HARRY POTTER AND THE JADE DRAGON

By Kim

Part Two

The remnants of the party now lay all about them; empty beer bottles were scattered around various parts of the room, half-eaten goodies (smuggled in from Honeydukes) lay on the table, while several unopened bottles of pumpkin juice stood on the floor.

Most of the Gryffindors had gone to bed, leaving only the students in Harry's year who had volunteered to clean up the mess. Ron was sitting next to Harry, Summoning empty beer bottles to himself and placing them in a large bucket. Hermione, who had been the only one to bring a camera to Tian-Long, was packing her photographs away. She appeared to have just remembered something, for there was a slightly worried expression on her face.

"Whassup?" said Harry, looking lazily at her.

"Crabbe and Goyle," said Hermione seriously, "Professor McGonagall told me, when I went to hand in my homework, that they've been suspended from the exchange programme as well."

"They have?" said Ron, his face brightening. "No kidding?"

Hermione frowned at him.

"What's the problem, Hermione," said Harry, stretching and tossing his empty bottle into Ron's bucket, "it's an all-round victory for us - we've managed to get rid of all three of 'em : Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy."

"Well, yes, but don't you see," said Hermione impatiently, "that only leaves three Hogwarts students in the exchange class…it's disgraceful. The programme is to let the Chinese students interact with the British students…it won't be a proper exchange programme, if there are so few of us."

"Oh, didn't McGonagall tell you?" said Dean, who had overheard. "The rest of our class have been roped into the programme as well."

"What?" The three of them turned to look at him.

"We've still got our usual classes," said Seamus, who was with Dean, "but McGonagall told us before you came back that we're to attend the exchange classes as well. Not all of them, but she said that at least three of us have to attend each class, to make up for the three missing Hogwarts students. We have to decide among ourselves who's to attend what."

"Well, some of that is easily solved," said Ron. "Parvati and Lavendar definitely won't mind having an extra Divination lesson or two."

"And Defence Against the Dark Arts, that's alright too," said Harry.

"But…who wants to volunteer for Potions?" said Dean, casting a sly glance at Neville, who was nearby, listening.

Neville, however, shocked them by saying, "I'll attend Potions - for the first month, anyway."

All of them goggled at him in surprise. Neville, seeing this, went pink.

"Neville, are you all right?" said Ron at last, breaking the stunned silence. "I mean, you're not delirious with fever or anything, are you?"

Neville went pinker, then gave them a sheepish grin. He didn't elaborate further, though, but got to his feet and said, "I'm going to bed."

He started going up the spiral staircase to the boys' dormitory, still grinning. The rest watched him, mystified.

"Starkers," said Ron, shaking his head. "Anything happened to him while we were gone? Like, did Snape force some brainwashing potion down his throat, or something?"

"No," said Seamus, still gaping at Neville in amazement as his chubby figure disappeared inside the dormitory, "Everything's as it has always been - him being terrified of Snape, that is."

Hermione had finished packing the photographs away.

"Where d'you think they're going to sleep?" she asked, obviously referring to the Tian-Long students.

"In our dorms," said Dean promptly. "McGonagall said that there's room for a few more beds, though it'll be a rather tight squeeze."

"Better make sure the passwords don't have any l's or r's in them for the next two months, then," said Ron, grinning, "or Chee Chong won't be able to get into the common room."

That night when he got into bed, Harry instinctively expected to find Ping-Ping there, lying at his feet. He found himself dreaming he was flying the Silverwing again over an endless sea of cloud. It dove through the cloud, and he was suddenly back in Liu Pei's study, looking at the scroll on the table. A noise behind him made him turn around, and there was a Dementor, towering over him. It was coming nearer and nearer…and he was backing away…and then - he woke up.

He sat up in bed, heart thumping, and saw that it was just past midnight. Getting out for a drink of water, he noticed that the curtains of Ron's bed were partly drawn. Through the opening it could be seen that Ron had lit his wand, and was lying on his stomach, writing.

Harry went over, and lifted one of the curtains away.

"What're you doing?" he whispered. "You're not doing your homework in bed, are you?"

Ron gave a start of fright, and hurriedly hid the piece of parchment that he'd been writing on under his blanket, before he realised it was only Harry.

"Gave me a fright, you," he whispered, taking the parchment out again. "Oh no…" he looked at it, "I smudged it…"

Harry peered at it. It was a letter to Pixie.

"What're you writing to her for?" he whispered incredulously, "you'll be seeing her later today!"

It was too dark to see, but Harry was sure Ron's face had turned red.

"Just letting her know I got back safely," he mumbled, as if Portkeying back to Hogwarts had been a long and dangerous journey. "She made me promise I'd write."

Harry looked at him, slightly exasperated.

"Ron," he said in an undertone, "The letter'll never reach there in time. It'll take ages for Pig to get to China, and Pixie will have left by the time he gets there."

Ron looked sheepish. Harry grinned at him, but knew better than to say more, so he went and got his drink, and then got back into bed. He lay there a while, thinking it would be fun to show Shan and the others around Hogwarts. He was imagining all of them watching him in admiration during Quidditch practice (alas, the next match would be in late February, and the exchange programme would be over by then) as he zoomed around on his Firebolt, when he finally managed to doze off.

Professor McGonagall had informed them that they were to receive the Tian-Long students in front of the castle that evening before it got too dark, and so, at four o'clock, they promptly assembled in front of the Entrance Hall steps. Winter had set in early that year, and they found themselves shivering slightly in their cloaks. The entire class was there, since all of them were now involved in the programme. Parvati and Lavendar were occasionally casting sly glances at Ron, who was looking irritably back at them. Although nothing explicit had been mentioned about him and Pixie the previous night, Parvati and Lavendar had soon surmised that something was up, especially as Ron always seemed to be standing next to Pixie in every photograph; and they had been looking forward most enthusiastically to the Tian-Long students' arrival.

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were there too, but Jeanne did not join them, as Harry thought she might. Instead, to his astonishment, Hagrid turned up.

"Whatever are you doing here, Hagrid?" asked Hermione, looking surprised as well, as he came up to them.

"Jeanie tol' me ter come," he said, beaming, obviously pleased to see them again. "Said yeh'd need help ter carry all the luggage into the castle. Said she'd do my chores for me, this evenin'."

