Agnes falls to her knees, dropping her wand right at her side. Her arms wrap around Alana, pulling her body up to her chest. Alana's eyes are still open and staring out into the dark hallway. Julia holds in her cries, but silent tears still fall down her face. She kneels down next to Agnes and feels Alana's wrist for a pulse. After a few seconds, she doesn't feel a beat, and she gently closes Alana's eyes.

Maria and Hannah can't stand up anymore, and fall on the ground. They both sob loudly, Hannah burying her face into Maria's shoulder, not wanting to have to look at her friend's unmoving body. Maria feels Hannah shaking violently, but that doesn't matter because she trembles just as badly. Lauren is the only one who keeps the light of her wand lit. She grips it in her fist tightly, her face turning red from trying to control her own sobs. Ethan doesn't quite understand what's happening, his mind not wanting to believe Alana really is gone.

Agnes's screams combined with everyone's loud crying attracts the attention of the ghosts that wander the halls. The Bloody Baron and the Fat Friar are the first to fly over and see what happened, the former quickly leaving to go wake the Headmaster.

It takes a few minutes, but soon the hallway is swarmed with most of the teachers. Professors Knisely, Snape, McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick round the corners first, only to stop in their tracks when they see the group screaming and huddling around their best friend. Even Professors Sinistra the Astronomy teacher, and Trelawney the Divination teacher come to see what's the matter.

Professor Sprout puts her arm around Maria's shoulders and rubs her back, getting sad herself. The only words Maria can form are, "It's my fault... I should have gone back with her..."

Flitwick takes Lauren's free hand and leads her back a couple steps to help distance herself from the scene. McGonagall slowly walks up to Agnes and Julia, gently placing a hand on the former's shoulder. "Come on, dear. We have to go."

"I don't want to leave her alone!" Agnes continues to hug Alana close to her, refusing to allow the professors to take her away.

It isn't until Professor Dumbledore comes when she looks away from her friend. "Agnes, let us move Ms. Carth to the hospital wing. It's okay."

Agnes sets Alana back down slowly, and Julia helps her stand up. McGonagall places her arm around Agnes's shoulders and turns her around, leading her away from the dark hallway. Julia picks up her friends' wands they dropped before following them out. She holds Ethan's hand and pulls him along, while he looks over his shoulder to see if Alana is following them. Dumbledore looks at Trelawney and says, "I'd like you to come with me to my office along with these six second years. Professor Flitwick, get Madam Pomfrey. Professors Snape, Sinistra, and Knisely, please lockdown the school and tell any wandering student to go back to their common rooms."

"It was you!" Agnes yells, pointing at Professor Knisely. "I saw you in my dream! You killed her!"

"You had a dream?" Professor Trelawney's already big eyes get bigger behind her glasses.

"Yeah I... why else would I know to come here?" Agnes starts to get frustrated as all the adults stare at her with confused faces. "I saw Knisely looking for a map and yelling at Alana before he killed her!"

"Agnes," Professor Dumbledore catches her attention. Seeing her broken expression makes his heart ache, but he keeps calm and says, "we can talk about it in my office."

Professors Sprout, McGonagall, and Trelawney walk with the students as they follow Dumbledore up to his office. It's not that far away, in fact, it's only a few hallways down. Even with the short walk, the girls and Ethan don't remember anything from it. The next thing their brain processes is sitting in chairs conjured up by Dumbledore around his desk.

Agnes explains her dream to the teachers just as she did in the common room to her friends. Trelawney is shocked to hear that Agnes was herself in the dream, and that she was the one who was killed. When she's finished, Dumbledore takes a moment to gather his thoughts and says gently, "Minerva, I would like you to send an owl to Ms. Carth's parents. Pomona, I believe there is a potion in your greenhouse number three. Bring it here, enough for six students."

McGonagall and Sprout reluctantly leave to fulfill their tasks. Finally, Professor Dumbledore directs his attention to Agnes. The Gryffindor lowers her gaze, still not understanding. "Why did I have that dream, Professor? All year we've been doing things that make no sense. I just want to understand something."

"And you have been doing phenomenal. Inventing a guidance potion? Reminds me of my own youth." Everyone is too stunned to say anything back, not believing Dumbledore knows about their potion. Dumbledore becomes more serious and takes a breath. "Agnes, you say you're confused about Ms. Carth and why you had that dream. Alana Carth was very skilled in the art of Divination. Do you know what that is?"

