This Doesn't Sound Like a Very Good Plan

Harry and Ron returned from the dungeons, and announced that the castle had to be evacuated. Professor Sinistra, the ghosts, and even the Aurors had trouble accepting this at first. They didn't understand Harry's warnings about Muggle explosives, but he seemed utterly serious about the possibility that everyone in Hogwarts could be killed at any moment, which finally mobilized everyone into action. Two Aurors went out to collect the townspeople who'd come from Hogsmeade. They were outside, chasing down any goblins still to be found on the grounds. The adults were soon levitating or physically carrying students out of the Great Hall.

Harry ordered students out first, of course. Ophilia turned to the Slytherin Quidditch team and said, “Everyone who wants to leave, wait outside where they relocate our unconscious classmates, and try to arrange them comfortably. Everyone else, start helping me carry people out.”

“Now, wait a minute!” said Harry, rapidly walking over to the Slytherins. “I just told you to clear out!”

“I also distinctly heard you say you need every available body, Mr. Potter,” Ophilia said.

“I meant every available adult body,” Harry replied angrily.

“We're here, and ready to help.”

Violet and Dewey were both listening now. Violet noticed the Quidditch players were all watching the exchange between Ophilia and Harry nervously, but no one was running for the door.

“Out of the question!” said Harry. “I appreciate your good intentions, but my first priority has to be your safety. I cannot allow children to risk their lives.”

“Oh, is it only Gryffindors who get to do that?” Ophilia asked coolly.

Harry flushed. “Now listen, Miss...”

“Karait. Ophilia Karait.” She smiled at him. “You may call me Ophilia, if you like, Mr. Potter.”

“Miss Karait,” he said. “You're not in charge here. You and every other minor –”

“I'm of age, Mr. Potter.”

Harry looked as if he wanted to hex her. “Very well, Miss Karait, you can help. But everyone else –”

“Mr. Potter,” said Ophilia. “I'm sure you can remove us forcibly, but that will require a lot of time and energy better devoted to removing our unconscious classmates. Really, you're wasting time while children's lives are in danger!”

Now Harry really looked as if he wanted to hex her.

“Harry,” said Ron quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “If the castle blows up before we all clear out, will it matter which kids have escaped and which haven't?” And leaning closer, he whispered in his friend's ear, “And are we really going to refuse to use that fellow?” He nodded in the direction of the hulking boy standing behind Ophilia.

Harry looked at the other Slytherins. “You do all understand, I'm not exaggerating when I say we could all die at any moment?”

The Slytherins looked at each other uneasily. Some were pale. A few cast their eyes at the exit, as if deciding how much they really wanted to risk their lives.

Then Elizabeth Krupp said, quietly but with a certain amount of defiance, “Sure, let's all evacuate while you rescue our friends. Then you get to save everyone again, and we get to be known as The House That Ran Again.”

Harry stared at her.

“Sir,” she added, as her bravado began to falter.

“All right,” he said. “Those who want to help, start carrying students out to the lawn, all the way down by the gates. But no first-years! That's absolutely final!” He pointed at the youngest escapees, who were now milling around uncertainly. “All of you – get out, now! Yes, I mean Gryffindors too! And if you argue with me, I will put a Confundus Charm on you and have you led out!”

Violet was pretty sure he was bluffing, but they all obeyed – Dewey looking even more reluctant than the four Gryffindors. Nagaeena seemed grateful that the choice to stay or go had been taken from her, and she practically sprinted for the main entrance.

Harry and Ron began laying the unconscious Slytherins on their table, so the other Aurors could levitate the entire table out of the hall.

Harry shook his head, looking at the Slytherins who had started carrying out unconscious Ravenclaws. “When did Slytherins become so...?”

“Mouthy? Rebellious?” Ron suggested.

“Well, yes, that too, but I was going to say brave.” And when Ron looked at him, he said, “You have to admit, that's one brave girl.” He nodded his head towards Ophilia. “She's got them all risking their lives, and not just for their fellow Slytherins. And there's nothing in it for them but house pride, and knowing they helped save their classmates.”

“And don't think they won't be reminding everyone of that for years to come,” Ron said. “And,” he added, “she got to tell off the famous Harry Potter, right in front of all the other Aurors.” He grinned at Harry's annoyed look. “She's going to be a Slytherin House hero!”

Security and discipline was surprisingly lax among the goblins; they apparently didn't fear double-agents, or metamorphmaguses pretending to be goblins. No one prevented Teddy from wandering about in the tunnels. He was trying to figure out how to get out. He was sure there had to be other exits to the surface, but he was afraid just asking someone might cast suspicion on him. So far they just seemed to think he was strange.

He was trying to look calm, while inside, he was frantic, and becoming more so with every second that passed without any idea of how he was going to get himself and the other kids out of here. Slipfang's announcement had almost made Teddy's heart stop, but then the goblin leader had gone back to conversing with other goblins, and although Teddy couldn't understand their conversation, it appeared that Slipfang didn't intend to cut off Deana, Aisha, Connor, or Colleen's head immediately. But he might decide to at any moment. Or he might change his mind about Chloe.