"Luggage?" said Ron, surprised, "But - their luggage already arrived, an hour ago! It's in our dorms…the house-elves must've brought it up."

Hermione frowned at the mention of house-elves, while Hagrid looked perplexed. Dumbledore, seeing him, came up to them, smiling.

"Well, Hagrid?" he said, a twinkle in his eye, "are you here to greet the Chinese students as well?"

Hagrid was about to reply, when Parvati and Lavendar suddenly cried out in surprise. Harry, turning to look, realised why Jeanne had asked Hagrid to come. A large Silverwing was flying over the grounds toward them. Chen-Kang was seated in front, guiding it, with Shan and the others behind him, spaced out at intervals between the spikes on the dragon's back. To Harry's astonishment, Robert was sitting at the rear, next to Sang Nila who was lashed securely to the dragon's tail. The Silverwing flew low over the lake and hovered there, its huge wings beating strongly, as Robert cut Sang Nila free and let him slide into the icy water with a loud splash.

"That Robert is crazy!" said Ron, watching, "Bringing that Merlion along, when the water's freezing!"

"Nonsense, he can easily withstand it," said Hermione loftily, "don't forget, the merpeople live in the lake too, even in winter. Robert told me Sang Nila wants to meet them."

Hagrid was standing as if spellbound, watching the Silverwing which was now winging over toward them. Seamus and the others, still unused to the idea of tame dragons - despite what Harry had been telling them - retreated a few paces.

The Silverwing landed neatly on the lawn in front of them, and folded its wings. Pixie, obviously thrilled to see them again, was waving enthusiastically with both arms.

"RONNIEKINS!!" she screamed, almost falling off the dragon in excitement, "RONNIEKINS, WE'RE HERE, WE'VE ARRIVED!!!"

Dumbledore's beard quivered, and his eyes were twinkling, but Professor McGonagall frowned and looked disapprovingly at Ron. Parvati and Lavendar burst into giggles, while Seamus and Dean began sniggering and nudging each other. Ron's face turned the colour of an overripe tomato, and he looked as if he wished the ground would split open and swallow him up.

"Look!" said Hermione in surprise, pointing at a tiny figure on Shan's shoulder, "they've brought Ting-Ting along!"

Ting-Ting seemed to be looking around, and then, all of a sudden, she vanished.

The Tian-Long students dismounted, and Dumbledore and the others went up to greet them.

Harry tugged at Hagrid's sleeve.

"C'mon, Hagrid," he said, pulling him over to the Silverwing, "better enjoy it while it's here."

Dumbledore was speaking to Fatty and the others, and Hermione began introducing the Gryffindors. After a while Shan came over to Harry, who was watching Hagrid petting the Silverwing, which was staring unwinkingly at him. Hagrid was stroking it as if it was some fragile piece of china, looking as if he was afraid any sudden movements would make it disappear. Chen-Kang was standing next to him, looking amused.

"Hi, Harry," Shan said, looking at Hagrid, "Is that Hagrid?"

"Yep," said Harry, looking at Hagrid's happy face in satisfaction, "that's Hagrid."

To Hagrid's disappointment, Chen-Kang declined to stay for dinner, saying he had to return to take care of his other dragons. Harry and the others watched as he mounted the Silverwing.

Hagrid looked like a child whose favourite toy was being taken away from him. He watched mournfully as the dragon unfurled its huge wings, and launched itself into the air.

"Bye-bye, li'l dragon," he said forlornly, waving at the swiftly disappearing figure, "come back soon."

"Where did Chen-Kang get it?" asked Harry, as the Silverwing vanished from sight.

Shan shrugged.

"He has his ways," she said, and then added regretfully, "We're not keeping it, though. It'll go back to the wild once he gets back. We needed a Silverwing, because it could Apparate us here. We had to fly in because we couldn't Apparate within the grounds."

Hagrid's eyes were brimming, and he was still staring at the sky as if he had lost his best friend.

"Don't feel bad, Hagrid," said Hermione consolingly, "you'll get to see it again, at the end of the exchange programme."

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had gone inside the castle, leaving the Gryffindors to show the Tian-Long students around. To Ron's dismay, Pixie had struck up an instant friendship with Parvati and Lavendar, and they were moving toward the Entrance Hall steps, giggling and chattering away. Seamus and Dean were examining Fatty's crystal globe. Neville was looking at Chester, who was peeking out of Chee Chong's pocket.

"I tell you, you shouldn't have brought Chester along, Chong," said Shan, rather impatiently. "He'll freeze here. I had to leave LeafSong behind, because reptiles don't like cold weather."

"He will get lonesome," said Chee Chong stubbornly, as Trevor, Neville's toad, looked interestedly at Chester, who promptly disappeared inside the pocket.

The Tian-Long students seemed keen to look around the castle. Chee Chong, in particular, was rather overcome when he saw how grand the Entrance Hall was. Unlike the others, who were urban and lived in countries which had a fair bit of exposure to western culture, he was from a quiet village in central China, and being in Britain was quite an adventure for him.

"In Tian-Long, the walls and staircases don't keep moving around," said Shan, examining a suit of armour with interest. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Dean gave the password (tiddlywinks). Harry had thought Robert might have trouble getting in through the portrait hole because he was so small, but he simply transformed his wand into a staff, and neatly poled himself in.

"This is so fun," said Pixie, giggling, and glancing coyly at some of the other Gryffindor boys in the room who were looking appreciatively at her, "We don't need a password to get into the pagodas. The House Animals usually keep watch; they know when an intruder is entering, even though there are so many exits."

The girls went up their spiral staircase into their dormitory, the boys doing likewise. Fatty, after looking around the room, promptly took a wind chime out of his lacquer box and hung it over the dormitory door.

"What are you doing?" Seamus asked curiously.

"It's for good feng-shui," explained Fatty, very seriously. "It will prevent too much energy from flowing out of the room."

Seamus looked totally bewildered. Ron, overhearing, looked puzzled.

"But in Tian-Long, we didn't need to have a wind-chime over the door," he pointed out.

"That's different," said Fatty, as if the reason was obvious. "The dormitory door there didn't face the staircase."

