That night, Alana could barely sleep. She sat up in bed as Maria, Claudia, and Emmy counted sheep, but for some reason she couldn't. It must be the nerves for the Quidditch match kicking in. Is this how Agnes felt the day before her first game? Alana sighs and turns over, swinging her legs off the bed and sliding them into her slippers.

Alana only uses the light of her wand as guidance through the dark hallways. She doesn't know why, but she just had to walk around. She's careful every time she turns a corner to lower her wand just in case there's someone behind the wall. Thankfully, she doesn't run into anyone as she makes her way to the mirror room.

The Hufflepuff almost has a heart attack when she opens the door because there's someone else inside. When her brain thinks logically, however, she smiles when she sees it's only Agnes. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you that." Agnes laughs and Alana shuts the door. She notices the potion cauldron in front of Agnes and sits down next to her. Agnes leans backward on her palms and gazes at the cauldron. "Couldn't sleep. I keep thinking about this room and this plan. Just wanted to make sure the potion stayed safe, I suppose."

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep either." There is a slight pause before Alana looks around and continues, "If you don't mind me asking, but last year, when all that crazy stuff happened, didn't you guys have fun at all? It's just that whenever you talk about last year, the mood always gets so gloomy."

Agnes cracks a smile and looks at Alana. "You're not wrong. In our minds the bad outweighed the good, I guess. Despite that, we had loads of fun last year. I met Hannah, Lauren, and Maria on the train. I didn't know Julia was a witch, but she's a childhood friend of mine. I think the craziness all started when Hannah was accused of breaking the mirror in this room."

"She broke the mirror? Why?" Alana realizes how much she doesn't know about the events that transpired at Hogwarts last year, so Agnes explains.

The Gryffindor points behind the duo to the giant mirror frame on the wall. "Sometime last year someone shattered the mirror, and Hannah was accused of doing it by her big sister. When we proved she didn't do it, the subject was let go for the rest of the day. Julia and Maria went back that night to see what was so important, and it turned out there was a secret tunnel that led to the wizarding village Hogsmeade."

"No way... And the passageway is still there?" Alana asks with wide eyes.

"Er, sometimes." Agnes stands up and walks toward the frame. "It's only open at certain hours, or something like that. I'm not sure; I was the only one of us who didn't go through. Hannah and Lauren ditched class once last year to walk around Hogsmeade together."

"What? And they didn't invite you?" Alana asks playfully. She follows Agnes and carefully puts her hand on the wall inside the mirror frame. Instead of hitting a solid wall, her hand brushes against some sort of curtain. "Woah..."

"Isn't it cool?" Agnes lifts the curtain up and to the side to reveal a dark tunnel. "Wanna go clear our heads in the fresh air?"

"I don't know, Agnes. What if we get caught? If I get in trouble the night before my first Quidditch announcement-" Agnes cuts Alana off before she can go into a rant.

"I'll say it was all me. They won't ban me from playing Quidditch, especially since I'm the only Seeker." Agnes hops into the tunnel and waves for Alana to follow her. "Come on! Maria didn't get caught and she's a Hufflepuff."

Alana waits for a moment, trying to rack up her courage to follow her friend. She takes a deep breath and finally nods. "Okay, I'm coming!"

Agnes helps Alana into the tunnel and then drops the curtain, letting it fall back behind them. The two friends are able to stand up straight in the tunnel after a few steps since it lengthens in height. They walk close to each other, Alana being a bit scared of the dark and doesn't want to lose sight of Agnes. After a few minutes of walking, Agnes and Alana make it to the end of the tunnel, and Agnes becomes confused. "Huh, this is weird. It's a dead end."

"Look! There's light coming from the ceiling." Alana points upward and sure enough, there's a small string of light coming in and filling the darkness.

The two have to stand on their tiptoes to push the ceiling up and to the side. Once the hole is big enough, Agnes hoists herself up and reaches a hand down for Alana to help her up as well. They put the block back into its place and look around, noticing they're in a closet. Agnes opens the closet door a smidge to see some kind of bar or pub. Only a few witches and wizards sit at the tables, all spread out and looking unfocused. Agnes opens the door a little wonder and they slip into the bar.

It's a bit nerve racking, but Agnes and Alana are able to weave around the tables without drawing attention to themselves. None of the adults flinch when Agnes stubs her toe on a stool or Alana runs into the corner of a table. In no time, the two second years make it to the front door and are outside.

"This is incredible." Alana looks around at everything in complete awe. The only other place she's been to that's an all wizarding community was Diagon Alley, but this seems way more magical. The stars and moon help illuminate the ground, and there are light posts going down the sides of the street. Not a lot of people are out because of how late it is, but the two girls do manage to wave to a few witches and wizards doing nightly errands.