Teddy was afraid to wander too far. He might not hear his friends' screams when Slipfang decided to... He shook his head. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't. He had to think of something. His head was throbbing now, and his insides were twisted into knots. It was one thing to risk his own life, but he couldn't even bear to think about what would happen if he failed now. And he had no ideas. He also hadn't found Violet or the other Slytherins. He thought the goblins must be holding them somewhere else, like they had Chloe and the Hufflepuffs.

Most of the goblins were in the main cavern. Some were sleeping or eating in what Teddy supposed were dorms, of a sort. He saw one chamber that must have been a makeshift infirmary, as there were bloodied goblins lying on cots and groaning. He saw a goblin waving a wand over another goblin's bandaged head, but from the shouting and screeching that followed, he guessed their healer hadn't had much practice using a wand.

He dared take one more turn, and found himself looking down an excavated tunnel that had a number of wooden doors set into stone, like the one he'd discovered earlier. And there were two goblins guarding it. They looked at him sullenly as he stood at the juncture, so he took another step down the tunnel.

A guard holding a mace spoke to him in Gobbledegook. It sounded like he was probably saying, “Get lost, dunghead!”

“Sorry, can't understand you,” Teddy replied, in a friendly tone.

The guards looked at each other, and sneered.

“One of those,” said the other guard, holding a spear. “A city goblin. Decided to join us after a life of comfort, laboring for wizards.”

“Even if you've spent all your life in London, how can you not learn the tongue of earth?” demanded the first goblin.

Teddy shrugged. “So, what are you guarding?”

They stared at him.

“What are we guarding?” repeated the goblin with the spear.

“That's what I asked.” Teddy stared back at him. What was the worst they could do?

“Scream 'Impostor! Spy!' and have me tied up and then cut off my head, right after they cut off Chloe's head, that's what!” he thought. Sometimes he had thoughts he could really do without. He tried not to sweat any more under his helmet.

“The explosives, of course,” said the first guard.

“To keep dungheads like you from accidentally bringing a torch down this tunnel!”

“Like that dunghead yesterday.”

They both grunted in agreement. “He could have blown us all into the sky above!”

“Oh,” said Teddy. “Well, thanks. I'll be sure not to bring any torches down here.”

He hurried back to the great cavern.

He had left Chloe cooking some sort of soup. He wasn't sure what to do with his “pet human,” but he wanted to keep her out of the way. When he saw some goblins toiling over an immense kettle suspended over a fire, wiping sweat from their brows and looking quite unhappy with their task, he dragged Chloe over there and asked if they wanted the human girl to stir for them.

Both goblins had been amenable to that. Which allowed Teddy to untie Chloe's wrists. She definitely didn't look happy, when handed a large wooden plank, but bit her lip and began stirring, while the goblins grinned and snickered.

Now, Teddy approached the boiling kettle and the sweaty girl who looked like she was close to falling into it. The goblins were both jeering at her.

“Stir faster!”

“Lean over! If you let the roots sit on the bottom and burn, we'll make you eat them!”

Teddy was keeping one fretful eye on the other four children, sitting across the cavern. They were either watching Slipfang or Chloe, and looked about as frightened as he'd expect kids who'd been told one of them was going to have their head cut off to look. The house-elves watching them looked unhappy too.

The goblin cooks were now both leaning against the rock wall behind them, watching Chloe do all the work with evident pleasure. Other goblins would occasionally walk up to the kettle, scoop some watery boiled vegetables out of it with earthenware bowls, and leer at Chloe. A couple seemed to be deliberately splashing her with hot soup. She squealed and flinched, but kept stirring.

“That's enough,” Teddy said. “Bring me some soup, girl!”

Chloe looked at him, and set the wooden board across the kettle, grabbed a bowl and a spoon, and scooped up some soup. The goblin cooks looked disappointed as she hurried away from the fire. He was keeping his back to the cavern wall, trying to watch Slipfang and the other kids at the same time.

“Stir faster, girl! Bring me some soup, girl! You'd better not be enjoying this,” she muttered, as she handed him the bowl and knelt next to him. Her face was red, tears were running down her cheeks, and she had blisters on her hands.

“Slipfang is going to cut off someone's head!” he whispered back. “Do I look like I'm enjoying this?”

Chloe looked down. “Sorry.”

“Shh.” He thought patting her hand or otherwise trying to comfort her would look strange to the goblins around him, so he tried to sound reassuring. He realized, looking into the soup bowl, that he was actually quite hungry. He'd never even gotten to eat breakfast. His stomach rumbled. He dipped the spoon in and tried some, and grimaced. It tasted like radishes, wild cucumbers, and dirt. With difficulty, he slurped it down. “Chloe, what are explosives?” he murmured.