Ron looked as bewildered as Seamus. They were interrupted, however, by an exclamation from Chee Chong, who had just opened his trunk. Harry, turning around, saw two familiar black and white faces peeping out.

Ron gave a shout of laughter.

"Ping and Pong!" he said. "I don't believe it. Chee Chong, you brought them along!"

Chee Chong protested that he had done no such thing, and that the Pandas must have stowed themselves away in the trunk. Seamus, Dean and Neville watched as Ping clambered out of the trunk, bounced up and down on the floor a few times, and then rolled her way over to Harry.

"I guess they haven't been to Britain before, and they wanted to see what it was like," said Fatty in a resigned voice, as Ping happily clambered onto Harry's bed and made herself comfortable there.

They were watching Pong roll over to Neville's bed, on which a packet of Honeydukes' sweets reposed, when a chorus of shrieks from outside distracted them. Rushing out, they found most of the other Gryffindors crowding around the door of the girls' dormitory. Harry, pushing his way in, was astonished to see a large monkey, the same one he had seen sparring with the pig the night he had explored the palace. It was swooping around the room, its arms full of someone's clothing. He guessed the clothes must be Pixie's, because she was shouting shrilly at the monkey in Chinese. It took no notice of her whatsoever, and was instead happily flinging each article of clothing to a different corner of the room.

"What on earth is that!" said Dean, who had also pushed his way in.

"We don't know," said Hermione, who was standing near the door with Shan, watching the monkey in fascination. "It was hiding inside Pixie's trunk; it flew out the minute she opened it." She frowned at the boys, who were all crowding in at the dormitory door. "And by the way, you do know, don't you, that all of you are not supposed to come in here."

"It is Master Wu-Kung!" said Shan, looking at Robert and laughing, "I suppose we should have guessed, that he wouldn't be able to resist coming along."

Hermione watched with satisfaction as Pixie shook her fist at the monkey, which was hanging upside down in mid-air, making faces at her. It then threw one of her filmy nightdresses out the window, making her shriek in dismay.

"Master what?" said Ron, watching Pixie with some concern.

"Master Wu-Kung," repeated Shan. "S'un Wu-Kung - The Monkey King."

The monkey had now dropped the remainder of the clothes on top of Lavendar, who gave a small squeak of surprise. It then spied Hermione near the door, and flew over to her, hovering upside down and peering curiously at her. Hermione, startled, took a few steps backward.

"Looks as though you people have brought half of Tian-Long along with you to Hogwarts," said Harry, as Ping and Pong rolled themselves in between the boys' feet into the dormitory.

Pixie was muttering evilly to herself, pointing her wand at the various corners of the room and Summoning her clothes back to her. Parvati went over to the window and Summoned the nightdress back in.

The monkey was still looking at Hermione in fascination. He extended one long arm, and prodded her curiously on the head.

"I thought he was a ghost," said Harry, as Hermione gave an indignant gasp, and retreated a few more paces.

Shan was watching in amusement.

"Master Wu-Kung is more than that," she said. "He's famous throughout China. He's the greatest prankster that ever lived, and he does whatever he pleases and travels wherever he wants to go. No prison can hold him in. He has been hanging around Tian-Long since the beginning of the year, but he's been busy training Pigsy lately, that's why you didn't see much of him while you were there."

The Monkey King suddenly gave a loud whoop, and leaping up in the air, did a couple of somersaults and cartwheels across the room. He then flew back, and conjuring a bunch of flowers in his hands, scattered them over Hermione. He then disappeared with a loud Pop!

"Well!" said Dean, watching in amazement, "I think this is going to be a really interesting exchange programme!"

Later that evening, as they went down to the Great Hall for dinner, the Tian-Long students attracted a number of curious stares because of their colourful robes. Pixie, in particular, was drawing a lot of attention, and not only because her robes were crimson. Ron was hovering near her, scowling at the various boys who were looking at her.

"Interesting," commented Fatty, looking up at the starry ceiling as they entered the Great Hall. They sat down at the Gryffindor table, Shan and Robert opposite Harry. As the food materialised on their plates, Harry asked why Ting-Ting had come along.

"She has been hankering to come back to England for more experience," said Shan, looking appreciatively at the stew that Robert was spooning onto her plate. "Says it'll increase her market value. Lady Wen-Li said she might as well come, she can prepare Chinese food for us if we get tired of English food."

Harry found himself wondering what the Hogwarts house-elves, especially Dobby and Winky, would make of Ting-Ting.

Chee Chong was eating in silence, looking at the gold plates and goblets in a slightly awed manner. Pixie, in between casting coy looks at the boys at the next table, was also looking curiously at the staff table. Ron had told her all about Snape, and this, coupled together with her great dislike of Potions, had made her feel rather uneasy about the coming Potions classes.

"So that's Professor Snape," said Shan, also looking at Snape, who was looking even more dour than usual. "He doesn't look as bad as you've made him out to be."

"That's because you haven't met him close-up, yet," said Ron sourly.

They were halfway through the meal when Nearly Headless Nick, the resident Gryffindor ghost, drifted into the Hall and seated himself in the empty chair next to Shan, smiling away.

"Nick!" said Harry, surprised. The ghosts didn't usually join them for meals except at the beginning of the school year, during the start-of-term feast. "What're you doing here?"

"I've come to welcome our new friends, of course!" said Nearly Headless Nick, beaming at Shan and the others. "An honour for Gryffindor, that we're hosting them for the exchange programme! A warm welcome to all of you, my dears! Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, at your service!"

Robert looked his usual deadpan self, but the other Tian-Long students grinned rather embarrassedly back at him. Lavendar leaned over and whispered something to Pixie, who giggled and looked at Nearly Headless Nick with great interest.

"Nick," said Parvati, in a persuasive tone of voice, "could you show Pixie your - your - er …" She indicated her neck with her finger.

Nearly Headless Nick's smile faded slightly, and he looked rather miffed. However, as all the Chinese students were now looking eagerly at him, he said irritably, "Oh, very well," and seizing his left ear, pulled it so that his head swung off his neck. Pixie gave a small squeal of delight, and clapped her hands.

