get back to the castle." 
At these words, Harry, Ron and Hermione all became suddenly aware than they had 
had nothing to eat or drink since breakfast. 
It was late afternoon by the time Harry had a proper chance to discuss the day's 
events with his friends. It had taken several hours to transport Firenze safely 
out of the hidden room, along the passageway and out through the hidden lakeside 
exit Dumbledore showed them. He was loaded on to a cart and taken to a warm shed 
where Madam Pomfrey was tending his injury. Messages had been sent to tell the 
other centaurs in the Forbidden Forest that Firenze had been found and was being 
cared for. The two dwarves had been taken to the castle dungeons and put under 
guard, to wait until the Ministry of Magic sent someone to question them. 
Dumbledore had given orders for a feast to be held that evening, to celebrate 
Firenze's rescue and the successful outcome of the day's adventures. 
When Madam Pomfrey had arrived to examine Firenze, she had pounced on Ron, who 
was still discreetly nursing his wrist, and ordered him to go up to the hospital 
wing and wait for her to come and look at it. "I'll be with you when I've taken 
care of this poor centaur," she said. "No, don't argue with me, Weasley, that 
wrist needs to be seen to." 
So Ron was now sitting on the side of one of the beds in the hospital wing, 
grumbling at the fact that he was missing what was no doubt being said about 
them in the Gryffindor common room. "I hope she hurries up, I don't want to be 
late for the feast," he said to Harry and Hermione, who were waiting with him. 
"I need a feast after all that," said Harry. "What a day." 
"Yeah, it's not every day you get to fall down a hole, land in a dungeon and 
mess with two angry dwarves," grinned Ron. "Ouch!" 
"You should keep that wrist still, Ron," Hermione remonstrated. 
"Oh, it's all right. Don't fuss." But Ron looked quite pleased at the attention. 

"Well, one good thing's happened today," said Harry. "You two are talking to 
each other properly again." These words made both his friends blush. 
"Yeah, I was an idiot," said Ron gruffly. "I thought - I shouldn't have jumped 
to conclusions -" 
Hermione had averted her face from the others. "Um - about my diary -" 
"Look, don't worry," said Ron earnestly, obviously trying to make Hermione feel 
less embarrassed. "Charlie's a decent guy - whatever you wrote I'm *sure* he 
won't tell anyone - he didn't tell me after all, did he?" 
"N-no." 
Ron grinned. "Though I must admit I'm intrigued to know -" 
"You," said Hermione suddenly, in a very small voice. 
"What?" Ron asked, confused. 
Hermione had covered her flushed face with her hands, muffling her words, but 
they could just hear her. "It was about you." 
"*Me*?" Ron's mouth was open in confusion. "What - what about me?" he asked, 
beginning to pick nervously at the sheet with his uninjured hand. Harry noticed 
that they were having trouble meeting each other's eyes again. 
Hermione's voice was still muffled. "Charlie read - what I wrote about you," she 
admitted. 
"Was it - what was it?" Ron asked slowly, still picking at the sheet. 
Hermione removed her fingers from her face and looked straight at him at last. 
And Ron looked straight back at her. Both their expressions were questioning - 
almost pleading. Harry, who could see where this conversation was heading, 
decided it was past time he slipped away and left them to it.
"Um - I'm going to see if I can find Neville," he murmured, and headed for the 
door. When he got there he turned back, but they were still just staring at each 
other, as if hypnotized. Then Ron put out a tentative hand and stroked 
Hermione's hair awkwardly. She brought a hand up to meet his stroking fingers. 
Harry grinned to himself and closed the door quietly behind him. 
The Great Hall was buzzing with talk as the students gathered for the feast. 
Rumours about the day's events had been sweeping the school, some accurate and 
some completely preposterous. As Harry and Neville walked in they were besieged 
by those who wanted to know all the facts. 
"Harry!" Harry saw the other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team waving at 
him from their table. He went to sit down, Neville following him. Ginny leaned 
forward in excitement. "Is it true about the bloodstains? Was it really a 
centaur who was screaming last night?" 
"Yes." Harry poured himself a drink. "He's called Firenze. The dwarves shot him 
in the chest with an arrow - but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be OK in a few weeks." 

"Someone said Ron got hurt," said Ginny, a touch of anxiety in her face. "Is he 
all right?" 
"Yeah, he just got bashed on the wrist," Harry reassured her. "I left him 
waiting to have Madam Pomfrey look at it. It wasn't too serious." 
"Potter," came a new voice. Harry turned and saw Professor McGonagall looking 
down at him. "I have a message for you from Professor Dumbledore." She paused, 
but Harry noticed that she looked much less stern than usual - almost pleased. 
"He wants you to know that he is awarding you, Mr. Weasley and
Miss Granger forty house points each for your efforts in dealing with the 
situation today." She paused again, and sniffed. "Naturally, I'm pleased for
Gryffindor, but I would also like to suggest that the next time you find a 
hidden passage, perhaps you could proceed with greater caution?" 
Harry grinned. "Yes, Professor!" 
Professor McGonagall turned to Neville. "Longbottom, Professor Dumbledore asked 
me to tell you that you have thirty house points for your quick action in 
leading us to the entrance and going down there with him." 
Neville blushed pink with surprise and pleasure. "Thank you, Professor!" Harry 
banged him on the back in congratulation. The other Gryffindors waited until 
Professor McGonagall had moved away before celebrating the news. 
"A hundred and fifty points!" crowed Tony Forest. "We're going to murder 
Slytherin in the house championship at this rate!" 
"Just wait till the first Quidditch match," said Ginny, looking determined. 
"They won't know what's hit them." She glanced around the table. "So where's 
Ron? He doesn't know about his house points yet. Madam Pomfrey can't *still* be 
looking at his wrist, can she?" 
"I expect he'll be here in a minute," said Harry. "He was with Hermione." He 
looked at Ginny. "Ginny - you know what we were talking about yesterday, after 
Quidditch practice?" 
"Yesterday?" Ginny looked blank. "Oh yeah - about Hermione fancying Charlie, and 
Ron being jealous -" She giggled. 
"Yeah - well, you were wrong about Hermione," Harry told her. "She doesn't have 
a crush on Charlie at all." 
"Really?" Ginny looked slightly disappointed. She loved gossip. "Oh." 
"But you weren't wrong about everything," Harry added. Behind Ginny's head he 
had seen the door open and Ron and Hermione come in together. They were not 
touching or holding hands as they came over to the Gryffindor table, but 
Hermione's face was still rather pink and Harry was pleased to see that they 
both looked much happier than they had done in a long time. Harry grinned at 
Ginny. "In fact, you weren't far wrong at all." 
Ginny just looked confused. "How d'you mean?" 
Harry leaned back, clasped his hands behind his head and grinned at her again 
annoyingly. "Just wait and see."
~The End~