The cloak had no weight to it when flung over the three of us. It was almost a dream to be using such a legendary item, but looking at my surroundings the dream quickly dissipated into a nightmare.

We maneuvered about the walking dead with our eyes downcast. We were afraid to see anyone we cared about, dead because of our mistakes.

"Find a room without any zombies." Hermione whispered, her voice an earthquake of emotions.

My weary eyes ran along the grounds of Hogwarts, landing much to my dismay on the poop covered, and bird filled owlry. The zombies avoided that single tower like it was the plague.

"I think their afraid of the birds." I muttered.

Hermione winced beside me, knowing how disgusting and tedious it was going to be up there. Harry, though, didn't move a muscle.

"We can't go there first, we have to get supplies." Harry pointed out, a quiver no donning his voice as well.

Our footsteps bounced off the castle walls and made us flinch in unison over and over, the thought of zombies teeth in our skin keeping us alert. We were jumpy as we walked hurriedly to Snape's private potions supplies, with good reason.

Our hearts slammed into our ribs and I heard Harry whisper something about how he didn't understand how the zombies we were passing couldn't hear his erratic heartbeat. We made it in and out of the potions closet with surprising ease, so much so that Harry pulled his wand out when we exited, believing it to be a trap.

We moved around the castle wordlessly again, finally arriving at our grotesque destination with ample supplies from our pit stop at the potions class room. The owlry had no single space on the floor that was not drenched in the foul creature's white waste.

"Well that was much easier than I had imagined." Harry said, though I could hear the pain in his voice.

The same night my ear had been blown from my head, he had lost Hedwig. She had been there for him in times of dire need. She was always ready to give him an affectionate nip or nuzzle her head against his side for comfort.

I had witnessed on multiply occasions, his deep love for his pet. And the fact that Hagrid had gifted her to him made her death all that much more personal.

After the cloak was pulled off of us all I clasped my hand onto Harry's shoulder, trying to give him a semblance of peace. He nodded his thanks and moved away from us both.

I wasn't the only one struggling.

With a sigh after our exchange, Hermione set the small cauldron onto the floor and sat herself down next to it.

"Might as well get it done." She muttered to us as she began the potion, not paying mind to the poop stains most likely developing on her robes.

The potion looked grotesque and the ingredients were even worse.

Dead rat's eye.

Squirming newts.

Cursed man's spit.

I flinched when a puff of smoke flew from the base of the cauldron and covered the whole owlry floor in red mist.

"And the last ingredient.... the body."