"Ooh, Sir Mimsy, I think the ghosts here at Hogwarts are so interesting, much more than those at Tian-Long," she cooed, dimpling at Nearly Headless Nick, who looked embarrassed but also extremely pleased. Hermione, hearing this, rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling in exasperation.

Nearly Headless Nick spent the rest of the meal entertaining them with stories about Hogwarts, and he only left them when they had finished dinner and were on their way back to the Gryffindor common room.

"Well, I agree with Xiao-Yan," said Shan, watching as Nearly Headless Nick waved at them and then disappeared through the wall of the corridor, "I think the ghosts here are nice - "

She didn't finish speaking, because a host of large balloons, filled with water, were now dropping out from the ceiling like stones, hitting the floor and exploding in bursts of water all around them.

The Chinese students looked startled at first, then automatically Shielded themselves. Looking up, they saw Peeves the poltergeist floating some twenty feet above them, his arms filled with water bombs.

"Ickle chinkies," he cackled, looking at the Tian-Long students. He lifted a water-bomb and, aiming carefully, threw it unerringly at Fatty. Fatty, however, had Shielded himself in front, and although the bomb exploded on impact, the water didn't penetrate the Shield.

Peeves continued hurling bombs at them. Most of the Chinese students were only able to partially Shield themselves, so, soaked and dripping, they converged on Robert, who obligingly raised a Shield large enough for all of them. Peeves, after hurling a few more bombs at them, realised that he wasn't going to be able to penetrate the Shield, so he began angrily pelting the Hogwarts students instead. Harry and the others danced around, trying to avoid the balloons. Hermione deflected one with a Banishing Charm; seeing this, the others began to follow suit, when all of a sudden all the balloons came to a halt in midair, abruptly changed direction and shot back upward toward Peeves, colliding into him in almighty burst of water.

Peeves cursed loudly, spluttering, and then began zooming around, trying to avoid the remaining water bombs which were still zipping after him. Harry glanced sharply at Robert to see if he was responsible, but Robert seemed as surprised as any of them.

They heard another excited cackling coming from behind them. Turning around, they saw another little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow-tie. He swooped around, smiling wickedly, then suddenly dove at Hermione and brushed her soaking robes with his hand. There was a slight sizzling noise, and the robes shimmered and became completely dry. The second Peeves then zoomed upward to the ceiling, and with a small pop! was gone. There, instead, hovered the Monkey King. With a loud whoop of laughter, it conjured up a few more water-bombs, and sent them shooting after the real Peeves.

Peeves, cursing angrily, dodged the bombs, and came hurtling after the monkey, an enraged expression on his face. The monkey gave a shriek of laughter and shot down the corridor, Peeves in hot pursuit.

They watched as the two disappeared from sight. Robert, seeing that they were no longer under attack, dissolved his Shield.

"Whatever's up with that monkey," wondered Parvati, glancing rather enviously at Hermione, who was looking nice and dry. "He seems to have taken a liking to Hermione."

Hermione looked as though she didn't know whether this was a compliment or not. Dean, looking at the mess on the floor, said, "Better get back to the common room before Filch sees this, or he'll think we did it."

They started making their way back, still dripping and leaving a trail of water behind them. Ron, watching Pixie wringing water out of her crimson robes, said to her, "So…still think the ghosts here are better than those in China?"

The boys' dormitory, with three extra beds crammed into it, seemed very crowded that night. Harry, settling himself in his four-poster, could feel the warm furry ball that was Ping-Ping at his feet. Pong had for some reason decided to sleep in Neville's bed instead, much to Ron's relief. Chester, once again in his little bamboo cage next to Chee Chong's pillow, began chirping his customary night-song, and Harry, listening to him as he drifted off to sleep, almost felt as if they were all back in China again.

"Not yet," answered Harry. "We haven't had any lessons since we came back. Yesterday was Sunday."

The first exchange lesson they had that morning was Potions. Harry found himself wondering what the Chinese students would think of Snape. Pixie, to say the least, was looking very apprehensive. She didn't look very enthusiastic, either, when she saw the place where the class was to be held.

"It's so creepy," she said, looking around the dungeon. "We don't have any classrooms like this, in Tian-Long."

With the exception of Neville, none of the other Gryffindors had wanted to volunteer for Potions. In the end, Seamus and Dean said they would come for the first month, while Parvati and Lavendar agreed to attend in January. When they reached the dungeon, Neville further shocked everyone by taking a seat right in front. Seamus and Dean seated themselves a few tables behind, and were glaring at him from the back, muttering to themselves in amazement.

After several minutes, soft footsteps could be heard approaching, coming down the corridor outside.

"Snape's coming!" hissed Ron, who was seated near the door. The class immediately fell silent, and there was a rather tense atmosphere in the room.

The door swung open, and to their astonishment, they saw that the person coming down the corridor had not been Snape at all, but Jeanne.

She strode calmly in, carrying a large box, and going up to the front, placed it on the desk. She then turned around and stood there, smiling at them.

There was a stunned silence for a few moments.

"Jeanne!" said Harry, at last. "What're you doing here?"

There was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Conducting this class, so it seems," she answered. She saw Neville attentively sitting in the front seat, and her smile broadened.

"What?" said Ron, disbelievingly. "What about Snape?"

"Severus is too busy this month to conduct the exchange class," said Jeanne, "so Professor Dumbledore asked me to step in for him."

Seamus and Dean looked extremely pleased.

"Brilliant," said Dean. "Wait till we tell Parvati and Lavendar. Are you going to take over our regular Potions classes too?" They looked hopefully at her.

Jeanne laughed, but shook her head.

"Severus has agreed to help out with a project," she said, "but not to the extent that he has to be relieved of all his classes."

She picked up a sheet of parchment.

"He gave me a list of instructions," she said, looking at it. "Today, you are to prepare a Confusing Concoction, and next week, a Shrivelling Solution."

The Hogwarts students groaned. They had done both potions before, and knew that they were extremely tedious to prepare, with ingredients were particularly foul-smelling and revolting in appearance.

Jeanne surveyed them for a moment, then crumpled the parchment up and tossed it aside.

"I don't see the need to follow that rigidly, though," she said calmly. "This is an exchange programme, and you won't be sitting for an exam. We shall do something else today."

