Jacob found himself fighting the urge to attempt to investigate the song like Richard had. He knew that the same thing that had happened to him would just defend the forest again. He was certain that the sound was the centaur's way of defending their secret meetings. He would have to find some way around it, rather than Richard's attempted solution of going through it. There was no telling why Mal had heard a song rather than the irritating ringing. Richard had suggested something none of them had tried yet, flying into the forest. The only problem was, he was no good on a broom. Mal had been the only one to prove adept on a broom, but she was the only one that didn't need to fly around the sound. As he pondered his dilemma, the most simple solution came to him. He didn't need to avoid the sound or to tough through it, he could just cancel it. On his way out of Herbology he slipped a pair of earmuffs into his robes, and then he was ready. He had been expecting a much more difficult time acquiring them, but no problems had arisen. He walked into the forest ready to hear the ear piercing sound that had buried itself in his mind the last time he heard it. He was perplexed by the sound, because he was almost certain that the song Mal had heard was the same thing as the sound that had practically tortured Richard and himself. Finally, once he was deeper into the woods, he heard the sound. He reached into his robe and pulled out the earmuffs. Slipping them on, he noticed the sound was still audible, but it didn't seem to bother him anymore. He wandered aimlessly until he noticed the sound was always more intense in a single direction, so he followed it. Suddenly, he noticed the same light that Mal had mentioned, and the sound stopped. He drew his wand and crouched down, drawing closer. It was then that he heard the hooves, giving off a sound like thunder in a massive storm. He peered over what must have been the same bush Mal had hid in. There he saw a group centaurs scattered across the camp, but he heard a human voice as well. He could see where they were, but the student was here still. He looked around the camp and finally noticed a smaller figure in a Hogwarts robe crouching on the far side of the central fire. He could make out the green stripe of Slytherin on the robes, and shorter hair that seemed to be dyed with a stripe of blue. A stripe that he recognized.

"That's why she's here. She is like Vince." Jacob found himself saying to himself. He peered over the bush once more and accidentally rose just a little too much. Lyndsey locked eyes with him and then drew her own wand. She said nothing but simply gestured to the bushes that he was behind. She smirked at him, and he heard a creaking from behind him. Turning, he found himself face to face with an arrow knocked in it's bow. The centaur looked him in the eyes and growled. He was in trouble.

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Cat wasn't sure why she had done it, but when she had noticed Jacob slipping the pair of earmuffs away in herbology, she had made up her mind to look into what he was planning. She had followed him into the forest originally, but when she had heard the song, she quickly turned into her feline form. She found her senses were all sharper when she was a cat. She followed him silently further into the wood, until she noticed the camp ahead. She hid in the shadows, and noticed Lyndsey in the camp. When the centaur cornered Jacob, she knew what she had to do. She transformed back to real form, and drew her wand. She pointed her wand and whispered a single word, "Wingardium Leviosa." The arrow flew away from the bow, but the centaur then turned on her. Jacob looked surprised to see her, but he kept his cool and raised his wand. "Depulso!" He shouted. The centaur was blown away from him, flying through the air and landing on his side. Cat waved him away, but Jacob reached down and picked up the arrow that the centaur had attempted to fire at him. He began to run with her, but they knew they wouldn't be able to outrun a centaur herd. Cat looked over at Jacob and noticed that he had removed the arrowhead from his new toy. She wasn't sure what his plan was, but she did trust him. Unfortunately, a centaur appeared in front of them, bursting out of the undergrowth next to him. It reared up on its hind legs, and when it came down Jacob went down with crunch as one its hooves found his right leg. She heard him shout, and the centaur stiffened and fell to the ground, petrified.

She pointed her wand at his leg and said, "Episky, Ferula." His leg straightened and suddenly had a brace on it. He tried to stand up, but he cringed in pain. He tried limping forward, but Cat slipped under his arm, and helped him along his way. Together, they limped closer and closer to the edge of the forest. It was just before they left the wood, when Jacob fell forward and landed on his face. Cat turned and saw Lyndsey rising confidently from the undergrowth. It was then that Cat realized that they were in trouble, even more than they were before. Jacob seemed to roll over in the mud, but he seemed pretty defeated. Cat would have to deal with Lyndsey herself. She drew her wand once more, and deflected a flurry of sparks from Lyndsey, but Lyndsey was the superior duelist, and soon Lyndsey slipped a spell past Cat's defense. Cat's wand went flying behind her, and she turned to watch it fly.

It never hit the ground. Jacob stepped forward, his own wand drawn and Cat's in the other. He limped forward, then spoke. "You are my friend, but nobody touches my friends, even you," he said dramatically. At first he simply launched a few sparks at her, just as he had done before with Flitwick. Then he became more aggressive, launching powerful spells trying to immobilize her, but he was limping. Cat stepped up, and slipped under his arm to support, and took her wand from his hand. They moved together and fluidly launched a barrage of spells, forcing Lyndsey to retreat. She helped him out of the forest, after launching vermillious sparks into the air. As they exited the forest, Mal landed in front of them on a broom and in her quidditch gear.

