Discovery
Author: Jet
Date: 02-14-02

Early Friday morning, Jet had gotten up with the sun, grabbed breakfast as well as something to eat for lunch later, and headed out of the castle. Any other Friday, Jet's roommates and friends would have found this rather odd behavior because Jet had no classes on Fridays and could sleep till noon. It was Halloween though so everyone's thoughts were on the upcoming feast and Jet's early exit wasn't even noticed.

As Jet walked down to the cave he was having a running conversation with himself. Jet knew he should wait for Hannah to be available to go but Jet kept telling himself he was just going to make sure his idea worked, that he was looking out for Hannah's safety. She would surely want to kill him when she found out he'd gone alone but he'd just keep reminding her he was acting out of concern for her safety. Yeah. That's it. Making sure he could get things set up without risk of injury to Hannah. Sounded good to him. Though maybe Hannah will think it sounded sexist? That would make her more likely to want to clobber him. Just got to make sure to stress he was concerned for her enough to check something potentially dangerous on his own...

When Jet reached the cave he dug up the items he'd bought in Hogsmeade and buried days afterward. Jet lit one of the four torches he'd gotten, used the Wingardium leviosa spell on it, and directed it into the narrow opening of the stairwell. The torch hovered over the first step for one full second then crashed down. Apparently some enchantment in the stairwell wouldn't allow anything to float down the stairs. This definitely put a kink in Jet's plan but since he had thought of a backup in case his first idea wouldn't work, he had no plans to quit at this point.

Jet picked up the still lit torch and used it to light a second one and made both levitate around the opening of the stairwell. This provided enough light for him to carefully inspect the area around the opening. Jet very carefully and tediously looked for anything that might give him a clue as to the purpose of the bottomless staircase. He also looked for the best place to tie a rope because Plan B meant going over the side of the stairs.

Jet found a place that suited him for tying the rope and got it securely knotted. He then took a second, much shorter length of rope and fashioned around himself a Swiss seat. Next he extinguished one of the torches and stuck it into a pack with the other items he carried and swung the pack onto his back. He hooked the Swiss seat to the rope, grabbed the remaining lit torch and walked down the first several steps of the staircase. Jet peered down into the ebony emptiness, wondering how many thousands of feet down it went. He figured it must be pretty far considering how many hours they'd gone down the stairs that day and still never spied the bottom. Jet took the torch and tossed it over the edge. Jet watched the light recede as the torch raced downward. He did a double take when the light suddenly seemed to stop moving and a dull thud reached his ears. How could the floor be so close that he could make out the shadowy contours of a dirt floor caught in the dim circle of torchlight? How could it be when the stairs were so endless? Maybe it's a landing of some sort and not the same floor at the bottom of the stairs?

Only one way to find out for sure. Muttering "Here goes nothing," Jet threw the rope over the side, pulled out protective gloves, lowered himself into an L position and repelled down. Moments later he was on the ground, taking off the gloves and Swiss seat, and picking up the torch. He reached into his pack and pulled out another torch and lit it as well. He took a few cautious steps then stopped, staring in disbelief as the bottom stair came into view. Jet stood for two full minutes looking gaped mouthed up the flight of stairs, a thin shaft of light from above making the entrance clearly visible. Halfway up the steps he can just make out the small mound of metal shavings from the last time he was here. The shavings from his pocket knife had been used to mark how far down the stairs they'd gotten. The only explanation that came to Jet's mind is that some spell causes the steps to seem endless. This spell and the one that prevented Jet from levitating the torch over the stairs brought him to the conclusion that someone didn't want visitors to this chamber.

Jet's curious mind started churning for answers to why and the best way to start looking for answers was to examine the chamber. Jet turned from the stairs and spotting a wall sconce at the far reaches of the torchlight, walked over and placed one of the torches in it. He took a third torch from his pack and lit it then looked around for another sconce. With a few minutes he had all four torches providing light from various points around the chamber and his wand held out before him lighted by the Lumos spell.

Almost directly across from the stair landing was the dark, gaping maw of a tunnel opening. A thick covering of white cobwebs were a stark contrast against the inky blackness beyond. Making the point of a triangle in relation to the tunnel and the stair landing was a heavy looking metal and wood door covered with spider webs and a very thick layer of dust.

Jet took off his sweater and removed the t-shirt he was wearing underneath. After putting his sweater back on, Jet used the t-shirt to wipe away as much of the grime and cobwebs as he could. As he worked he uncovered faded colors painted on a portion of carved wood making up the center of the door. Staring in disbelief Jet backed up a few steps to take in the details of the intricately carved crest of Salazar Slytherin.