The class looked relieved. Harry and Ron, who had been seated at the back of the room, gathered their things and came forward to sit in front instead.

Jeanne explained what they were to do, and then let them start work, going from table to table to check on them.

"Neville, you knew," said Ron accusingly, when Jeanne had gone to the back of the class to help Pixie, who as usual was in difficulties. Neville went pink, but grinned at them, and continued cutting up his ingredients. Harry noted that he seemed a lot more confident now that Jeanne was there, unlike Snape's classes where he was usually a nervous wreck.

"Why don't you take over our Potions classes permanently," suggested Ron, as Jeanne came up to Chee Chong who was working at the table just behind them. "Snape can continue teaching the rest of the Potions classes in the school."

She tapped Chee Chong's cauldron with her wand, to anchor it to the table, before coming over to Harry's table.

"You know I don't have the qualifications, Ron," she said, looking at him in amusement. Then, smiling impishly, she added, "And besides, I wouldn't dream of depriving you of Severus' company."

Ron glared at her, and continued stirring his solution.

"So, what project is Snape involved in, now?" asked Harry, dumping his shrivelfigs into his cauldron. Chee Chong, behind them, made one of his usual windmill gestures while talking to Hermione, and whacked his cauldron from the side; but it was now firmly anchored to the table, and didn't budge.

"It's a Tian-Long project which Lady Han-Yin has decided to handle, now that Master Liu Pei is gone," said Jeanne, watching Ron chopping toadstools into small pieces. "Potions are not actually Lady Han-Yin's domain, so she has asked Severus for some advice, because it seems he's quite an expert in this particular field."

"What field is that?" asked Harry, willing to bet his Firebolt that it was something unpleasant.

Jeanne, however, refused to tell them. She just smiled, then went over to Pixie again, who was waving frantically at her from the back.

The potion they were preparing was a Singing Solution, from the same family of potions as the Polyjuice Potion, meaning that the final solution depended on the last ingredient to be added. Jeanne picked the box up from the desk, and they saw that it was filled with large oranges. She went around the class distributing them, two to a student. She then passed a small box around so that they could choose their final ingredient. It was filled with all sorts of small articles : pieces of uncooked pasta, bits of jade, a shamrock, holly, mistletoe, and several types of flower.

Harry chose the mistletoe, then passed the box to Ron, who took a piece of pasta out. They dropped the articles into their cauldrons and stirred until they dissolved. They then squirted a few drops of solution onto their oranges.

The oranges stirred, as if waking from a sound sleep. Two eyes popped out on each of them, fringed with long eyelashes, and a wide, curving mouth. Each orange then cleared its throat in a businesslike manner, fluttered its eyelashes, and began to sing. Harry's pair was singing Christmas carols, while Ron's had plunged into Italian opera.

"I say," said Ron, whose oranges were unusually loud and seemed to be trying to outsing each other, "If I had known, I'd have chosen the holly instead." He covered his ears, as the noise grew deafening.

They filed out of the dungeon when the lesson was over, clutching their oranges which were still singing at the tops of their voices. Jeanne had told them that the solution would wear off after a day, and that the only way to silence the oranges was to eat them. Ron, unable to tolerate the noise after a while, began to peel one of his oranges, and it stopped singing at once.

"What are you doing?" protested Hermione, "That was a beautiful aria!"

"Beautiful, nothing," said Ron, leaving the first orange half-peeled and starting on the second. "It's making me deaf."

Hermione looked indignant. She was carefully carrying her two oranges, who were singing an old Celtic song. "You don't know how to appreciate Puccini!"

Shan and Robert had chosen the pasta as well, and their oranges had taken one look at them and launched into Turandot. Shan looked rather subdued. She was still being cool to Jeanne, and Harry was sure that Jeanne had not succeeded in speaking to her that night in the bamboo grove. Pixie's oranges were singing a Hindustani song, while Fatty's were crooning a Hawaiian lovesong.

"This has marketing potential," said Fatty, looking at the oranges with a gleam in his eye. He took his crystal globe out and tapped it with his wand. Mui Sing's face appeared, and the two of them started chattering away in Cantonese.

Their next class was Care of Magical Creatures. Because of a clash of timetables, Professor McGonagall had been unable to arrange a separate class for the exchange programme, and had arranged instead for the Tian-Long students to attend the regular class together with the Gryffindors and the Slytherins.

"What're we currently doing for Magical Creatures?" asked Harry, as they made their way through the snow-covered grounds.

Neville looked glum.

"Hagrid's gotten hold of some fish called Popping Piranhas," he said. "He's keeping them in a heated tank near the lake."

"Piranhas?" said Hermione, shocked. "Aren't those dangerous?"

"Hagrid doesn't think so," said Seamus grumpily. "These are small ones, and they're not poisonous or anything, but they give quite a painful bite."

Chee Chong and Fatty looked apprehensive. Pixie began to examine her smooth hands and nicely-manicured nails, rather worriedly.

Hagrid was waiting for them when they arrived, his beetle-black eyes twinkling with enthusiasm.

"Good ter see yeh three back ag'n," he said when he saw them, "We've bin havin' a right treat, these two months," - Parvati and Lavendar glowered at him - "Yeh'll see what yeh've bin missin', today!"

"That's great, Hagrid," said Hermione, smiling bravely.

The Slytherins had arrived. Harry noted that Crabbe and Goyle had returned to their usual size, while Malfoy seemed quite unabashed that he had been suspended from the exchange programme. He smirked when he saw Shan standing next to Harry.

"Look, Potter and his girlfriend!" he said in a loud voice to Pansy Parkinson, who was next to him.

Hagrid had gone off to get something, but everyone else turned to look at Harry. Parvati and Lavendar looked surprised, then started giggling. Harry felt his face going red. He hardly dared to look at Shan.

I have to, he thought. I've got to face it, explain that there's nothing, to her…

He looked at her. She had been looking around, to see who the supposed girlfriend was supposed to be, before she realised that Malfoy meant her. She turned to look at Harry, an incredulous expression on her face. Then, to his surprise, she laughed.

"Did you hear that, Robert?" she said, looking at Robert and chuckling, "Did you hear what Malfoy just said? Don't worry, Harry," she turned back to him, "I know Malfoy's trying to irritate us. Just ignore him."