"She explained it to me... I think. But, I'm not exactly sure." Agnes is able to settle down enough and wipes her eyes with her pajama sleeves.

Lauren pushes her hair behind her ear and answers the question for Agnes, "It's the practice of seeing the future. There's a whole department in the Ministry dedicated to prophecies that were told by witches and wizards."

"So what if Alana was good at Divination? It takes an experienced person to do what she did with the dream," Julia says and everyone looks at Dumbledore for further explanation.

"Right you are, Ms. Copper." Dumbledore smiles and nods at Julia, then turns to Agnes once again. "Alana was born with the gift. When she was attacked, she managed to make a link to Agnes in order to show her what was going on through her own eyes."

"I should have gone back to the common room with her. Maybe if I was there, we would have stood a chance against the cloaked man." Maria covers her face with her hands, slightly peeking through her fingers. She lowers them, however, when Dumbledore sighs and shakes his head. Something is clearly bothering him.

"Professor, what aren't you telling us?" Everyone looks at Ethan, surprised that he's able to say anything after seeing Alana in the hallway. "I can see it in your eyes. There's something you want to explain, but you're holding back."

Professor Dumbledore pauses for a moment, thinking. Finally, he stands up and starts speaking. "At the beginning of the school year, Alana came to me to get sorted into her house. Professor Snape ushered her to my office, but the Sorting was not all that we talked about. Alana explained to us that she had a mission, a mission that involved all of you, and she also had a secret."

Everyone's eyes are now clear of tears, and they listen intently, leaning forward in their seats. Dumbledore gestures to Trelawney. "Alana came to me again and explained her dreams, her visions. Every night she dreamt of a terrible night in a dark hallway where someone died. It was you who died in her visions, Agnes." Dumbledore pauses to let that sink in before continuing. "I assigned her a class block with Professor Trelawney to help her make sense of the visions. We had weekly meetings in my office where she explained what was going to happen during that week."

"Wait, so you're saying that Alana knew everything that was going to happen... the entire year?" Hannah lets out a laugh and makes eye contact with her friends. "That's impossible. She would have told us. Something would have given us a sign! We were around her all the time!"

"Why don't I continue explaining, and then we can ask questions." The students know they want answers now, but they also know it's best to keep listening, so they do. "She wouldn't tell us everything, so I knew she was keeping secrets to herself. She told me this, however, that she had a map in her head that documented dark artifacts. Near the middle of the year, Alana wrote down the map in case anything were to happen to her. Life went on as normal, until last week where she came to my office and told me what was going to happen. Throughout the year, she had visions of alternate futures, but in every one of them, Agnes was killed. Finally, last week, she had a different vision where she was killed instead."

"Alana... sacrificed herself so that I could live?" Agnes starts to get teary eyed again, but manages to contain it. "But, if you knew this was going to happen, couldn't we have prevented it?"

Dumbledore's expression becomes saddened, and he shakes his head. "This was the only way to make sure you lived. Even if we ambushed the attacker and sent him to Azkaban, he would have still found a way."

"We still don't know who it was. We've just suspected Knisely because the Persequi Potion led us to him." Hannah doesn't know what to think about the situation anymore, and sighs in distraught.

"Alana knew who it was that killed her. I don't know how I know that, but I can just feel it." Agnes puts a hand on her chest, still wishing there was a link between her and Alana. "She tried to tell us it wasn't him, but I didn't listen."

"Trust is a very important thing. It is important to have it in your friendships and to know how to trust your teachers as well." Dumbledore nods to Professor Trelawney.

The Divination teacher quickly stands up and stumbles over to the side of Dumbledore's desk. "As the Headmaster has said, I have been teaching young Alana how to control her powers and giving her advice."

"Advice?" Lauren asks, not seeing where this is going.

"She needed someone to divulge in her visions and nightly dreams, and I was able to tell her what to do." Professor Trelawney pauses and then folds her hands in front of her. "Tell me, was there any point that seemed too good to be true, or other instances where Alana seemed off?"

"Come to think of it, how did she know where we were on the Hogwarts Express? She found us fairly quickly." Julia thinks to herself, trying to come up with other things that may have happened. "No way... remember that newspaper that told of the murder at Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah, I thought it was weird that the family owl didn't get lost. That thing always loses its way and someone has to bring him back to us." Ethan recalls that day, remembering that he found it odd but at the time he brushed it off. Then he realizes what his sister is saying. "Alana sent that owl. It wasn't our family owl either, it just looked like it!"