Jet pulled on the door but couldn't get it to budge. Jet spent considerable time working rust off the hinges and digging out the caked, hardened dirt between the door and the frame. Once he'd cleaned it as much as he could, Jet tried the Alohamora spell and every other one he could think of to unlock the door. He yanked and he tugged but to no avail. Next he spent long minutes peering at the unusual looking, snake shaped lock. He jimmied the lock using anything he could find in his pack that would fit inside the opening but nothing seemed to work. Jet finally concluded that he'd have to locate the key if he was going to have any shot at getting the door opened. Unable to see what lay behind the door, Jet turned to contemplate the tunnel. He extinguished the light from his wand and put out three of the torches and stuck them in his pack then took the remaining torch and burned through the heavy layer of cobwebs covering the archway. Jet took a deep breath, stepped into the tunnel and began cautiously walking into its unknown depths.

The tunnel alternated between sharp angles, rounded curves and straight portions so long at times it seemed to Jet the walkway dropped off into inky nothingness. Even with the torch to burn away the spider webs crisscrossing the tunnel walls and ceiling, Jet was soon covered in the fine, sticky strands of white. These didn't bother him though he sincerely hoped none of the spiders had decided to stick to him for a free ride. Every so often the glow from the torch illuminated small piles of bones littering the tunnel floor. Jet ignored these best as he could, not wanting to think about what might be lurking in the tunnel hungry for its next meal.

When the other end of the tunnel finally hoved into view, Jet breathed a great sigh of relieve. For awhile he'd been wondering if like with the staircase, the tunnel had an enchantment on it to make it seem infinite. Burning through another thick coating of webs, Jet stepped into a chamber that looked very similar to the first. He quickly lit the other torches and stuck them in the sconces dotting the walls. As in the first chamber, the tunnel entrance stood opposite the landing to a staircase. There was, however, no mysterious door in the second chamber. Jet took out his wand, uttered the word, "Lumos" and made a closer inspection of the chamber walls to see if there was indeed another door but better hidden. Not finding anything, Jet turned his attention to the stairs. He could see light filtering in from an opening above and started up but after five minutes of climbing stair after stair the entrance appeared no closer. This staircase must also have an enchantment over it and most likely it also had the same spell on it as the first set did to prevent anything from being levitated or flown over the stairs.

Jet walked to the exposed side of the stairs and felt up and down. He'd noticed in the first chamber that unlike the flat, extremely smooth walls of the chamber and wall running to one side of the stairs, the exposed side of the stairs had the natural bumps and crags one would expect from rough hewn stone. Jet eyeballed the distance up to the top and decided that even in the dim light of the torches he could freely climb up to the entrance landing.

Jet began the climb, moving slowly, making sure of every hand and foot hold. As his hands became sweaty he wished he had some talc or chalk. He'd definitely remember to bring some for next time. Jet didn't bother pulling out the gloves he'd used when repelling down the rope into the first chamber because he knew they'd hinder his fingers from feeling many of the nooks and crannies of the rock he'd need to gain purchase in the climb. It wasn't until Jet had finally climbed over the edge of the top landing and lay back with muscles quivering that he realized how tense he'd been. He stayed there for several long minutes taking a much needed rest before getting up and squeezing through the narrow, partially blocked opening. He emerged into yet another cave and decided that before he did another thing he was going to take a longer break and finally eat the lunch he'd brought. As he sat leaning against one of the rocks dotting the cave floor, Jet studied the entrance to the stairwell. This one was much better hidden and Jet wondered if the entrance to the other one had been as well hidden at one time or if because it was on Hogwarts' property, it had been decided that a more exposed entrance wouldn't matter. "Just another piece missing from the puzzle," Jet thought. Once finished eating, Jet headed for the cave opening. He walked a little ways from the cave trying to determine where exactly this was. Jet climbed a slight rise and saw buildings in the distance, the one main street running from the small town past a turnstile. After a moment it dawned on Jet he was looking at Hogsmeade from a whole new perspective.