She looked surprised, then tried to hide it. “Explosives? Well, Muggles explode things with them.”

“I could have figured that out myself,” he muttered.

She looked down again. “Sorry. Usually they're used for bombs, or knocking down buildings, I suppose. Sometimes terrorists use them to blow things up too. That's probably how the goblins made that hole in the dungeons.”

Teddy frowned. So far this wasn't telling him much. “How do you make 'em explode? Some of the goblins seem afraid of letting a torch get near them.”

“Well, I think explosives will go off if you set them on fire,” she whispered. “Teddy, what are you thinking?”

“Like fireworks, then?” His eyes lit up. He had a frame of reference now. Uncle George sold fireworks, at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. All sorts of brilliant, spectacular fireworks. They made lots of noise and flashes of light, and he reckoned if you set a lot of them off at once, it would make a really good distraction, like what Fred and George did when they left Hogwarts.

“I suppose,” Chloe replied. “I think what they used to make that hole must have been bigger than some fireworks, though.”

“It'd make a really big distraction, then,” he thought.

“Are you all right?” Dewey asked Mercy. They were outside, on the great lawn between Hogwarts castle and the main gates. While the Aurors and the Slytherin Quidditch players hauled out unconscious people, the first-years spread robes and tablecloths and whatever else was available over the grass, trying to make a relatively comfortable place to lay the victims down. Since a light rain was still coming down, Professor Sinistra began conjuring umbrellas, which Teazle, Golly, Griffy, and Lolo were anchoring in the ground over the unconscious children.

Mercy was helping, but was distressed. Tears wouldn't stop running down her face.

“At least there's something I can do now,” she sniffled.

He nodded.

“I'm so sorry, Dewey,” she choked.

“Sorry? For what?” He was baffled.

“What I said... down there. For one moment... I was so afraid, Dewey!” Dismayed, he put a hand on her arm, then gulped with embarrassment as she suddenly put her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest. “I'm such a coward! I was completely useless!”

“Mercy! Shh!” He put his arms around her, feeling confused and embarrassed, and very conscious of the other kids around them. “Blimey, we're just kids! First-years aren't supposed to fight goblins, or be brave when they're trying to kill us!”

“You not wanted leave anyone there,” said Sung-Hee. She put her hand on Mercy's back, comforting her friend. Dewey was grateful when Mercy sniffed, and then turned to hug Sung-Hee. He wiped the back of his hand against his forehead.

“Fighting just isn't in you,” he said. “There's nothing to be ashamed of.” He wasn't sure fighting was in him, either. Hadn't he been pretty useless as well?

The two girls wiped their eyes, and got ready to go back to work. Golly looked up at Mercy, blinking sadly as she planted an umbrella to keep the rain off of Guy Blake's face. The four freed elves still looked frail, as if they barely had the strength to hold the umbrellas.

Golly had bravely ventured back to where they'd left Teddy and Chloe, and returned, to report that the two Gryffindors were long gone. Now the elves were still doing what they could.

Mercy suddenly gasped, and dropped the umbrella she was holding, covering her mouth. Golly, Dewey, and Sung-Hee, startled, looked at her, and she stared at Dewey with a horrified expression.

“The house-elves!” she exclaimed. “Who's evacuating them?”

Dewey's mouth dropped open. They'd heard someone mention all the other house-elves, knocked out down in the kitchens. Then he hadn't thought about them again, while he was worrying about Teddy and Chloe, and everyone in the Great Hall. Shock was replaced by guilt, as he looked at the four free elves who were also ignoring their fellow elves to help Hogwarts students.

“We have to save them,” he said.

“How?” Mercy asked. “The Aurors told us –”

Dewey looked at her. “I never thought I'd take a cue from the Slytherins, but there are ten D.A. members out here. You want to leave the elves down in the kitchens to get blown up because Mr. Potter might yell at us?”

Mercy set her mouth in worried frown, then shook her head. Dewey began shouting at the four Gryffindors, and the three Slytherins, beckoning them over.

Harry and Ron were conferring with Jones in the Entrance Hall, while the other adults continued carrying students out of the castle, when the ten firsties came running in. Harry immediately cut Jones off and bellowed, “Dewey Diggory!”

Dewey skidded to a halt, as Harry stormed over to confront him, and the other firsties.

“I told you no first-years inside!” Harry barked. “Turn around. Now!”

“Mr. Potter, who's evacuating the house-elves?” Dewey asked.

Harry's mouth opened, with an expression very similar to Dewey's, minutes earlier. He and Ron gave one another identical pained looks.

He turned back to the young Hufflepuff. “You're right,” he said, calmly and quietly. “We'll evacuate them as soon as we've gotten everyone else out.”

“Sir, while we're standing around outside, they're in just as much danger as we'd be in getting them out.”

“Yes,” Harry said, “that's true, but I can't have you risking your lives.”

