No one in the Slytherin dungeon slept that night. They knew that the castle was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common room, waiting to hear whether Jakob Grindelwald had been caught. Professor Snape came back at dawn, to tell them that he had again escaped.

Throughout the day, everywhere they went they saw signs of tighter security; Professor Flitwick could be seen teaching the front doors to recognise a large picture of Johnny's father; Filch was suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. A bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to guard the entrance to the Slytherin common room. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs.

Johnny couldn't help noticing that the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor remained unguarded and unblocked. It seemed that Fred and George had been right in thinking that they -- and now Johnny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione -- were the only ones who knew about the hidden passageway within it.

"D'you reckon we should tell someone?" Johnny asked Ron and Harry.

"We know he's not coming in through Honeyduke's," said Ron dismissively, that being the most words he muttered to him in weeks. "We'd've heard if the shop had been broken into."

"... I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draft...I woke up and one side of the hangings on my bed had been pulled down...I rolled over...and I saw him standing over me...like a skeleton, with loads of filthy hair...holding this great long knife, must've been twelve inches...and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled, and he scampered," Draco would explain to anyone who would listen.

"Why, though?" Harry asked. "Why did he run?"

Johnny had been wondering the same thing. Why had his father, having got the wrong bed, not silenced Draco and proceeded to him? Jakob had proved twelve years ago that he didn't mind murdering innocent people, and this time he had been facing five unarmed boys, four of whom were asleep.

"He must've known he'd have a job getting back out of the castle once Draco yelled and woken people up," said Johnny thoughtfully. "He'd've had to kill the whole house to get back through the hole...then he would've met the teachers..."

"Ouch! Oh -- thanks, Hedwig."

Harry tore open the envelope while Hedwig helped herself to some of Neville's cornflakes. The note inside said:

Dear Johnny, Harry and Ron,

How about having tea with me this afternoon 'round six? I'll come collect you from the castle. WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL; YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN.

Cheers,

Hagrid

"He probably wants to hear all about Grindelwald!" said Ron.

The first thing they saw on entering Hagrid's cabin was Buckbeak, who was stretched out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt, his enormous wings folded tight to his body, enjoying a large plate of dead ferrets. Averting his eyes from this unpleasant sight, Johnny saw a gigantic, hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow-and-orange tie hanging from the top of Hagrid's wardrobe door.

"What are they for, Hagrid?" said Johnny.

"Buckbeak's case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures," said Hagrid. "This Friday. Him an' me'll be goin' down ter London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus...."

Johnny noticed how Harry and Ron looked incredibly guilty. They had forgotten about the trial, to busy with the bloody Firebolt.

"Johnny and I got somethin' ter discuss with you two," said Hagrid, sitting himself between Harry and Ron and looking uncharacteristically serious. Johnny say opposite them on the very large armchair.

"What?" asked Harry, looking between Hagrid and Johnny.

"Hermione," said Johnny.

"What about her?" said Ron, looking down at the floor.

"You've put my girlfriend in a right state, that's what. Hermione and I have been coming down to visit Hagrid a lot since Christmas. First you weren't talking to her because of the Firebolt, now you're not talking to us because of the cats --"

"-ate Scabbers!" Ron interjected angrily, glaring at Johnny. "And I talked to you this morning!"

"Because their cats acted like all cats do," Hagrid continued doggedly. "She's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Johnny and Hermione still found time ter help me with Buckbeak's case, mind... they've found some really good stuff fer me... reckon he'll stand a good chance now..."

"Hagrid, we should've helped as well -- sorry --" Harry began awkwardly.

"I'm not blamin' yeh!" said Hagrid, waving Harry's apology aside. "Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be getting' on with. I've seen yeh practicin' Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night -- but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friends more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all."

Harry and Ron exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"She's got her heart in the right place, Hermione has, an' you two not talkin' to her --"

"If they'd just get rid of those cats, I'd speak to them properly again!" Ron said angrily. "But they're still sticking up for them! They're maniacs, and they won't hear a word against it!"

Johnny stayed silent, glaring heatedly at Ron.

"Ah, well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pets," said Hagrid wisely. Behind him, Buckbeak spat a few ferret bones onto Hagrid's pillow.

At nine o'clock, Hagrid walked them back up to the castle.

That next Saturday, Johnny hurried up to the third floor, meeting Harry as he went, and slipping the spare Marauder's Map out of his pocket as he went. Crouching behind the one-eyed witch, Johnny smoothed it out. A tiny dot was moving in their direction. Johnny squinted at it. The minuscule writing next to it read Neville Longbottom.