Jet wasn't sure how long he sat on the hillock before reentering the cave, climbing back down into the second chamber, gathering the torches and heading back through the tunnel to the first chamber. His mind was in a constant whirl as he walked. Two secret cave entrances to enchanted staircases, two chambers one with a locked door bearing Salazar Slytherin's crest, and a tunnel running from outside Hogsmeade to the grounds of Hogswarts linking the two. Jet, like most others at the school, knew that Hogwarts was peppered with many secrets. Also like everyone else, Jet knew about the hidden chamber Slytherin had built and in which Harry Potter had fought a giant snake and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. This had to be another of Slytherin's secrets. Jet knew he should report his discovery to Professor Dumbledore but he also knew that the second he did, Jet would be barred from stepping foot into either chamber again and the cave on the school grounds would most likely become off limits as well. If that happened, he'd probably also never learn what was behind that blasted door. By the time Jet arrived back at the first chamber, he'd decided he'd wait a bit before telling what he'd found. He'd inform Hannah of course and maybe together they could locate the strange serpent shaped key to fit the lock. He'd eventually tell Dumbledore but Jet wanted a crack at the door first.

Jet tried to pick the lock a few more times and also, just for good measure, again tried all the charms and spells he knew that might open the door before telling himself it was time to leave. Jet retied the Swiss seat, hooked up to the rope, made sure everything was secured in his pack, then put his gloves on and made the climb to the chamber entrance. After reburying the pack and its items, Jet stepped out of the cave into the dusky glow of twilight. Having completely lost track of time, Jet was shocked that it was already early evening. Jet had not gone two feet beyond the cave entrance when he remembered something. Exclaiming, "Blimey! The feast!" Jet took off towards the castle as fast as his long legs could carry him.

Looking for Lupin
Author: Dierna ní Cíaran
Date: 02-04-02 22:13

Dierna stops to look around as she enters. The last time she was here was when she graduated. The place is strikingly unchanged, students running around, laughing, jeering, talking loudly. Smiling wistfully, she tries to think of where she could find Remus.

If they were students, Remus would be wherever James, Sirius . . . and, yes, even Peter the Traitor, were. But this is many, many years later. And Remus is a faculty member, though not a teacher. So does he have an office? Dierna looks around for a professor to ask. Dierna causes no alarm in the school, having always kept in contact with many of her old professors . . . and Dumbledore of course.

So, looking around for a familiar face, Dierna tries to find her old friend.

An Old Friend
Author: Tennille Jolie-Bastet
Date: 02-05-02 11:32

Tennille had arrived at Hogwarts on Halloween. It's great to see Grandfather again! She thought walking down the hall. Tennille was heading to the Great Hall. She was looking around on the way when she came across someone familiar.

"Dierna?? Dierna ní Cíaran?!"

The lady spun around at the call of her name. "Yes, who...Tennille?! Is that you?!"

"Yes it's me! I had no idea you were here! It's been a long while. How are you?"

Dierna smiled. "I'm doing great. What about you? How are things in Denmark?"

Tennille put her hands on the back of her head. "Oh just great. Same as always. I'm thrilled to be back at Hogwarts though." She grinned.

Laughing Dierna replied, "Yeah, I'm glad to be back as well. Where are you headed? May I join you? I was looking for Lupin...but that can wait!"

"Sure thing! I was heading to the Great Hall for a little something to eat. We can find Lupin too of course!"

"Great!"

The two entered the Great Hall chatting about all that's happened since their last visit together...

Another Old Friend
Author: Dierna ní Cíaran
Date: 02-05-02 12:41

Dierna jumped and spun around as she heard someone call her name. She can't believe whom she sees . . . her other best friend (next to Lily) TENNILLE! None other than Dumbledore's granddaughter.

"Yes it's I! I had no idea you were here! It's been a long while. How are you?"

Dierna smiled. "I'm doing great. What about you? How are things in Denmark? And where are you staying? I have a house in Hogsmeade with plenty of room. I insist you stay with me!"

The two talk for more and head to the great hall for the Hallowe'en feast. Looking up at carved jack-o-lanterns lit up by the thousands of candles, and the ceiling reflecting the sky above, Dierna can't help but smile. There is something about Hogwarts that can make anything seem like it's going to turn out all right - even terrible things such as Voldemort's return seem less threatening. After all, Hogwarts was under the care of Albus Dumbledore, the GREATEST wizard of all. Even greater than such figures as Merlin, Taleisin or Amergin. As long as Dumbledore was around, Dierna knew that the Order of the Phoenix - those allied against the Dark - would victor.