“Why not? Four house-elves risked their lives for us.”

“I am not arguing about this!” Harry snapped. “Get out!”

All of the first-years took a step back, and blanched, but Dewey gulped, and said, in a trembling voice, “We can't do that, sir.” He shook his head. “It's not right, saying our lives count more than theirs.” He swallowed. “I know you can stop us, sir.” And then he looked behind him, at the other pale, trembling firsties, and gestured. He marched forward, towards the stairs down to the kitchens, and the others followed, all looking fearfully at Harry and Ron.

Nagaeena, bringing up the rear, gave them a pleading look. She obviously wanted Harry to stop them. But he didn't. He was looking at Ron.

“Are you feeling as ashamed as I am?” he asked.

“Yup,” Ron replied.

Harry nodded. “Let's get back to work. No one else is going to die today,” he vowed. As he and Ron rejoined Jones, and the three of them returned to the dungeons, Harry prayed he could make good on that vow.

Set off the explosives. Make a distraction. But first I have to find Violet! Then I've got to free her and the other Slytherins, and then get the other kids untied somehow. Then get everyone out of the cavern. Find a way to the surface. How? Impersonate Slipfang? Right, how to do that when he's standing right there? How much time do I have? Maybe if I just keep him from killing anyone long enough, Harry will get here. Please, come find us, Harry!

Teddy's thoughts were a jumbled mess. One insane idea after another went through his head. He'd think of a way to free the McCormacks and the Ravenclaw girls, but that wouldn't get them out of the cavern, much less to the surface and freedom. Could the elves help? They didn't seem to like serving Slipfang any more than Golly and her friends had – except for that one elf, who followed Slipfang around with a worshipful expression. Could he free them using the same trick as before? And convince them to Apparate with the other children? He counted six elves. Six elves for six children, but he wasn't sure how many Slytherins were being held captive somewhere. And one elf seemed unlikely to be helpful, and how much could he rely on the other five? How could he even talk to them without the goblins who were everywhere in the cavern overhearing? Maybe if he could get his hands on a wand...

Feeling increasingly desperate, he was so deep in thought that he almost jumped when a voice said, “Where did you work?”

He turned, to see another goblin looking at him. He blinked, struggling to think of a reply.

“You're like me, a London goblin, right?”

Teddy nodded his head.

“I was a Gringotts scribe, for a while. Such tedious work.” The goblin shook his head. Teddy got the impression that this goblin was fairly young, though he wasn't very good at distinguishing age among goblins.

“I... I've heard of Gringotts,” Teddy stammered. Mentally, he winced. It wasn't easy to keep his wits when his head wouldn't stop hurting! And if the world would hold completely still, that would be nice too.

The other goblin laughed. “Of course you've heard of Gringotts! Where are you from, Griprock?”

“The Ministry,” Teddy said quickly. And when the other goblin stared at him, added, “I mean, I used to – to work for the Ministry! I mean,” he amended, as the goblin's expression became incredulous, “for the goblins who talk to the Ministry! I was supposed to – to study Muggles, and...”

He was making it all up as he went along, now. He had absolutely no idea what goblins did, besides banking and smithing. He was sure he was digging himself into a hole he had no way of escaping.

But the other goblin's expression brightened. “Ah, a humanoid! You're a scholar. No wonder you're so strange!”

Teddy closed his mouth. The other goblin chuckled.

“I am Tyrus the Foul.” He slapped Teddy on the shoulder, hard enough to make him stagger.

Teddy blinked, saw that Tyrus seemed to be waiting expectantly, so he slapped the goblin's shoulder back.

“A grandiose title, from when I was an arrogant young mushroom. Now they won't let me live it down.” Tyrus chuckled again.

“Right.” Teddy glanced over his shoulder, at Chloe. She was still kneeling next to the rock, and finishing off the soup, with a disgusted look on her face. Teddy had practically ordered her to eat it, saying they would both need their strength.

Tyrus's gaze followed his. “That was very brave, what you did. You must be very sentimental about humans.”

Teddy swallowed, and looked back at Tyrus. “Wizards will only hate us more if we kill children,” he said.

Tyrus stared unblinkingly at him, and Teddy felt himself sweating again.

“I don't like it either,” the other goblin said at last. “We do have to make our position strong, but no, I think some of the old ways are too strong.”

Teddy nodded. He wasn't sure exactly what Tyrus meant, but at least the goblin seemed sympathetic.

“The so-called earth-born don't listen to us, though,” Tyrus added, with a hint of bitterness. “We barely even count as goblins to them.”

“So it's fine for goblins to bully other goblins, as long as wizards don't do it,” Teddy muttered.

“Exactly!” said Tyrus, nodding.

“What about the house-elves?” Teddy asked. “Goblins hate being oppressed so much, but th – we seem to be oppressing the house-elves just like wizards do.”

Tyrus shrugged.