Harry felt rather insulted. Couldn't she at least appear a tiny bit embarrassed?

Shan was still laughing. Robert looked at Harry, and smiled at him.

Malfoy hadn't finished.

"Look, everyone!" he was now saying loudly to the Slytherins, "Look at Potter and his Plain Jane!"

Robert's smile vanished. He didn't say a word, and Harry didn't see him move, but all of a sudden Malfoy rose ten feet up in the air. He hung there for a few seconds, then flipped upside down and shot over to the lake, and plunged headfirst into it.

The Slytherins all gaped in surprise, and then hurried over to the lake. Shan glared at Robert.

"Why'd you do that?" she hissed, in an undertone. "You'll get us into trouble!"

Robert looked unperturbed.

"He deserved it," he said mildly, turning to watch in satisfaction. Malfoy was swimming to the shore as fast as he could, his robes clinging to him and bogging him down. Pansy was shrieking and pointing at something large that was vaguely visible in the water, pursuing him. He made it to the shore and scrambled out, bedraggled and furious, as Sang Nila lunged at him with a snap of his jaws. He looked at Malfoy for a few seconds, a sinister expression in his tawny eyes, and then slipped smoothly back underneath the surface of the water.

Malfoy was shivering, and Pansy rushed him indoors to see Madam Pomfrey and get him into dry clothes. They had hardly disappeared when Hagrid came back, whistling cheerfully, carrying two boxes. He didn't notice Malfoy's absence or the angry looks on the Slytherins' faces as they came back from the lake, simmering with rage, and casting black looks at Harry, obviously thinking him responsible for the dunking.

"Don't worry, Harry," said Robert, as they followed Hagrid over to the tank, "I'll own up to Professor McGonagall, if Malfoy decides to make any trouble over this."

Harry almost didn't mind taking the blame; even a detention was worth it, to see Malfoy being chucked into the lake.

Hagrid's tank was large, and full of gleaming fish, swimming restlessly to and fro. Contrary to what Harry had expected, they looked almost exactly like goldfish, except that they were multicoloured, in shifting hues of rose and green and gold, their shining scales catching the dull December light and reflecting it.

"Why, but they're beautiful!" exclaimed Hermione, looking at them in amazement. She went over to the side of the tank, and leaned over to get a better look.

Dean looked warningly at her.

"Don't judge too quickly, Hermione," he said, casting a surly glance at the fish, "we thought so as well, in the beginning."

Hagrid brought one of the boxes to the side of the tank. Hermione, peeping inside it, drew back in revulsion. Harry, peering in, saw that it was full of squirming, squishy-looking worms.

"Yeh feed 'em like this," said Hagrid, happily. He scooped up a handful of the worms - Pixie went pale, and shivered - and stuck his hand out, over the surface of the water.

The multicoloured fish, sensing that food was nearby, all came swimming toward him. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood by, watching tensely.

It happened very fast. One second the fish were in the water; then, in a flash, four of them leapt out, and they were not smooth and gleaming any more. With a pop! they transformed into scrawny, spine-covered creatures, their bodies rough and rocklike in texture, with bulging eyes and jagged teeth protruding from their mouths. They lunged at Hagrid's hands, and engulfed not only the worms, but his fingers as well. They hung there, holding on grimly, like small and determined bulldogs.

Pixie gave an exclamation of disgust and turned away. Hagrid, who was wearing gloves of dragon-hide, beamed at Harry and the others. Shaking his hand vigorously, he managed to dislodge the fish, sending them hurtling back into the water. They hit it with a sharp splash, and immediately became gleaming and beautiful again.

"See?" said Hagrid, looking at them fondly. "Nothin' to it."

"But, Hagrid," protested Ron, "why can't we just drop the worms into the water?"

"Ah, that's wha' the others said, too, bu' it won' work," said Hagrid, looking earnestly at him. "The li'l blighters only eat live prey, an' once yeh drop the worms into the water, they drown, and the fish refuse ter touch 'em."

He took out a pile of dragonhide gloves from a sack and began distributing them to the students, who took them most unenthusiastically.

"Eurgh, Hagrid," said Lavendar, closing her eyes and taking a handful of the worms, "Can't we feed them something else instead?"

Hagrid began to explain in detail that the fish had very selective appetites, and would only consume this particular species of worm. Lavendar stuck her hand out over the water, but the minute the fish jumped out, she squealed in fright and dropped the worms. They sank, lifeless, to the floor of the tank, and the multicoloured fish turned away from them in disgust.

Parvati and Pixie put their gloves on and came forward, steeling themselves. Harry had the impression that they were even more afraid of the worms than the fish.

"I think I'm going to pass out," said Pixie faintly, shuddering and averting her eyes as she felt the worms squirming through the dragonhide. Harry, Ron and Hermione, seeing Hagrid looking expectantly at them, also pulled their gloves on, and took up handfuls of worms.

"It can't be that bad," muttered Ron, as they leaned over the side of the tank. "It didn't seem to hurt Hagrid."

Harry was about to reply, when two fish jumped out and fastened their jaws onto his fingers. The pain was excruciating. He let out a yell, and desperately shook his hand until the fish gave up and let go. The pain disappeared at once. He pulled the glove off, and glared at his fingers. There wasn't even the slightest mark on them.

Ron was grimacing and banging his hand against the side of the tank, until his Piranhas finally fell off. Hagrid came over and peered anxiously into the water to see if the fish were hurt.

"Blimey, Hagrid," groaned Ron, leaning against the tank and pulling off his glove, "trying to kill us."

Hagrid chuckled.

"Takes some gettin' us'd ter, that's all," he said, looking affectionately at the Piranhas, "nothin' like a li'l nip ter get yeh goin' for the day."

The Slytherins, casting dirty looks at Hagrid, gathered around the opposite end of the tank where the second box of worms had been placed. Shan and Chee Chong, looking resigned, pulled on their gloves and came forward. Robert, however, was looking thoughtfully at the worms.

"Wait a minute," he said to them. He took his wand out, and pointing it at the worms, muttered something. A fist-sized ball of worms flew up in the air and sailed over to the tank. It then hovered there, over the water. Three Piranhas leapt out, tore several worms out of the ball, and engulfing them, dived back into the water again.