Looking forward to the Feast
Author: Ginny Weasley
Date: 02-05-02 15:31

A few days before Halloween, Ginny had been late and in a great rush. She'd skidded around a corner then just as suddenly came to a total stop. Ginny had been just in time to witness those two Slytherins Milicent and Pansy letting important information slip to Hermione. Ginny was going to let Hermione know she would back Hermione. Before she could though, Hermione went to speak to Professor Fairchild and Ginny was even more late than before so she'd dashed off.

Ginny kept missing chances to speak with Hermione so she had finally left a note on Hermione's pillow. Now here it was Halloween and Ginny was so excited about the upcoming feast that she'd nearly forgotten about wanting to speak with Hermione. The feast tonight promised to be the best ever plus an announcement had been made earlier in the week that all fourth years and above could wear their dress robes. This would be Ginny's first chance to truly dress up at school. One advantage of being the only girl in a family full of boys meant that Ginny got few hand-me-down clothes, though clothes bought second hand weren't all that unusual for her. Her dress robes for school were a different story. Early that summer Ginny had convinced her mother to make Ginny's robes out of some gorgeous material they'd found in a trunk Mrs. Weasley had forgotten about.

Ginny had spent much of Halloween morning standing in front of a mirror, holding the dress robe up before her and wondering how she was going to fix her hair. There was, after all, one person in particular she hoped would finally notice her.

The Decision
Author: Prof. Sorcha
Date: 02-05-02 17:42

What have I got myself into this time? Sorcha thought to herself.

She was listening to Hermione discuss her plan to redeem herself. Several days ago Sorcha had been in the hall and overheard a conversation. It was between two Slytherin students and Hermione. The two had claimed that Pyrrhus had masterminded the whole thing to get Hermione into trouble.

She had left the area as soon as she could and returned to her office. Ailsa had been there, and had asked what had happened.

"I was in the hall and had heard two students tell who was behind the plan to get Hermione into trouble with Professor Snape. I can't go to anyone with this. I mean, who would believe me. No one knows me here, so, no one would believe me."

Ailsa thought for a moment and looked at Sorcha. A moment later, Sorcha looked even more worried.

"I... I... I can't do that, I mean, it is not right. Besides, how might the Slytherins react to me helping her?" Sorcha paced in her office.

Ailsa made a few noises and glared at Sorcha.

"Stop looking at me that way. Stop it. Ok, fine, I will go help." Sorcha left the room in a hurry and walked over to the hall where she last saw Hermione. She caught Hermione just outside Snape's office, so she offered Hermione her help.

Clueless
Author: Pyrrhus
Date: 02-06-02 15:04

In one of their wiser moments, Milicent and Pansy had decided not to tell Pyrrhus of their little slip up to Granger. Since none of the handful of witnesses were Slytherin fans, none were going to tip off Py either. So, on Halloween, a few days after the incident, Pyrrhus had no idea that Granger knew of his involvement in setting her up as a cheater.

Pyrrhus spent part of Halloween day at Quidditch practice, some of it alone with Isolde and a few hours hanging around the Slytherin common room talking in low tones to Isolde and Azaelia. They discussed how many more crushes Majandra should have before they brought the scheme to an end. They also talked about other people, particularly a few Gryffindors, on whom they'd like to pull pranks.

As the day passed into afternoon, the girls eventually excused themselves to begin getting ready for the feast. For a while longer, Py sat alone thinking before he headed to his dorm room. He nodded to Pansy and Milicent as he left the common room. He'd been so deep in conversation and then lost in his own thoughts that he never once noticed the many worried looks those two had been shooting his way the past couple of hours.

Halloween Day
Author: Majandra
Date: 02-06-02 16:20

The Dobby crush had lasted longer than any so far, nearly three weeks, ending just prior to Halloween. Dobby had seemed relieved to no longer have to worry about Majdra having amorous feelings for him but he was also visibly disappointed that his free sock source had now dried up. Majandra felt so bad about this that she promised to make Dobby more socks for Christmas. As a peace offering to the ever disapproving Winky, Majandra also promised Dobby that she'd make something for Winky.

Afterwards, Majandra had felt so fatigued she'd gone straight back to Gryffindor House and up to her dorm room. She'd climbed into her bed, drawn the hangings to close off as much light as possible and to give herself some semblance of privacy should one of her roommaters return. Majandra had lain her aching head on the pillow while she prayed that the Dobby crush was the last one. The toll each one placed on her was such that she knew she couldn't take much more.