“Slipfang is going to kill one of those children, you know,” said Teddy. He felt his heart pounding.

“Yes. It's unfortunate.” Tyrus looked at the four children across the cavern.

“It's not right,” Teddy said. “I wish I could save them.”

Tyrus stared at him. Teddy thought he'd start shouting accusations at any moment.

“You are sentimental,” the other goblin said at last. He shook his head. “I understand. But it's impossible, of course.”

“Of course.” Teddy swallowed. “Unless someone helps me,” he whispered.

“We're all going to die,” he thought, as Tyrus gave him another unblinking stare. Teddy couldn't read goblin facial expressions at all. I'm sorry, everyone. I just can't do this by myself. I don't know what else to do.

“What are you saying, Griprock?” Tyrus asked.

“I want to save them,” Teddy repeated. “If... if there was a way to get them out of this cavern... could you lead them to the surface?”

Tyrus's long, thoughtful pause was the longest in Teddy's life.

“You are talking about risking death,” Tyrus said at last.

“Only if we get caught.”

Tyrus made a noise that sounded like a snicker. “How would you accomplish this? Has Slipfang given you a wand, Griprock? Will you magic them away?”

“No.” Teddy shook his head. “I don't know how. But if there's a chance of getting them out of here, will you help them?”

The other goblin made that sound again. “You must be mad.”

“It's been suggested.”

Tyrus laughed out loud at that. Other goblins looked at them, as did Chloe.

“I will think about it. But it's impossible, of course.” Tyrus scratched his nose, then abruptly walked away, making an amused sound in the back of his throat. Teddy watched him for a minute, fearing Tyrus would go straight to Slipfang and denounce him as a traitor, but the other goblin only went to sit down with some other goblins who seemed to be in the process of polishing and sharpening weapons. Teddy shuddered as he watched them run whetstones over keen goblin blades. Tyrus didn't look back in his direction.

Shaking, he went to sit back down on the rock next to Chloe. She looked up at him curiously, but didn't say anything.

Teddy looked down. What was he going to do? How would Harry have gotten out of this? Harry would never have even considered escaping without his friends, and the thought never crossed Teddy's mind either, but he felt hopelessness threatening to overwhelm him.

“Teddy,” Chloe whispered. Her eyes darted back and forth, and her hand crept across the rock, to find his. “I know you're trying to save us.”

He started to open his mouth, and she went on. “I just want you to know... if you can't, it's not your fault.”

He turned his head, to stare bleakly at her. And a completely uninvited thought sprang into his head: “She's so pretty.” Chloe was looking even more bedraggled and worn down than he felt, and her eyes were sad and fearful, but he felt drawn into them for a moment. He had difficulty swallowing, past the lump in his throat.

Not my fault. Another one of those horrible thoughts he could do without came to mind: her severed head, lying in the dirt, with her sad eyes staring at him. He doubled over and felt like he was going to retch.

Chloe looked around nervously, and patted him on the back. “Shh. It's okay, Teddy,” she whispered.

“I'm going to get you out of here, Chloe,” he whispered hoarsely. “I'm going to get all of you out of here.”

“Of course you are.” Her voice was very soft, almost inaudible. He couldn't tell whether she believed him or not.

There had been a lot of elves, but they were light enough even for first-years to carry two at a time (except Violet, who struggled to sling one unconscious elf over her shoulders). Teazle, Lolo, Griffy, and Golly objected strenuously when the children emerged with the first group of house-elves, but upon realizing that the firsties weren't to be deterred, joined them in helping to evacuate their fellow elves. By the time they had removed every unconscious house-elf from the kitchens, most everyone had been evacuated from the Great Hall as well.

There were more adults, now. Dewey listened to the Aurors and the townspeople from Hogsmeade talking, and gathered that the attack on Hogsmeade had occurred immediately before the attack on Hogwarts. There had apparently been smaller attacks elsewhere in Britain as well. They thought it had been intended as a distraction. No one knew how many wizards or goblins had been killed, but the talk was all about war now. A war between goblins and wizards.

Dewey wanted to ask if anyone was looking for Teddy and Chloe. He also wondered about the other first-years who'd been taken hostage. It was amazing that both the Gryffindors and the Slytherins had escaped; Dewey felt a little inadequate at that, though he knew it was irrational. But he'd seen three Ravenclaws taken away, along with Connor's sister Colleen, which meant there were at least six kids still down in the goblin tunnels.

Violet had told him about Kai and Gilbert, and he worried about them too, especially Kai. They had told Mr. Potter, and he said he'd have someone find the two Ravenclaws, as quickly as possible. But Dewey supposed that they, like Teddy and Chloe and the others, were also a secondary priority, with so many hundreds of people needing to be removed from harm's way right now.