Harry quickly pulled out his wand, muttered, "Dissendium!" and shoved his bag into the statue, but before he could climb in himself, Neville came around the corner.

"Harry! Johnny! I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either!"

"Hi, Neville," said Johnny, moving swiftly away from the statue and pushing the map back into his pocket. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing," shrugged Neville. "Want a game of Exploding Snap?"

"Er -- not now -- Harry and I were going to go to the library and do that vampire essay for Lupin --"

"I'll come with you!" said Neville brightly. "I haven't done it either!"

"Er -- hang on -- yeah, I forgot, I finished it last night!" Johnny said quickly.

"Great, you can help me!" said Neville, his round face anxious. "I don't understand that thing about the garlic at all -- do they have to eat it, or --"

He broke off with a small gasp, looking over Harry and Johnny's shoulder.

It was Snape. Neville took a quick step behind Johnny.

"And what are you three doing here?" said Snape, coming to a halt and looking from one to the other. "An odd place to meet --"

To Johnny's immense discomfort, Snape's black eyes flicked to the doorways on either side of them, and then to the one-eyed witch.

"We're not -- meeting here," said Harry. "We just -- met here."

"Indeed?" said Snape. "You have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, Potter, and you are very rarely there for no good reason... I suggest the pair of you return to Gryffindor Tower, where you belong, and you might as well take Mr. Grindelwald so he doesn't feel to... lonely."

Johnny, Harry and Neville set off without another word. As they turned the corner, Johnny looked back. Snape was running one of his hands over the one-eyed witch's head, examining it closely.

Johnny and Harry managed to shake Neville off at the Fat Lady by telling him the password, then pretending Johnny left his vampire essay in the library and doubling back. Once out of sight, Harry pulled out his map and held it close to his nose.

The third floor corridor seemed to be deserted. Harry and Johnny scanned the map carefully and saw, with a leap of relief, that the tiny dot labeled Severus Snape was now back in its office.

They sprinted back to the one-eyed witch, opened her hump, heaved themselves inside, and slid down to meet Harry's bag at the bottom of the stone chute. Harry wiped the Marauder's Map blank again, then set off at a run.

Harry and Johnny, completely hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, emerged into the sunlight outside Honeydukes and prodded Ron in the back.

"It's us," Harry muttered.

"What kept you?" Ron hissed.

"Snape was hanging around."

They set off up the High Street.

"Where are you?" Ron kept muttering out of the corner of his mouth. "Are you still there? This feels weird..."

They went to the post office; Ron pretended to be checking the price of an owl to Bill in Egypt so that Harry and Johnny could have a good look around. The owls sat hooting softly down at him, at least three hundred of them; from Great Grays right down to tiny little Scops owls ("Local Deliveries Only"), which were so small they could have sat in the palm of Johnny's hand.

Then they visited Zonko's, which was so packed with students Harry and Johnny had to exercise great care not to tread on anyone and cause a panic. There were jokes and tricks to fulfill even Fred's and George's wildest dreams; Harry and Johnny gave Ron whispered orders and passed him some gold from under the cloak. They left Zonko's with their money bags considerably lighter than they had been on entering, but their pockets bulging with Dungbombs, Hiccup Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, and a Nose-Biting Teacup apiece.

The day was fine and breezy, and neither of them felt like staying indoors, so they walked past the Three Broomsticks and climbed a slope to visit the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted dwelling in Britain. It stood a little way above the rest of the village, and even in daylight was slightly creepy, with its boarded windows and dank overgrown garden.

"Even the Hogwarts ghosts avoid it," said Ron as they leaned on the fence, looking up at it. "I asked Nearly Headless Nick... he says he's heard a very rough crowd lives here. No one can get in. Fred and George tried, obviously, but all the entrances are sealed shut..."

Harry and Johnny, feeling hot from their climb, was just considering taking off the cloak for a few minutes when they heard voices nearby. Someone was climbing toward the house from the other side of the hill; moments later, Draco had appeared, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy was speaking.

"...should have an owl from Father any time now. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about Johnny's arm... about how he couldn't use it for two weeks..."

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.

"I really wish I could hear that great hairy moron trying to defend himself...'There's no 'arm in 'im, 'onest --'...That Hippogriff's as good as dead --"

Malfoy suddenly caught sight of Ron. His pale face split in a malevolent grin.

"What are you doing, Weasley?"

Malfoy looked up at the crumbling house behind Ron.

"Suppose you'd love to live here, wouldn't you, Weasley? Dreaming about having your own bedroom? I heard your family all sleep in one room -- is that true?"