"Yesterday she was crying in the bathroom." Maria's heart hurts when she understands the reasonings behind everything. "Her parents never told her she couldn't shadow an announcer. She knew she couldn't shadow one because... she knew she was going to die the next night."

"She would never get to meet my dad..." Hannah's voice trails off when she thinks about it. That was Alana's dream, and she gave it up to save her best friend.

"Alana also wanted me to let you know, Agnes, about the night you and her traveled to Hogsmeade through the tunnel." Everyone looks at Trelawney as she speaks up again. They half can't believe they are getting away with such rule breaking, and half can't believe there's more to the story. "That night was also planned. The whole point of it was so you would unlock the Impediment Spell within yourself."

"She was so happy that night when I learned it. I thought she was just surprised I was able to perform such an advanced spell." Somehow, learning all of this is comforting to Agnes. She's still sad and angry, but all of those emotions are pushed down for now as she learns more about Alana. "What was the map all about? And her secret?"

"That still remains a mystery even to me." Dumbledore is pleased to see all of the students settling down and listening to the story. "All she would tell me is she made a map of dark artifacts that a death eater was after, and she entrusted it to you, Agnes."

"Me? She gave the map to me? But, I don't even know where it is!" Agnes groans and tries to think if Alana ever gave her anything, but even then she can't recall an occasion.

"She, as well, did a very good job protecting you, Mr. Copper." There is a glint in Professor Dumbledore's eyes, making Ethan turn pale.

"You... knew?" Ethan is only able to mutter out those two words, making Dumbledore chuckle a bit.

"She tried her best to hide you from view whenever an adult or professor was around, but I caught on too quickly. She then explained that you were important, that you were the one who was going to complete the Persequi Potion," Dumbledore explains.

Everyone thinks back to the times where Alana protected Ethan. When professors were around, she would always direct their attention at herself instead. Even at the Quidditch game when Lucius Malfoy intercepted them, she hid Ethan from his view.

"How many other teachers were aware of her visions, the potion, and that Ethan wasn't really a student?" Julia asks, wondering if everyone was in on it.

Dumbledore thinks for a moment and responds, "I and Professor Trelawney were the only ones she told everything. The others knew something was going on, but were unaware of the potion, your trip to the village, or the fact that Kevin Turner was actually Ethan Copper."

Maria lets out a breath and says, "This is insane... Absolutely insane..."

"I understand it is a lot to process, so I will let you go back to the Gryffindor common room and sleep. I assure you will be safe on your way back, as Alana has told me." Right as Dumbledore finishes, Professor Sprout opens the door carrying six small vials of potion. "Ah, just in time, Professor Sprout. When you get back to the common room, I want you all to drink this. It will allow you to sleep for the rest of the night in a dreamless rest." Everyone sadly stands up, not really wanting to go back, but before they can leave Dumbledore says one more thing, "Oh, yes, and Ms. Carth left this for you."

Agnes walks up to Dumbledore's desk and takes the envelope. The back has Alana's neat handwriting that says, "To Agnes, Maria, Ethan, Julia, Hannah, and Lauren." It's not that flat either, which makes Agnes wonder what Alana put inside it. She is about to open it, but Dumbledore stops her. "Alana gave me strict instructions that you open it when you are all alone. It is not for my eyes, but for her friends' instead."

Agnes nods, holding the envelope close to her chest, and walks out of the office with the other five students. They all walk back to the Gryffindor common room with the vials of potion and the envelope. No one says anything, they only wonder how late it is. The sky is still dark, and the crescent moon is high up in the sky. When they finally get back to the common room, Agnes tosses her vial of potion into the fire. "I don't even want to sleep tonight. We have to read this."

"I agree. Sleeping through this seems like an insult to her memory." Maria sits on the floor, creating a circle with everyone and they all also dispose of their potions.

"Alana was our best friend. We owe it to her to read her last letter to us." Lauren takes a deep breath but smiles, knowing Alana wouldn't want her to be sad.

"For everything she did for us. For putting up with us through the whole year." Julia takes Maria's hand to comfort her, making the Hufflepuff feel better and smile through the tears.

Ethan leans on Julia's shoulder, but still sits up straight. "For going out of her way to protect me."

"For supporting us in everything, whether it be choir, Quidditch, the potion, or anything else." Hannah puts her hand on Agnes's shoulder.

Agnes sits on her knees, gathers her courage, and slides her fingers under the crease of the envelope. "For Alana Carth, the most selfless and loyal friend that anyone could ask for."