He looked over at Violet. She was sitting under the shelter of a tree, where what she was doing wasn't immediately obvious. He guessed she didn't want to tell Mr. Potter that she had Teddy's magic map. No one said anything about the fact that she wasn't helping with the unconscious people; she was too small to carry anyone, and with nine other first-years and several adults on the lawn, they didn't need any more help laying their classmates in some semblance of dignified repose. But Dewey wondered what she was up to. She was leaning over the Marauder's Map, and at times it looked as if she were talking to it. That worried him – he could understand Mercy being on the verge of a breakdown. She was such a gentle soul, and Dewey was still trying not to think too hard about what they'd just been through, because he knew once he sat down and really thought about it, he might fall apart himself. But the idea that Violet might be quietly losing her mind was even more disturbing.

He glanced at Mercy and Sung-Hee, who were now comforting Alfred Cattermole. He was looking down at his sisters Ellie and Maisie, who were lying side by side at his insistence. The belligerent Gryffindor boy looked forlorn and near tears.

“They're all right,” Mercy murmured to him, putting an arm around his shoulders.

“See, they just sleep, very peaceful,” said Sung-Hee, kneeling to gently brush the two girls' hair out of their faces.

“You don't need to worry. Everyone will wake up soon,” Mercy said.

“Nothing bad happen to them,” said Sung-Hee.

Alfred nodded. He looked embarrassed, but he also looked like a scared boy who needed badly for someone to tell him it was going to be all right.

Dewey wandered over to where Violet was sitting.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Trying to get the Marauder's Map to cooperate,” she said.

Dewey paused at that.

“What do you mean, get it to cooperate?”

“Well, I thought objects like this have to have some brains... and I was right. But apparently whoever made it put some of their personality into it too. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure they were boys,” she said scornfully.

“I'm not following you,” he said, even more confused.

Violet held up the parchment, and Dewey saw that instead of a map of Hogwarts, it was displaying four distinct lines of handwriting:

“Mr. Moony is wounded on behalf of his gender.”

“Mr. Prongs suggests that Miss Parkinson is too young to appreciate the charms of our maligned sex.”

“Mr. Padfoot admits Miss Parkinson is wise to be wary of boys. She should especially be wary of the likes of Mr. Moony and Mr. Prongs.”

“Mr. Wormtail would like to be introduced to Miss Karait again.”

Dewey blinked.

“Who are Mr. Moony, Mr. Prongs, Mr. Padfoot, and Mr. Wormtail?” he asked.

“Smart alecs,” she replied. “But when they aren't sassing me, they've been showing me that Teddy is still alive. So are Chloe, and Deana and Aisha, and Connor and Colleen.”

“That's fantastic!” Dewey exclaimed. “But how? Where?”

“That's the problem.” Violet frowned. “The map can find people – at least, some people. Maybe people it knows, if they're not too far away. So it scrolled off of Hogwarts and showed me Teddy and the others. But I have no idea where they are, because the map can't show any places that aren't actually drawn on it. That's as much as I've been able to figure out so far. And these 'Moony' and 'Prongs' characters keep teasing me!”

“How do they know who Ophilia is?”

“Teddy let her borrow the map.”

Dewey shook his head. He looked over to where the Slytherin Prefect was making sure that Professor Slughorn was fully protected from the rain.

“Maybe she can get them to cooperate.”

“I think they'll just flirt with her.” Violet scowled.

“Well,” said Dewey, “maybe that will help.”

Violet looked doubtful, but Dewey was certain Ophilia had more experience dealing with boys than Violet did. He ran over to fetch her. She looked surprised when the Hufflepuff boy approached her, but listened with a skeptical expression, raised one eyebrow, and then followed Dewey back to Violet.

“That map located Lupin?” she asked.

“Not exactly.” Violet held up the map again. There on the otherwise empty parchment were six dots: one labeled, “Teddy Lupin,” another labeled, “Chloe Grey,” and some distance away (but without any other reference points for scale, it was impossible to tell how far), Aisha Allouzi, Deana Forte, Colleen McCormack, and Connor McCormack.

Ophilia took it from her. “Where are they?” she demanded, speaking to the map.

“You have to use a wand,” Violet said.

Ophilia glanced at her and Dewey, and pulled a wand out of her sleeve. Dewey wondered how she'd kept her wand, and Violet suddenly gave Ophilia a very odd look, but the Prefect tapped her wand against the parchment and commanded, “Give me more specific information about the location of Teddy Lupin!”

The dots disappeared, to be replaced by the same handwriting as before.

“Mr. Moony finds Miss Karait's tone to be most disagreeable.”

“Mr. Prongs thinks she is entirely too used to getting what she wants.”

“Mr. Padfoot wonders if the young lady makes a habit of seducing twelve year-olds?”

“Mr. Wormtail agrees that Miss Karait should snog boys her own age, and wishes he could put himself forward for consideration.”

“Interesting,” Ophilia said slowly. She noticed Dewey reading over her shoulder, and turned around so he could no longer see what the parchment was saying. She pressed her wand against the map again. “Children are going to die unless we find them. If you can help, please do. If not, you can scribble nonsense all you like, but I am done with you.”