"Hey, neat!" exclaimed Seamus, looking impressed. The entire class, seeing this, surged forward and surrounded Robert.

"It's a Hover Charm," explained Robert, looking up at the wall of Gryffindors and Slytherins around him, "You have to fix an image in your mind of how many worms you want to pull out, or you'll pull the entire boxful out. And the only incantation I know is in Chinese."

"Chinese? No problem!" said Dean, looking eager. "What is it?"

Robert cleared his throat, and said something that sounded like 'piao fú fei xiáng!'

Shan and the other Tian-Long students were already by the tank, hovering small balls of worms over the surface of the water.

The Hogwarts students tried the incantation, but the worms didn't rise an inch.

"You have to pronounce it correctly," said Robert seriously, "it's 'xiáng', not 'shàng'."

Hagrid was watching the Tian-Long students, looking rather crestfallen.

"It seems like cheatin', somehow," he said.

Try as they might, the British students couldn't get the pronunciation and the intonation right. The Slytherins soon gave up in disgust and returned to their end of the tank, grumbling among themselves. Ron, hoping to impress Pixie, said, "Let's try something else!"

He pointed his wand at the worms.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he said.

The entire box flew up in the air and flipped over, tipping the worms out. They rained down onto the surrounding area, showering themselves onto the Gryffindors. Parvati and Lavendar screamed, and there was a mad scramble to get out of range.

"You stupid git!" roared Dean, pulling a handful of squirming worms out from his collar, "We want them to hover, not come raining down on us!"

Ron, looking mortified, was plucking worms out of his red hair. The Slytherins were howling with laughter, while the Chinese students, who had been out of range of the worms, seemed to be trying very hard not to smile. Pixie turned her back on them, but her shoulders were shaking slightly.

Hagrid was looking worriedly at his worms. Parvati and Lavendar seemed to be in hysterics, and were frantically brushing worms off their clothes and hair.

The Gryffindors spent the next ten minutes de-worming themselves, after which they had to collect the worms from the ground and return them back to the box. They then had to brave the teeth of the Piranhas for the remainder of the lesson.

"First chance I get, I'm going to look up Hover Charms in the library," Hermione muttered, wincing as three Piranhas fastened themselves to her fingers.

"The thing is, they don't leave any marks, and there aren't any lasting effects, so we can't report it to Madam Pomfrey," said Seamus gloomily. "Otherwise, we might be able to get her to persuade Hagrid to find some other creature."

"I'm going to have nightmares tonight," said Lavendar, shuddering and closing her eyes, as she took another handful of worms. "I'll be dreaming my bed's full of worms…" She opened her eyes, and looked critically at them.

"I think they're dead, anyway," she said in disgust. She went over to Hagrid, and showed them to him. "Why don't we just stop for the day?"

The worms did indeed look rather lifeless. They seemed to have stopped squirming, at any rate. The ground was cold, and they had been half-frozen in the snow. Hagrid, seeing this, went over to the Slytherins' side to borrow some, but their box was almost empty. Not caring whether the fish were fed or not, they had simply dropped most of the worms into the water, and the floor of their end of the tank was now carpeted with dead worms.

Hagrid reluctantly dismissed the class, assuring them he'd have a new supply of worms for them by the next lesson.

"Well, thanks anyway, Ron," said Harry, as they made their way back to the castle. "You got us off fifteen minutes early."

"Yeah," said Ron, gloomily. He noticed a stray worm in Hermione's hair, and pulled it out. "Saved the day, I did."

Harry found Hermione later that afternoon in the Gryffindor common room, barricaded in a corner by several piles of library books.

"Harry," she said at once when she saw him, "can I borrow the Marauder's Map? I want to see where Professor Flitwick is…maybe we can persuade him to teach us Hover Charms during our next lesson."

The common room, for once, happened to be empty, so Harry brought the Map downstairs and handed it to Hermione.

Hermione bent over it, frowning, and then she saw something, which drove all thoughts of Hover Charms out of her head.

"Look!" she cried, pointing with one shaking finger at something on the Map, "Look who Jeanne's with!"

Harry, who was doing his homework at a table nearby, looked up, startled. "Huh? What? Who? Snape?"

Hermione seemed almost too excited to speak.

"Diary of a Wizard in China!" she said, rather incoherently.

Harry had a sudden vision of a giant diary with two legs sticking out of it, walking next to Jeanne. He came over to have a look, but at this moment, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, and Shan and Robert climbed in. Harry hurriedly took the Map from Hermione, but it was too late; they had seen it.

"What's that?" asked Shan, and then, seeing Harry's face, went red.

"It's all right," she said, quickly turning away, "I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

"No!" exclaimed Hermione. "Harry, show it to them…they might know something - I tell you, nearly all the English translations in the Tian-Long library were done by him!"

"What?" said Harry, bewildered, "Who?"

"Septimus Snufflegint!" said Hermione, taking hold of the Map and bending over it again, "It's him! I saw him, together with Jeanne!"

Shan and Robert were standing a short distance away, unsure whether to approach them or not.

"Master Li-Kai?" said Shan, looking mildly surprised. "Is he here?"

Hermione looked at her in astonishment. Harry, examining the Map, saw that Jeanne was walking up the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall. Next to her was a small dot marked, "Septimus Snufflegint".

"Well, who's he?"

"I told you," said Hermione impatiently, "A Diary of a Wizard in China! He's the one who wrote it!" She turned to Shan, an eager expression on her face. "You called him by another name…does that mean you know him?"

Shan nodded, looking rather puzzled by Hermione's enthusiasm.

"Li-Kai is his Chinese name," she said. "He's a teacher at Tian-Long…he teaches us Western Magical Studies."

"A teacher?" Hermione looked surprised. "But - we've never seen any non-Chinese teachers there!"

"Master Li is a recluse," Shan explained. "He lives in a small room in the west wing of the palace, above the library. He has all his meals there. His classroom is just next to his office, and I don't think he ever strays from that area."

Hermione was listening to her, amazed. She checked the Map again.

"I'm going to ask him for an autograph!" she said, and hurried up to her dormitory to get her book.

"But, it's not possible," said Harry.

Shan looked questioningly at him. Robert was now examining the Marauder's Map with great interest.

