At the end of March, the friends are still uneasy. They have managed to complete a lot of their work with everyone's help including their Herbology, Charms, and History of Magic. They have been putting off their Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts work because they are incredibly done with Potions, and they want to keep their distance from Professor Knisely for as long as possible. However, they procrastinated on it for long enough. They'd rather take their chances with Defense Against the Dark Arts than have to deal with Potions right now.

Professor Knisely gave them all projects to do instead of essays to give them a more hands on experience. They have to travel to the Black Lake outside the castle and collect samples of the water. Then, they must head back inside and determine what type of water it is, and what creatures can live inside. After that, they are tasked with picking three creatures that live in the lake and finding the best ways to defend themselves against said creature.

On the bright side, Professor Knisely is allowing them to work together and turn in one project. On the downside, this is the longest assignment they've done yet. They started it on Agnes's birthday, which is in mid March, and it has taken them until the 30th of the month to complete. They are just finalizing their project, taking last texts from their book, when Agnes wipes her forehead and says, "So, who's gonna turn it in? I know I don't wanna get close to that guy."

Agnes firmly believes that Knisely is the person who attacked her and Alana in Hogsmeade. Everyone else agrees with her because the potion said so, but Alana is the only one who isn't so sure. Alana's lips press together firmly as she looks at her friend. "You're still on about that? How many times have I told you, the guy who attacked us wasn't that tall!"

"How can you even remember that? It was dark out, so the shadows might have been playing tricks on your eyesight. He was wearing all black too." Agnes continues to defend her belief.

"Well, if you're too scared to confront him, then I'll just turn in the project." Alana gathers all their papers and posters, hoisting them up in her arms and standing up in the wet grass. "See you guys later."

"Wait! I'll come with you. I don't want you to go by yourself." Maria stands up and starts following Alana back to the castle. Hannah, Julia, Ethan, and Lauren agree with Maria and follow them. They want to see if Professor Knisely is acting strange or anything while he's not in class.

Agnes stares at the lake, now alone. She didn't mean to get Alana upset with her, she just wanted to prove that Knisely is their attacker! It would explain a lot. Why he's so strict and seems to hate his students, why he segregates the houses to keep the friends from mingling with each other, why he knows so much about Defense Against the Dark Arts. Agnes sighs and puts her toe in the lake. The water is freezing, and when she feels something poke her toe, she yanks her foot out and sprints back to campus.

The Quidditch field is empty, but Agnes doesn't mind. The Gryffindor takes this as an opportunity to grab a broomstick and start practicing. She has a game tomorrow, the last game of the year in fact. If they win against Hufflepuff, then the Quidditch House Cup is theirs.

Alana leads the group to Professor Knisely's classroom and they open the door. Sure enough. He is there at his desk, grading some papers after his Friday classes. "Ah, the second year researchers! What can I do for you?"

It is weird to see the professor out of his teaching realm. The group has never seen him just casually sitting around. He seems rather nice when he's not yelling at someone for not following the rules, but it also seems a bit suspicious. Alana unrolls the posters and shows the professor their completed project. "All done, Professor! We wanted to turn in our project."

"Completed already? I'm impressed. I was sure it would take you until just before exams started to finish. Was it engaging?" Professor Knisely takes the posters and his eyes widen when he sees how detailed they are. Six posters in total outline the different creatures and spells that can be used to defend themselves from them.

"Yes, actually. I particularly liked the spell Protego, which can be used to shield attacks from creatures in the lake." Ethan points to a spell he wrote about on the fourth poster.

"Oh yes, the protection spell. Standard, but quite tricky to get right. I should teach that one in my next lesson, should I, Mr. Turner?" Professor Knisely asks the nine year old.

"Um... I mean, if it'll go with your lesson plan, then sure." Ethan gets a little uncomfortable with being singled out by the professor who may be evil.

Mr. Knisely smiles and writes something down in a notebook. He closes it, puts down his quill, and looks at the group with a confused expression. "Aren't there seven of you? Where's the one with the bushy hair?"

Lauren keeps a cool stature and says, "She wasn't really feeling well, so we let her stay outside to get some fresh air."

"I'd be careful about that." Professor Knisely taps the end of his quill on his desk, his eyes glancing at Alana. "With all this stuff going around about Hogsmeade and there being a tunnel straight to that village on the fourth floor, it would be wise to stick together."

The students freeze in their place, their breath making their lungs cold. Hannah grabs Alana's shoulder gently and starts leading her out of the room. "That would be wise, Professor, thank you. We should be going back to meet up with Agnes."

The girls and Ethan don't waste another moment before following Hannah out of the room. Once they're a safe distance away, Julia slows down her steps and is able to breathe again. "Did you see how creepy he sounded? That wasn't your typical McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick concern. Something is very fishy about Professor Knisely."

"I know all the teachers are aware of the tunnel, but the way Professor Knisely talked about it... reminded me when Professor Laney was under the Imperius Curse." Hannah keeps looking from side to side, paranoid that someone is following them.