Johnny seized the back of Ron's robes to stop him from leaping on Malfoy.

"Leave him to us," he hissed in Ron's ear.

The opportunity was too perfect to miss. Harry and Johnny crept silently around behind Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, bent down, and scooped a large handful of mud out of the path.

"We were just discussing your friend Hagrid," Malfoy said to Ron. "Just trying to imagine what he's saying to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. D'you think he'll cry when they cut off his Hippogriff's --"

SPLAT!

Malfoy's head jerked forward as two large piles of mud hit him; his silverblond hair was suddenly dripping in muck.

"What the --?"

Ron had to hold onto the fence to keep himself standing, he was laughing so hard. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle spun stupidly on the spot, staring wildly around, Malfoy trying to wipe his hair clean.

"What was that? Who did that?"

"Very haunted up here, isn't it?" said Ron, with the air of one commenting on the weather.

Crabbe and Goyle were looking scared. Their bulging muscles were no use against ghosts. Malfoy was staring madly around at the deserted landscape.

Harry and Johnny snuck along the path, where a particularly sloppy puddle yielded some foul-smelling, green sludge.

SPLATTER!

Crabbe and Goyle caught some this time. Goyle hopped furiously on the spot, trying to rub it out of his small, dull eyes.

"It came from over there!" said Malfoy, wiping his face, and staring at a spot some six feet to the left of Harry and Johnny.

Crabbe blundered forward, his long arms outstretched like a zombie. They dodged around him, Johnny picked up a stick, and lobbed it at Crabbe's back. They doubled up with silent laughter as Crabbe did a kind of pirouette in midair, trying to see who had thrown it. As Ron was the only person Crabbe could see, it was Ron he started toward, but Harry stuck out his leg. Crabbe stumbled -- and his huge, flat foot caught the hem of the cloak. Johnny felt a great tug, then the cloak slid off his face, but Johnny managed to jump behind a large bush just in time.

"AAARGH!" he yelled, pointing at Harry's head. Then he turned tail and ran, at breakneck speed, back down the hill, Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

Harry tugged the cloak up again, but the damage was done.

"Harry! Johnny!" Ron said, stumbling forward and staring hopelessly at the point where Johnny just went back under the cloak, "you'd better run for it! If Malfoy tells anyone -- you'd better get back to the castle, quick --"

"See you later," said Harry, and without another word, they tore back down the path toward Hogsmeade.

Would Draco believe what he had seen? Would anyone believe Draco? Nobody knew about the Invisibility Cloak -- nobody except Dumbledore. Johnny's stomach turned over -- Dumbledore would know exactly what had happened, if Malfoy said anything --

Back into Honeydukes, back down the cellar steps, across the stone floor, through the trapdoor -- Harry pulled off the cloak off them, and they ran, flat out, along the passage... Malfoy would get back first... how long would it take him to find a teacher? Panting, a sharp pain in their sides, they didn't slow down until they reached the stone slide. They would have to leave the cloak where it was, it was too much of a giveaway in case Malfoy had tipped off a teacher -- Johnny hid it in a shadowy corner, then started to climb after Harry, fast as they could, their sweaty hands slipping on the sides of the chute. Johnny reached the inside of the witch's hump, tapped it with his wand, stuck his head through, and hoisted himself out, then helped Harry; the hump closed, and they heard quick footsteps approaching.

It was Snape. He approached Harry and Johnny at a swift walk, his black robes swishing, then stopped in front of them.

"So," he said.

There was a look of suppressed triumph about him. Harry and Johnny tried to look innocent, all too aware of their sweaty face and muddy hands, which they quickly hid in their pockets.

"Come with me, Potter, Grindelwald," said Snape. "Grindelwald, you're not in trouble, you were just in the wrong place... at the wrong... time."

Harry and Johnny followed him downstairs, trying to wipe their hands clean on the inside of their robes without Snape noticing. They walked down the stairs to the dungeons and then into Snape's office.

"Sit," said Snape.

Harry and Johnny sat. Snape, however, remained, standing.

"Mr. Malfoy has just been to see me with a strange story, Potter," said Snape.

Harry didn't say anything.

"He tells me that he was up by the Shrieking Shack when he ran into Weasley -- apparently alone."

"Mr. Malfoy states that he was standing talking to Weasley, when a large amount of mud hit him in the back of the head. How do you think that could have happened?"

Harry tried to look mildly surprised.

"I don't know, Professor."

Snape's eyes were boring into Harry's. It was exactly like trying to stare down a Hippogriff. Harry tried hard not to blink.