There was a pause. She frowned at what she read.

“Yes, Teddy Lupin too. And I did not seduce him!”

Violet and Dewey looked at each other.

Ophilia held the map flat, and rotated around. It looked as if she were trying to orient herself to it.

“No, the lake is that way!” she snapped, tapping the map with her wand again.

“This is as pleasant as my tone gets!”

“No!”

“Listen, Mr. 'Wormtail,' I do not have time for this –”

Dewey and Violet would have been amused by this one-sided conversation, and the sight of Ophilia's dark cheeks flushing, except that it seemed to them that the map was wasting time, with Teddy's life at stake.

“None of your business!” Violet was afraid Ophilia was about to put her wand through the parchment, or set it on fire. “Did I mention that children are going to die?”

“You must be joking.”

She sighed. “Do you promise?”

Now they watched curiously, as Ophilia rolled her eyes.

“Very well – no, I do not, at present, have a boyfriend,” she said, through gritted teeth.

Then she was silent for a minute, as she tilted the map, turned in the direction of the Forbidden Forest, eying the map and the terrain, and held her thumb and forefinger over the map as if mentally measuring something.

“Well, if that's the best you can do,” she said. “Thank y –” Her eyes widened, as she read one last series of messages. With a hiss, she threw the map at Violet, and turned to stalk back towards the castle, without another word.

“She doesn't know how to make it blank again,” Violet said, with a small smirk. She opened the map, to read the last messages it had displayed.

She and Dewey both turned red.

“Well!” said Violet. “That was completely inappropriate!” And before more words could appear, she held Stephen's wand over the Marauder's Map and said, “Mischief managed!”

Teddy watched as Slipfang broke away from the crowd of goblins he'd been eating with, and he and several other goblins gathered in a group. Teddy thought they must be the leaders of the goblin army, as they all had wands or Muggle firearms, or both.

There was something about their conversation, evident even from across the cavern, that made Teddy tense up. Chloe sensed it too. She sat very still, except for an occasional shiver. Slipfang was looking at the four other children, and the other goblins' gazes followed his.

Teddy's heart was hammering in his chest. He slowly rose to his feet, and Chloe whispered, “Teddy,” again, clutching his hand.

Everything seemed to collapse into one horrible choice. His every instinct was to run across the cavern and throw himself at Slipfang. And die. The more horrible choice was to stand there and watch one of his friends be killed, knowing he could do nothing.

He caught Tyrus the Foul looking at him, for a second. The goblin's dark eyes were inscrutable. Then Tyrus turned his gaze back to watch Slipfang.

Slipfang and the other goblin leaders abruptly walked out of the main cavern, still muttering amongst themselves.

Teddy almost fell over with relief, but his heart didn't stop hammering.

“Soon. It's going to be soon. Do something now, or else.”

Maybe he shouldn't do anything. Maybe he should just do his best to protect Chloe and the others, and know that there would be one Ravenclaw or Gryffindor he couldn't save. Wait for the Aurors to arrive. Why hadn't Harry come to rescue them yet?

He looked at the cooking fire, and picked up the bowl and spoon. “Come with me,” he said.

Chloe started, and then stood up and followed him as he walked back to the kettle, and the goblins stirring it. They stared at Teddy and Chloe, as Teddy stooped to scoop up a couple of coals with his spoon, and put them in his bowl.

“What are you doing?” demanded one of the cooks.

“I'm going to have my human pet make another cooking fire,” said Teddy.

The two goblins looked at him oddly, but didn't stop him from taking the coals. They muttered to themselves in Gobbledegook and shook their heads.

Teddy looked around, and pushed Chloe behind a stalagmite.

“Do you have to call me your human pet?” she whispered.

“I'm going to take you over to sit with the other kids,” he said. “And then I'm going to go make a distraction.”

She looked down at the bowl of coals in his hands. “What kind of a distraction?”

“Listen to me!” he hissed. She flinched at his tone, and he felt guilty, but in his mind, there was an hourglass, measuring the time Deana or Aisha or the McCormacks had left, and the sand was trickling away, so he kept talking. “When I come back, it's going to be as Slipfang, and I doubt I can pull that off for very long in front of a hundred other goblins. So I'm going to order the house-elves to Apparate all of you out of here.”

“Do you think that will work?” Chloe gasped, and then frowned. “You mean, all of us, right?”

“Right. All of us.” He didn't meet her eyes when he said that.

“Teddy...” She paused. “Please don't take this the wrong way, but this doesn't sound like a very good plan.”

“When the real Slipfang comes back,” Teddy said, with weariness tinged with desperation, “which could be any moment now, I think he's going to cut off someone's head.”

Chloe turned pale. She looked across the cavern again at the other four captive first-years. She gulped, and then nodded.

“If it doesn't work,” he murmured, and almost couldn't finish. “I'm sorry.”