"You're right, Hannah. We have to keep our eyes open and - AHHH!" Lauren's feet slide up from under her and she lands on her back. The Ravenclaw slides down a ramp, rolling all the way down to the bottom of the steps.

"Lauren! Are you okay?!" Maria yells down to her friend. She's about to follow her, but right as she goes to take a step forward, the ramp looks to have a sheet of ice on it. Laughter can be heard from above their heads and Maria's face goes red. "PEEVES! THIS IS NOT FUNNY. LEAVE US ALONE!"

"Bahahaha! Loony loser Lauren! Jumpy jerky Johnson! Really ridiculous Ravenclaw!" Peeves lands on Alana's shoulders and starts singing his very creative verses over and over again.

"Oh wow, good for you, Peeves. You really showed that twelve year old who's boss," Julia sarcastically comments and hops down the ice slide. She makes sure to keep her legs and back straight so she doesn't hurt anything in her way down. When she reaches the bottom, Julia helps Lauren sit up. "You alright?"

"Y-yeah. Just bruised my hip I think." Lauren rolls over onto her back, but yelps when the floor rubs against her right hip.

Alana and Maria hold hands as they slide down to help each other keep balance with Hannah and Ethan following right behind them. When Hannah reaches the bottom, she yanks Peeves off Alana's shoulders by his collar and says sternly, "That was very rude! Either apologize, or get out of here."

"Party pooper silly second year." Peeves sticks his tongue out at Hannah and giggles loudly. "Seems you left your friend alone again. Just like last year!"

Hannah drops Peeves at the memory of what happened to Agnes last year. She pretended to be a Slytherin in the Quidditch stands and got beat up by a group of students, and it was all Hannah's fault. Maria becomes even more angered at Hannah's reaction and stomps up to Peeves who's sitting on the ground, giggling. She crosses her arms and glares down at him. "Where is Agnes, Peeves?"

"Last I saaaaaw, she was being yelled at by a teacher on the Quidditch field!" Peeves bounces up and runs into a wall, phasing through it and making his grand escape.

"We should have never left her alone. Come on, we have to get to her!" Julia helps Lauren shakily stand up, but the Ravenclaw falls again. Julia looks from Lauren to the others. "You guys go and find Agnes. I have to take Lauren up to the hospital wing."

They don't want to split up, but they know they must. Ethan, Alana, Hannah, and Maria wish Julia good luck and sprint to the Quidditch field. Julia props up Lauren's right side and slowly helps we walk to the hospital wing. On their way, they run into a Professor Knisely. The two girls gasp and take a step back as they round the corner and run into him. "Oh, Ms. Johnson! Ms. Copper! Is something the matter?"

Agnes was yelled at by Madam Hooch for flying unattended, and when Agnes unintentionally talked back to her, she was sent to Professor McGonagall's office. When she enters the room, McGonagall tells her to sit down and begin explaining. So, she does. "I just wanted to do something, and flying takes my mind off things. I didn't think to notify anyone. The broomstick shed was open, so I took one out and started flying."

Professor McGonagall sighs and sets her quill down onto a long parchment she was working on before Agnes came in. "Ms. Higgins, are you aware of how reckless your actions have been the past few months?"

Agnes's mind wanders to the potion they made in the mirror room, but she knows McGonagall is talking about the loss of focus in her classes instead. "In my defense, Professor, I've completed almost every task my professors have assigned me for that mistake. It's not my fault I get creeped out every time I cross paths with Knisely."

"Excuse me? What does this have to do about Professor Knisely?" McGonagall folds her hands together and rests them on her desk. Her eyes peer over her glasses to glare at Agnes.

One look at McGonagall and Agnes knows she screwed up. How is she going to talk her way out of this one? "That's not what I..." Agnes starts to come up with something, but then makes eye contact with McGonagall again and knows she won't accept anything less than the truth. Agnes deflates and explains, "It sounds far fetched, I know, but Professor Knisely is the one behind all the murders in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade."

The door opens right as Agnes says her last statement, and she turns around to see Professor Snape. He looks between Agnes and McGonagall. "I fear I have come in at the wrong moment."

"It's quite alright, Severus. Thank you for giving me some supplies for my class." Professor McGonagall doesn't even tell Snape to leave when she turns back to Agnes. "Ms. Higgins, that is a very serious thing to say about one of your professors. Surely you must have proof."

The two professors stare at Agnes, making her squirm in her seat. "Well..." We invented a potion that formed a path and led us to Professor Knisely. "I don't have proof."

"If I may interject. It has come to my attention that, in light of everything Ms. Higgins and her dynamic group of friends have done this year, that she isn't telling us something." Agnes can tell that Professor Snape can see right through her.

"Even so, I am taking thirty points from Gryffindor and Ms. Higgins will receive detention." In all honesty, Agnes saw that coming. However, she does speak up when McGonagall adds, "And she will have detention with Professor Knisely this Sunday."

"What?! Professor, there must be another-" Agnes is cut off before she can complain more.

"I don't want to hear it. Be grateful I'm not scheduling your detention tomorrow during the Quidditch match." Agnes can see a competitive glint in McGonagall's eye, but she still feels queasy about having to spend detention with a potential killer.