"That looks like a sweets shop! Too bad it's closed." Agnes looks through a window and sees a huge variety of candies and treats inside the small building. She wishes they came during the day so they could go inside all the stores, but she also knows it'd be a lot more dangerous. People would figure out easily that they're from Hogwarts, and their adventures would be over in an instant. That, and they didn't bring any money to buy anything either, so it's probably for the best.

After a few hours of walking around, Agnes and Alana make it to the edge of the village. Agnes stares off into space and then turns around toward the town after a moment. She lets out a long, deep yawn. "We should probably head back now. I'm going to fall asleep on my broomstick if I don't get at least a few minutes of rest."

"Yeah, I think so too. I'm getting kind of tired myself." Alana smiles softly, getting a bit drowsy. "We have to get ready for our Quidditch game tomorrow, anyway. You better catch the Snitch!"

The two start walking back to the pub where the tunnel is, but something seems off to Agnes. A slight wind pushes the dead leaves across the road, and their crackling makes her shiver. Agnes feels something on the back of her neck, so she turns around.

It's as if her heart forgets how to beat. Alana takes a few steps forward, but then stops when she realizes Agnes isn't following her anymore. She's about to ask what's wrong, but then looks where Agnes's gaze is directed and sees a tall, cloaked figure. His robe is black and he has a hood over his face, only allowing the area from the tip of his nose to his chin to show. When the figure smiles, his grin is wide and creepy. The man pulls a wand out of his pocket and says, "I've chased you down for months, and finally you're here, out of the protection of that wretched school."

"Who are you?!" Agnes asks in a demanding tone. Despite her shivering on the inside, she remains firm and brave on the outside.

The man's smile never wavers and he strokes the end of his wand with his other hand. "Interesting... you're the first person I have encountered who hasn't trembled at my feet at the sight of me."

"Oh, I'm trembling, but not out of fear. It's because you're so ugly! Thank goodness I can't see the rest of your face because I'd probably die from your ugliness!" Agnes seems proud of her response. Alana can't help but to lower her head and rub her eyes from the awkwardness of the terrible insult.

Finally, the man frowns and grits his teeth as he speaks between them. "Choose your next words wisely, Gryffindor."

"Because you might not like them." Agnes smirks and puts a hand on her belt, just over the handle of her wand. She thinks she's on point with these comebacks. She may not be a Ravenclaw, but when it comes to bullies, Agnes is no pushover. That one time last year with the Slytherins doesn't count. She was outnumbered then.

The man thrusts his wand straight out in front of him and shouts, "Avada K-"

"AGUAMENTI!" Agnes is quick and sprays a huge gush of water out of her wand, right into the man's mouth. The force of the water is so big, that he is pushed backward onto the stone road.

Agnes continues to spray water at the man's face, but Alana grabs her arm and starts dragging her away. "Let's go before he gets up!"

"Right!" After another long second, Agnes breaks the spell and does a 180, sprinting away with Alana.

The cloaked man coughs and rolls onto his side, trying to get all the water out of his lungs. He weakly sits up and shakes as he gets to his feet. "You meddling second years should have stayed out of my business!"

"Come on, this way!" Alana leads Agnes down an alley between two tall stores. The light from the nearest post doesn't reach their hiding spot, so Agnes and Alana hold their breaths as they are shrouded by the shadows.

The two hug each other closely, both of them shaking a bit. Agnes is about to take a step to the other end of the alley so they can get out, but pauses when she hears the man's voice again. "I know you're hiding." His voice sounds so enraged that it almost seems demented. "You have something of mine." Agnes bites her tongue to keep her from making a sound. "You don't have to worry, little ones. It'll be painless. I promise."

The next moments are filled with pure silence. Agnes opens her eyes and loosens her grip around Alana. "Is he gone?"

"Hello." The two girls scream and quickly turn around, their backs now to the entrance of the alleyway. They hug each other tighter and take slow steps backward as the man continues to walk toward them. "Now, don't make this-" the man coughs and hammers his chest with his fist, "too difficult for me. I have a reputation amongst my fellow death eaters." Agnes and Alana can't bring themselves to say anything, making the man a bit disappointed. "Now the Gryffindor isn't so brave, huh? A shame, really. I like the anger before the death."

Think, Agnes, think! Please, something! Anything! What would your friends do? Agnes looks at the area around her, but nothing is coming to mind. She does the last thing she can think of and raises her wand. "Stupefy!"

Nothing happens.

What? How come it didn't work?! Julia was able to do it when she was just a first year! The man chuckles, which makes Agnes cower back just a bit. She tries to think of something else, but her mind is blank. The man points his wand right at her face and says, "You first, then. Av-"

From the back of her mind, it's almost as if a thought magically appeared and pushed itself to the center of her brain. Not even knowing what she's doing, Agnes quickly raises her wand and shouts, "Impedimenta!"