She nodded again.

Teddy held the bowl to his stomach as if he were carrying a bowl of soup. He could feel the heat from the coals, and had to be careful not to let his sleeves touch them. As he and Chloe walked across the cavern, it seemed like a hundred pairs of eyes were on them.

Aisha, Deana, Colleen, and Connor hadn't been allowed to move yet. They were sitting back to back, facing outward in a circle, with their hands tied behind their backs. There were still five house-elves standing near them. He figured the other house-elf must have followed after Slipfang.

“I'm sorry,” he thought, looking at the four of them, who were looking a bit enviously at Chloe, and at him with fear and suspicion. Deana's face was red; she had obviously been crying a lot. Aisha's headscarf was askew, almost falling off; she looked oddly vulnerable with her long black hair, usually covered up, exposed. Connor and Colleen were both pale. Chloe smiled at them, but they could only stare back. She sat down next to Aisha.

“Don't do anything you isn't permitted to do,” croaked one of the elves, raising a warning finger and pointing it in Chloe's direction.

“What's your name?” Teddy asked.

The house-elf looked at him, clearly surprised to be asked this by a goblin.

“My name is Moogums, sir,” the elf replied.

“Moogums,” he replied. He was aware that other goblins were watching them, including guards with crossbows and spears. They could hear his words, too. He didn't dare say too much. “Don't you think the children will have to, you know, go to the loo, eventually?”

“Go to the loo?” snorted one of the goblins, behind him. The other goblins exchanged comments in Gobbledegook, in a mocking tone. Teddy tried to ignore them.

Aisha and Deana both shifted uncomfortably. Teddy suspected they probably did have to go.

“When Master Slipfang says they can,” Moogums replied, looking uncomfortable also.

“I'm going to leave this girl with her friends,” he said, gesturing to Chloe. “Just for now. You can punish her if she does anything bad.”

Moogums looked down. “House-elves does not punish childrens, sir.”

One of the goblins sniggered, and fingered his spear.

“Please,” Chloe asked, very softly, “can I just put her scarf back on properly?”

The house-elves looked at her, and looked at the goblin guards, who appeared indifferent. “We thinks you can do that,” said Moogums.

Chloe gently pulled the headscarf back over Aisha's head, tying it as best she could, and tucking the Ravenclaw girl's loose strands of hair back under it. Aisha murmured, “Thank you,” and then began to cry. Chloe's eyes filled with tears also.

Teddy looked away. “I'll be back,” he mumbled, and left his five friends as he returned to the tunnels leading away from the main cavern, unhindered by any goblins. He quickened his step to a near-jog as soon as he was out of the cavern, slowing down when he passed other goblins trickling in and out of one chamber or another, and made his way to the tunnel where the explosives were stored.

How many times could this bluff work, he wondered. He peeked around the corner, verified that there were still only the two guards, and then concentrated on turning himself into Slipfang.

When he stepped around the corner, both the goblins who had mocked him earlier straightened up, and addressed him in Gobbledegook. They sounded very respectful.

Teddy nodded, and walked to the nearest door.

One of the goblins said something, and Teddy grunted. The goblin looked confused, as Teddy opened the door. The guard spoke again. Teddy held up a hand, as if to silence him, and went inside.

He paused for a second, to lean against the door and take a deep breath and see what he could make out in the dimly-lit room, illuminated like the other caves he had seen with a few of those glowing blue-white sticks. No shouts came from the tunnel outside; the goblin guards didn't dash in after him.

He didn't see any of those brown sacks. There were about a dozen large cylinders – orange or yellow, he couldn't tell in this light – with more seemingly random letters and numbers on them, a dozen more red-orange barrels, and a stack of crates labeled “Tovex.” Nothing looked like the boxes of fireworks Teddy was familiar with. He certainly didn't see any rockets, or red paper tubes with fuses. He took a deep breath, and then knelt next to one of the boxes, and dumped the coals next to it. The edges of the wooden crate began to turn dark. How long would it take to smolder and catch fire? A minute, five minutes? Or it might fail to ignite entirely. There was now another hourglass spilling sand in Teddy's mind, but he had no idea how quickly the sand was pouring out.

He left the bowl behind. He opened the door carefully, and stepped through, closing it behind himself. What if one of the guards decided to look inside and see what he'd done? They were both waiting in the tunnel outside, staring at him curiously. The one with the spear spoke to him again in Gobbledegook. Teddy nodded, and turned away. The two goblins looked at each other, confused. Teddy walked away, expecting them to start shouting, or chase after him, at any second. But they didn't.

His heart was pounding so hard it was difficult to hear anything else. At the juncture to the tunnel, he morphed his face back to look like the goblin he had been before. He hurried back the way he'd come, passing more goblins without looking at them. Then he was back at the large cavern. He saw Chloe, still sitting next to the other kids, and three house-elves – only three – where he'd left them. And Slipfang was standing over them.