"What happened?" she asked, clearly concerned.

"It was Lyndsey, she was the one with the centaurs." Jacob answered through panting breaths.

"Alright, but I need to get back to..." Mal started, and trailed off as Cedric landed next to her.

"Is everything going to be okay over here? What happened?" He started asking. It was then that the pitch rang through the air, and once again, everyone cringed as the sound pierced their ears. All of them except two of them, that is. Mal and Cedric seemed mesmerized by the sound. Jacob covered his ears once more and helped Cat away from the sound, followed by both of the Hufflepuffs. They both seemed to shake the song out of their heads. They flew away chatting, as they obviously had some explaining to do. Jacob turned to Cat and began to thank her, but she wouldn't have it.

"That's what friends do, you would do it for me," she said reminding him of the time he had said the same thing to her. The time that he had done the same thing for her.

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Mal did have a lot of explaining to do. Cedric had been bombarding her with questions. He didn't seem angry, but more concerned. She explained that they had encountered the centaur camp when trying to investigate the song, and he seemed to realize that they were trying to do the right thing, no matter how dangerous. It came to the point were Mal had to decide whether or not to tell Cedric the truth about her and her friends.

"Something is off about you, Dykhouse. The hat surely was referring to you as someone who's magic isn't natural. Who are you?" Cedric asked, deciding Mal's decision for her.

"I'm a traveler. We are able to enter the worlds of different stories and tales. I hate to break it to you Cedric, but I only know you as a book character. I am from a world where magic doesn't exist, even in secret," she told him.

"How would you know? If it was in secret, would you know?" he asked after a while of thinking. Mal considered the question, and realized that he was right. If it was in secret, she wouldn't know about it. Either way, the capability of traveling meant that some version of magic had to be real. Mal told Diggory the rest of their story, including their journey in Middle Earth. Soon the two of them parted ways, but not before Cedric offered his assistance if they ever needed. Mal was grateful for the offer, but she wasn't sure she would take him up on it. She took off on her broom, speeding laps and loops around the quidditch field.

The air that rushed past her seemed to flow quickly around her. the roaring silence helped her focus her thoughts. Only the sound of the air filled her ears, as the world seemed to fade around her. She was ready for her next quidditch match. Luckily, it was tomorrow.

It came quickly, and she was ready to play. The ball rose into the air, and the game began. Mal flew into action, blocking bludgers that flew at her team. She even managed to nail one of the opposing team's players. She could see her friends in the stands cheering for her, but then she noticed something odd. Lyndsey was here. Obviously she was there to cheer for her team, but something else seemed odd about it. This would be the perfect opportunity to talk with the centaurs, as nobody else would be looking for her, but still she was here. Unless she was still planning to... Mal's thoughts trailed off as she sweeped the grounds around the field. That was when she spotted the crowd just outside the pitch. The crowd of centaurs.

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Richard saw the centaurs as they burst onto the pitch, weapons drawn. Suddenly, the screeching sound filled the air. Many of the players fell from the air. He turned to see Jacob slip on his earmuff and draw his wand and head to the stairs that led down to the pitch. He stuffed his robe into his ears, drew his wand, and followed after him. He found that as soon as they reached the field the ringing stopped. Richard pulled his robe out of his ears as one of the centaurs seemed to notice him, Jacob, and Cat, who had followed after them. Cedric and Mal were the only ones left in the air, seeming to be unaffected by the sound. The centaur charged them, brandishing a broadsword. Richard stepped in front of the others to draw its attention. It followed him as he ran to the edge of the field. It charged him quickly, but the massive creature had too much weight to stop itself. Richard jumped to the side and it slipped into the pit that surrounded the field.

"Ha, he fell for it!" Richard found himself saying out loud. He quickly tried to repeat this process with another centaur, but this one was wiser and he had a bow and arrow. Richard decided to do what he thought might have been the dumbest thing he had ever done. He charged straight at the centaur. He drew his wand, and ran yelling at the creature. It looked at him perplexed and hesitated to attack for only a moment, but that was all Richard needed. He slid on the ground next to it and pointed his wand at the centaurs great weapon. "Accio Bow and Arrow" he called out. The quiver on the centaur's back suddenly tugged backwards on it, throwing it off balance. The bow in its hand smashed backwards into the centaurs midsection, pushing it backwards more until he toppled backwards. The bow shot into Richard's hand, which he swung through the air and smashed down onto one of the centaur's forelegs. Both the leg and the bow cracked. Richard began to move along to find another foe. Richard specialized in beasts, so this time he would specialize in fighting them.