The man becomes frozen mid-sentence. Agnes grabs Alana's upper arm and runs with her back onto the main road. They stay close to buildings and Agnes looks behind her every five seconds. The man pursues them with his wand out, but every time he gets close, Agnes says, "Impedimenta!" and he's immobile for a few moments.

Finally, they make it to the pub where they first found the tunnel. Agnes yanks on the doorknob, but it's locked. "No, no, no, NO PLEASE!"

"I got it!" Alana takes out her own wand and pushes Agnes aside. She taps the doorknob with her wand and says the incantation, "Alohomora."

The door unlocks and Agnes practically bursts it down when she slams it open. When they open the door to the closet and get the floor up, the man enters the restaurant completely out of breath and hacking on water from earlier. "Alright, I get you want a chase, but the fun's over, you little-"

"Impedimenta!" The man whips his wand to the side and tries to counter Agnes's spell this time, but it's too powerful and he pauses in his place anyway. Agnes pushes Alana into the floor and quickly hops in herself.

The two girls try to put the ceiling back up, but right when they get it into place the man screams, "BOMBARDA!" and it explodes, crumbling to dust and rubble.

"Run!" Agnes pushes Alana along the tunnel and the cloaked man jumps inside behind her. The Gryffindor quickly immobilizes him again, gaining her and Alana some time to run further down. The man starts running once more, but when Agnes turns around she can't see him. Still, she points her wand in that general direction and says, "IMPEDIMENTA!" followed by, "Aguamenti!"

Alana and Agnes push through the curtain right as the clock chimes 5:00. They watch as the wall magically hardens around the mirror frame. Agnes still points her wand at the wall, however, just in case for a long ten minutes. Once both of the girls are sure the man isn't coming through the wall, they put their wands away and collapse on the ground.

"You did it, Agnes. But, how did you learn the Impedimenta jinx? That's like fourth year material!" Alana asks in surprise.

"I... don't know. It just came to me naturally, you know? I feel like I've heard it before, but I have no memory of it whatsoever." Agnes wishes she can remember where she heard that spell before, but can't recall. Her brain is too stressed about what just happened at Hogsmeade. "What I'm confused about is that man. He said we had something of his. What does that mean?"

"The only thing I can think of is that cloth you kept from Diagon Alley." Alana scratches her head and tries to think of some other thing the man would want.

"I'm starting to think there's more to that piece of fabric than meets the eye." Agnes states the obvious and stands up, helping her friend up as well. "Let's go back to our common rooms. I'll walk you to Hufflepuff's."

"Thanks. You were awesome, by the way. All that was very courageous," Alana compliments.

"It didn't feel very courageous. It felt like running away." Agnes laughs and opens the door to the hallway.

"Maybe, but that's okay. It's okay to feel scared and hopeless, as long as you don't let it control you. That's what Gryffindor is all about, right?" Alana puts her arm around Agnes's shoulder to help comfort her. "I think your actions were very brave."

"Thanks, Alana. That really means a lot." Agnes takes a breath to relieve her body of the building stress. "I like how we came down here to be calm and relaxed, but we actually just went through... that! Well, at least it can't get any worse, right?"

"I had no idea you were an optimist, Ms. Higgins," says a voice sadly familiar as Agnes and Alana round a corner.

Agnes looks up at Professor Snape, but has just had about enough already. She almost breaks down crying, but keeps her cool and only loses control of her trembling fingers. "Do you never sleep, Professor?"

"Are you never annoying, Ms. Higgins?" Professor Snape says coldly and Alana has to hold in her laughter.

Agnes is about to say something else, but smiles on the inside. "That was actually a pretty good one, Professor."

Maybe it was her last comment, but Agnes is very surprised when Snape doesn't say he's going to make sure she doesn't play tomorrow. All he says is, "Ten points from Gryffindor, and I suggest you go back to your common room. I will escort Ms. Carth to her own. I think you two had just enough fun for one night. And, Ms. Higgins, if I see you wandering the halls at this hour again, I will make sure the punishment is more severe."

"At this hour? What are you talking about? It's morning - it's only 5:10-" Professor Snape cuts Agnes off.

"I said back to your common room." Professor Snape makes sure that's the final word and puts a hand on Alana's shoulder, leading her to the Hufflepuff common room.

Agnes rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically. She hears someone behind her doing the same thing, mocking her. When she turns around she just passes by him and marches off to her own common room. "Shut up, Peeves."

Agnes takes no detours and gets to her dorm just when the sun starts peeking through her window. She falls onto her bed and covers herself up, shielding her eyes from the light so she can try to get a few z's in before her game. Agnes is just entering sleep when Julia whacks her with a pillow. "Get up, sleepy! It's game day! We have to eat breakfast with the team!"

"Why so earlyyyyy?" Agnes groans and rolls onto her stomach, covering her pillow with her face. She reluctantly complies with Julia's orders, only slightly wishing that man killed her so she could get some rest.