Just then, the door to the office bursts open, making Snape step to the side so he's out of the way. Alana leads the group into the room and sighs in relief. "There you are! We have been looking everywhere for you! Thank goodness we found Madam Hooch who said you were here!"

Agnes smiles, her emotions feeling very uplifted upon seeing Alana this happy to see her. "Hey, guys. Where's Julia and Lauren?"

"Peeves pulled a prank which landed Lauren in the hospital wing." Maria rolls her eyes angrily.

"Julia walked her up. She probably has a fractured hip bone or something. She could barely stand." Hannah finishes the explanation.

"This really isn't our year, is it?" Agnes jokes, making the second years all laugh. Even McGonagall cracks a smile as the five leave her office, Snape only letting out a snicker when they're completely out of sight.

The group heads up to the hospital wing to check on Lauren, but when they get there Julia and Lauren have a huge story to tell them. They explain that Professor Knisely helped levitate Lauren so she could go up the steps to the hospital wing. They were skeptical at first, but Knisely was actually being, well, nice! He left to find the Bloody Baron, the ghost for the Slytherin house, so he could scare Peeves enough to not mess with Lauren again.

"Why the sudden change in mood? It doesn't add up." Hannah sits on the end of Lauren's bed and starts thinking, but can't come up with anything.

"The point is, I should be giving him a chance. Alana was right before, I can't just keep accusing him of something without proof of him doing it." Agnes smiles over at Alana, hoping she'll accept her apology. "No matter what the potion says."

"I have an idea. Hannah and I have choir practice, but we should get out early today. We can sneak over and see if he does anything suspicious when no one is looking," Maria suggests, which makes Hannah interested.

It's the best plan they have, so that's what they're going to do. Lauren is dispatched from the hospital after two hours because of how minor the fracture was. The bone was able to mend itself with the help of a healing potion and the Episky spell. Right now, it's late afternoon. Maria and Hannah are in choir practice while the others, minus Alana, are in the library to work on their last extra assignment, Potions.

Right when their practice is over, Maria and Hannah change back into their school robes and walk together in the near empty hallways. Most of the students are in the Great Hall for dinner or are in the library studying for exams. After wandering around for a bit, the two come across Professor Knisely walking rather quickly. He looks from side to side constantly, which makes Hannah and Maria think he doesn't want to be followed.

"Let's go, stay close to the walls," Hannah whispers and leads the way. They follow Knisely at a far distance, making sure to keep their footsteps quiet.

Professor Knisely leads them to a part of the castle they've only been to once before. At the end of the hallway, there's a golden statue of a giant bird. Knisely says the password, and the bird spins, creating a spiral staircase. The two girls hide themselves behind the corner, only peeking their eyes across to watch Professor Knisely climb up to Dumbledore's office.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Maria sighs and leans on the wall next to her. "Guess we should go tell the others Knisely is still innocent as of right now."

Maria and Hannah jog back to the library to find their friends. They spot them easily and explain what happened. Julia stretches her arms above her and says, "It's probably nothing. We might have just made the potion incorrectly. Wouldn't surprise me, I mean, a group of second years inventing a potion?"

"Trust me, with everything that's happened this year, I'd believe it." Maria sits down into an open seat at the table.

"Well, we should probably head back to our common rooms. I have to get to sleep so I can rest before the big game tomorrow." Agnes closes her book and rolls up her parchments to stuff them all in her bag.

Everyone agrees and they start heading back to their common rooms. Right before they get to the point where they split up, Claudia finds the group and runs up to them. "Hey, I think you should all come with me to the girl's lavatory. Alana is in there and she's crying. I can't seem to make her feel better."

"Oh no, I wonder what happened!" Julia puts a hand on her chest and turns to her brother. "Kevin, go back to the common room. You can't come in with us anyway."

Ethan reluctantly goes back to his dorm while the five girls follow Claudia to the girl's lavatory. When they enter, they turn the corner and see Alana leaning over a single sink with her face in her hands. Her elbows are rested on top of the stand in front of the mirror. The girls can tell she's trying to muffle her sobs, but she's not able to keep it in that well.

"Alana? What's the matter? Did something happen?" Maria walks up to her fellow Hufflepuff, a saddened expression on her face.

Alana sniffs and attempts to wipe her eyes, but just smears the tears around. "I-I'm okay... it's just th-that... I can't shadow a Quidditch announcer this summer..."

"What? That's rubbish! Why can't you?" Agnes hugs Alana who gladly hugs her back tightly.

Alana settles out of the hug and takes a deep breath to control her shaking voice. "My parents aren't allowing me to shadow anyone like we planned. And they tell me this right before the last match tomorrow."

"Well then, I have an idea." Hannah walks up and puts a hand on Alana's shoulder. "I'll tell my dad to meet with you. We can have brunch and you can come over to my house. Then, next year when Amy has graduated, you can be the best announcer this school has ever seen!"

"Really? You'd do that?" Alana starts crying tears of joy when Hannah smiles and nods her head. She cleans herself up and is very cheerful for the rest of the day, glad to know she has friends that she can count on and will always have her back.