"Mr. Malfoy then saw an extraordinary apparition. Can you imagine what it might have been, Potter?"

"No," said Harry, now trying to sound innocently curious.

"It was your head, Potter. Floating in midair."

There was a long silence.

"Maybe he'd better go to Madam Pomfrey," said Harry. "If he's seeing things like --"

"What would your head have been doing in Hogsmeade, Potter?" said Snape softly. "Your head is not allowed in Hogsmeade. No part of your body has permission to be in Hogsmeade."

"I know that," said Harry, striving to keep his face free of guilt or fear. "It sounds like Malfoy's having hallucin --"

"Malfoy is not having hallucinations," snarled Snape, and he bent down, a hand on each arm of Harry's chair, so that their faces were a foot apart. "If your head was in Hogsmeade, so was the rest of you."

"We've been up in Gryffindor Tower," said Harry. "Like you told --"

"Can anyone confirm that?"

Harry and Johnny didn't say anything. Snape's thin mouth curled into a horrible smile.

"So," he said, straightening up again. "Everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Harry Potter safe from Jakob Grindelwald. But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants to, with no thought for the consequences."

Snape was trying to provoke one of them into telling the truth, knowing full well Johnny knew what was going on. Johnny wasn't going to do it. Snape had no proof -- yet.

"How extraordinarily like your fathers you are, boys," Snape said suddenly, his eyes glinting. "They too was exceedingly arrogant. A small amount of talent on the Quidditch field and a small amount of a famous father made them think they was a cut above the rest of us too. Strutting around the place with their friends and admirers... The resemblance between you all is uncanny."

"Our fathers didn't strut," said Johnny, before he could stop himself. "And neither do we."

"Your fathers didn't set much store by rules either," Snape went on, pressing his advantage, his thin face full of malice. "Rules were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. Their heads was so swollen --"

"SHUT UP!"

Harry was suddenly on his feet. He didn't care that Snape's face had gone rigid, the black eyes flashing dangerously.

"What did you say to me, Potter?"

"He told you to shut up about our dads," Johnny said calmly, gripping the arms of his chair. "We know the truth, all right? They saved your life. Dumbledore told me. You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for our dads."

Snape's sallow skin had gone the color of sour milk.

"And did the headmaster tell you the circumstances in which your fathers saved my life?" he whispered. "Or did he consider the details too unpleasant for your delicate ears?"

Johnny bit his lip. He didn't know what had happened and didn't want to admit it -- but Snape seemed to have guessed the truth.

"I would hate for you to run away with a false idea of your fathers, Potter, even though you must have an idea on Jakob Grindelwald," he said, a terrible grin twisting his face. "Have you been imagining some act of glorious heroism? Then let me correct you -- your saintly fathers and their friends played a highly amusing joke on me that would have resulted in my death if your fathers hadn't got cold feet at the last moment. There was nothing brave about what they did. They were saving their own skin as much as mine. Had their joke succeeded, they would have been expelled from Hogwarts."

Snape's uneven, yellowish teeth were bared.

"Turn out your pockets, Potter!" he spat suddenly.

Johnny didn't move. There was a pounding in his ears.

"Turn out your pockets, or we go straight to the headmaster! Pull them out, Potter!"

Cold with dread, Harry slowly pulled out the bag of Zonko's tricks and the other Marauder's Map.

Snap picked up the Zonko's bag.

"Ron gave them to me," said Harry, praying he'd get a chance to tip Ron off before Snape saw him. "He brought them back from Hogsmeade last time --"

"Indeed? And you've been carrying them around ever since? How very touching... and what is this?"

Snape had picked up the map. Harry tried with all his might to keep his face impassive.

"Spare bit of parchment," he said with a shrug.

Snape turned it over, his eyes on Harry.

"Surely you don't need such a very old piece of parchment?" he said. "Why don't I just -- throw this away?"

His hand moved toward the fire.

"No!" Harry said quickly.

"So!" said Snape, his long nostrils quivering. "Is this another treasured gift from Mr. Weasley? Or is it -- something else? A letter, perhaps, written in invisible ink? Or -- instructions to get into Hogsmeade without passing the Dementors?"

Johnny blinked, his hand clutching his own map. Snape's eyes gleamed.

"Let me see, let me see..." he muttered, taking out his wand and smoothing the map out on his desk. "Reveal your secret!" he said, touching the wand to the parchment.

Nothing happened. Johnny clenched his other hand to stop them from shaking.

"Show yourself!" Snape said, tapping the map sharply.

It stayed blank. Johnny was taking deep, calming breaths.

"Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!" Snape said, hitting the map with his wand.

As though an invisible hand were writing upon it, words appeared on the smooth surface of the map.

"Mr. Mooney presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."

Snape froze. Johnny stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the map didn't stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the first.

"Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Mooney and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git."

It would have been very funny if the situation hadn't been so serious. And there was more...

"Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor."

"Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball."

"Mr and Mrs. Talons agrees with what their friends have said, and would advise Professor Snape to at least get a nose job, it's more bent than Mrs. Talons bisexual self."

"So ..." said Snape softly. "We'll see about this ..."

He strode across to his fire, seized a fistful of glittering powder from a jar on the fireplace, and threw it into the flames.

"Evelyn!" Snape called into the fire. "I want a word!"

Utterly bewildered, Harry and Johnny stared at the fire. A large shape had appeared in it, revolving very fast. Seconds later, Professor Lupin and Evelyn were clambering out of the fireplace, brushing ash off their robes.

"You called, Severus?" said Evelyn mildly.

"I certainly did," said Snape, his face contorted with fury as he strode back to his desk. "I have just asked your nephew to empty his pockets. He was carrying this."

Snape pointed at the parchment, on which the words of Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, the Talons and Prongs were still shining. An odd, closed expression appeared on Evelyn's face.

"Well?" said Snape.

Evelyn continued to stare at the map. Johnny had the impression that his mother was doing some very quick thinking.

"Well?" said Snape again. "This parchment is plainly full of Dark Magic. This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Evelyn, considering you teach all classes. Where do you imagine Potter got such a thing?"

Evelyn looked up and, by the merest half-glance in Harry and Johnny's direction, warned them not to interrupt.

"Full of Dark Magic?" She repeated mildly. "Do you really think so, Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment that insults anybody who reads it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I imagine Harry got it from a joke shop --"

"Indeed?" said Snape. His jaw had gone rigid with anger. "You think a joke shop could supply him with such a thing? You don't think it more likely that he got it directly from the manufacturers?"

Johnny and Harry didn't understand what Snape was talking about. Nor, apparently, did Evelyn.

"You mean, by Mr. Wormtail or one of these people?" he said. "Harry, Johnny, do you know any of these men?"

"No," said Harry and Johnny quickly.

"You see, Severus?" said Evelyn, turning back to Snape. "It looks like a Zonko product to me --"

Right on cue, Ron came bursting into the office. He was completely out of breath, and stopped just short of Snape's desk, clutching the stitch in his chest and trying to speak.

"I -- gave -- them -- that -- stuff," he choked. "Bought -- it...in Zonko's... ages -- ago..."

"Well!" said Evelyn, clapping her hands together and looking around cheerfully. "That seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?" She folded the map and tucked it inside her robes. "Johnny, Harry, Ron, come with me, I need a word about Lupin's vampire essay, he's very ill so he can't talk to you directly -- excuse us, Severus --"

Johnny didn't dare look at Snape as they left his office. He, Harry, Ron, and Evelyn walked all the way back into the entrance hall before speaking. Then Harry turned to Evelyn.

"Professor, I --"

"I don't want to hear explanations," said Evelyn shortly. She glanced around the empty entrance hall and lowered her voice. "I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago. Yes, I know it's a map," she said as Johnny, Harry and Ron looked amazed. "I don't want to know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle lying around. And I can't let you have it back, Harry."

Johnny had expected that, and was too keen for explanations to protest, but thankful his mother didn't know about his copy of the map.

"Why did Snape think I'd got it from the manufacturers?" Harry asked

"Because..." Evelyn hesitated, "because these mapmakers would have wanted to lure you out of school. They'd think it extremely entertaining."

"Do you know them?"

"We've met," she said shortly. Evelyn was looking at Harry and Johnny more seriously than ever before.

"Don't expect me to cover up for you again, boys. I cannot make you take your father and uncle seriously."

Slowly, he, Harry and Ron mounted the marble staircase.

"It's my fault," said Ron abruptly. "I persuaded you to go. Professor Potter is right, it was stupid, we shouldn't've done it --"

He broke off; they reached the corridor, and Hermione was walking toward them. One look at her face convinced Johnny that she had heard what had happened. His heart plummeted -- had she told Professor McGonagall too?

"Come to have a good gloat?" said Ron savagely as she stopped in front of them. "Or have you just been to tell on us?"

"Leave her alone," Johnny said to Ron, placing his hand on Hermione's arm. "Hermione, darling, what's wrong?"

She was holding a letter in her hands and her lip was trembling. "I just thought you ought to know... Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be executed."