The intense concentration it took to stay focused enough in classes to do the work required, to complete homework assignments, and to do things like help Hermione had ensured a constant, throbbing headache. What free time Majandra had and most of her nights were spent knitting. On the nights she could get to sleep it was rarely for more than a few short hours before she was wide awake again and knitting as if there were not tomorrow. The only times she'd successfully gotten back to sleep were the nights she'd slept in the Quidditch locker room... probably because she didn't have her knitting with her and no way was she going to sneak into the castle in the middle of the night. Even then, her sleep was not very restful because of one disturbing dream after another which Majandra was sure were caused by her subsconscious trying to tell her something.

As if sleep deprivation and continual headache weren't enough, Majandra realized that for some reason she'd kept forgetting to eat. Looking back over the last three weeks, Majandra couldn't remember eating but once every two or three days. During those meals she had been present for, she seemed to recall that a good portion of the time had been spent spelling out Dobby's name with whatever was on her plate. No wonder she felt so utterly drained.

Other than rousing long enough to attend classes, Majandra had spent the better part of the last couple of days before Halloween in her bed with the hangings pulled tightly shut. This was more sleep than she'd been having but the strange dreams still kept true rest out of her grasp. Also during this time she found that, oddly enough, her appetite seemed to be gone. So, while she was making it to meals regularly again she was still eating very little.

Majandra had been very happy when Hermione told her about the incident with Milicent and Pansy but was so tired she'd found that properly expressing her emotions took way more energy than she could muster. As a result, Majandra thought Hermione was upset with her for not appearing as excited as she should be at the news.

Now, here it was Halloween and Majandra was wondering if there was such a thing as being listlessly enthusiastic. This is because she inwardly feels jubilant about tonight's feast but outwardly unable to show any expression of emotion above apathy. She couldn't even work up outward excitement about dressing up for the feast.

Last year Majandra had ended up borrowing dress robes from a cousin when Majandra and her mother could not agree on a suitable one before school had started. The cousin's robe had been an odd shade of green which clashed so badly with Majandra's coloring that it made her look like she was forever on the verge of puking.

The robes this year were quite a different story. Her parents have visited China in June and brought Majandra a dress robe that she instantly adored. It was a brilliant crimson red embroidered in black filigree and dragon designs done in jewel tones of emerald, saphira, amethyst, and gold. According to Majandra's Muggle grandmother, the robe's collar is done in what is known as the Mandarin style. Majandra's parents had also given her slippers to match the robe along with highly polished and lacquered Chinese hair ornaments.

Majandra pulled the bed curtains apart long enough to look at the robe hanging from a knob of her cabinet. She decides that maybe if she gets a proper nap, she'll be able to express the excitement she feels for the feast and the chance to wear that dress. Majandra shuts her eyes and tries to will away the dreams from coming. Just once since school started she'd like to feel normal enough to enjoy Halloween.

Getting Ready for the Feast
Author: Australia Kingston
Date: 02-06-02 22:01

Australia and Eileen were sitting and talking by the fire in the common room when Samantha Thatcher, the Weasley twins, their little sister Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed through the picture leading into the common room.

Samantha, Ginny, and Hermione quickly said good-byes to their escorts home (back to the common room) and raced up the stairs to the girls dormitory. Before they reached the 3rd step, Ginny and Samantha turned around and yelled, "Hey Aussie, you two better hurry up and get ready for the feast. You're gonna be late if you don't."

Australia and Eileen glanced at each other and then jumped from their chairs and bounded up the stairs after them.

They reached their dorm room and pulled out their beautiful green and blue dress robes to change into. Australia pulled hers on quickly so she could have time to fix her hair. But Eileen on the other hand didn't put her robes on as quickly.

She stood in front of her mirror for five minutes before finally pulling her dress robes on and figuring out what to do with her hair.

They each decided to pull their hair up and pin it in random places providing a very sexy hair look. They climbed the stairs back down into the dorm room and headed to the Great Hall for the feast.

Re: Getting Ready for the Feast
Author: Eileen
Date: 02-06-02 22:13

"Hey Aussie, you two better hurry up and get ready for the feast. You're gonna be late if you don't."

Aussie and I look at each other and quickly get ready . . . or should it be Aussie gets ready quickly while I go over what to do. First of all, Socks (my cat) is sitting on my robe and I have to levitate him off it. Once that is looked after, I spend five minutes trying to decide what to do with my hair. Finally, I decide what to do with my hair. I put on my green robe and do my hair. Once we dash out I see my boyfriend, Lee, laughing at me.

"Slipped your mind, did it?" he says.

"Shut up!" I say jokingly.

The three of us dash out of the dormitory and into the Great Hall.