"That diary was written at the beginning of the century," said Harry. "How can he still be alive? He must be really ancient by now."

"He is really old," Shan agreed, "but his mind is still sharp - " She stopped, because Hermione had come back with her book, looking rather breathless. Checking the Map, she said, "They're heading toward the Astronomy Tower! Let's go!" And she sprinted over to the portrait hole, and climbed out.

The others quickly followed.

"Hermione," said Harry, catching up with her, "How are you going to explain how we know he's here? The Map's a secret!"

"We can say Shan spotted him in the Entrance Hall, and told us who he is," panted Hermione. She rounded a corner, and collided right into Chee Chong.

"Oh!" "Ouch!"

Hermione had fallen to the floor, while Chee Chong stumbled, Chester clinging onto his shoulder in order not to fall off.

Chee Chong steadied himself, then reached a hand out to help Hermione up.

"What is happening?" he asked, looking at all of them, startled.

"Master Li-Kai is here," said Shan, still looking puzzled at Hermione's enthusiasm. "Hermione wants to meet him."

Hermione was already hurrying on her way. The others followed, Chee Chong included. As they approached the Astronomy Tower, Harry remembered the Imperial scrolls; maybe this would be a good time to try having a look at them.

They found Jeanne and Septimus Snufflegint outside a chamber a few doors down from Professor Sinistra's office. Septimus Snufflegint was very tall, and slightly stooped. His wrinkled face, which sported a short, white beard, did indeed look very old; but his eyes were keen and bright. They lacked warmth, though, and Harry, looking at him, felt rather chilled. There was no friendliness in that face, and the look that he gave them was both intense and searching.

Hermione noticed this as well, and came to a halt, clutching her book rather uncertainly. Jeanne looked surprised to see all of them. Snufflegint said nothing, but stood there staring coldly at them. His robes of white silk were Mandarin-style with long, full sleeves and a narrow collar, and they looked rather strange on him.

Shan and Chee Chong greeted him in Chinese, and he replied in the same tongue. Harry and Hermione looked at each other in surprise. For some reason, it was decidedly odd to hear an Englishman speaking what seemed, to them, to be fluent and perfect Chinese. Hermione looked impressed. They stood there, listening in fascination as he conversed with the Tian-Long students, although they couldn't understand a word. Harry, of course, had stopped carrying the Translator with him now that he was back in Hogwarts.

Snufflegint suddenly noticed Harry and Hermione standing by, and swept a fierce and brooding glance at them.

"I forget myself!" he said, in his deep voice. "I am back in Britain now, and must use English!"

He stared at them for a moment, before turning to the Tian-Long students again. "As I was saying, it is most timely that all of you are here for the exchange programme. I need someone to assist me in the restoration and translation of several scrolls. Someone who knows old Chinese script, and is good in Astronomy."

Shan darted a look at Robert, and then at Harry. Harry knew what she was thinking; this was the ideal chance for them to find out whether Liu Pei's scroll was among the Imperial scrolls.

Robert, seeing that Shan was going to volunteer him, immediately said, "Chee Chong."

Snufflegint turned his cold stare on Chee Chong.

"Yes, it is true I rike Astronomy," said Chee Chong, looking rather abashed, "but I am not familiar with lestoring old scrolls."

"A minor problem," said Snufflegint, looking at him in a calculating manner, "I can easily teach you!"

He turned to Jeanne.

"I mentioned, young woman, that I hope you will join me later for tea," he said, looking at her with a curious gleam in his eyes, "I have something to show you which you may be most interested in."

Jeanne seemed rather taken aback.

"But of course," she said, hesitantly, "I don't see why not." She glanced at her watch. "I have a few chores to finish first, but I should be free after four."

"Splendid," said Snufflegint gruffly. He turned to Chee Chong. "If you are free now, laddie, I can brief you on what you have to do."

Chee Chong nodded nervously, and Snufflegint, grasping him firmly by the shoulder, as if he were afraid he would run away, began leading him into the chamber.

Jeanne, however, had noticed Hermione's hopeful expression, and the book she was holding.

"Professor Snufflegint," she said, "I believe this young lady wants to ask you something."

Professor Snufflegint paused, and stared coldly at Hermione.

"If…if you would autograph my book, sir," said Hermione rather tremulously, holding the book out.

Snufflegint took a Chinese seal from his pocket, and stamped the book without a word. He then gave it back to Hermione, and looked at Jeanne.

"Four o'clock, then," he said. "I shall be honoured to have you grace my table. As you might know," - glancing at the book Hermione was holding - "I have always found you shape-shifters most - interesting."

Jeanne looked startled, but nodded. Snufflegint, with another cold stare at all of them, turned and grimly steered Chee Chong, who looked like a trapped animal, into the chamber.

They stood watching as the chamber door swung shut, and then Hermione turned to Jeanne.

"What is he doing here?" she asked curiously. "Have you met him before?"

Jeanne nodded in answer to the second question. "I met him briefly, while we were at Tian-Long. Professor Sinistra says the scrolls Lady Wen-Li has borrowed for her need to be restored and translated before she can study them, and since she isn't familiar with restoration and doesn't know Chinese, Professor Snufflegint has volunteered to do it for her."

Harry looked at the door of the chamber, which was now shut.

"He looks like a pretty cold fish," he said. "Hermione, I can't think why you're so keen to get his autograph."

"Oh, he's not like that in the book at all," said Hermione earnestly, "You should read how he writes…it's so beautiful…he paints pictures in your mind, you can imagine you're there with him."

Jeanne looked thoughtfully at her.

"It's the first time Septimus has come back to Britain in a long while," she said. "Professor Dumbledore told me he used to teach here at Hogwarts; he was Dumbledore's teacher. But he always had a great fascination for China…in those days, it was a mysterious land, and little was known about it."

"Yes, I know," said Hermione, looking sentimentally at her book, "He mentioned that in here."

Harry looked surprised. "He taught here?"

Jeanne nodded.

"Septimus was Astronomy Master when Dumbledore was a student," she said. "But he always had a great yearning to travel to China. One day he finally gave in to his desire, and sent in his resignation. He's traveled the length and breadth of the country since, and his love affair with China has been a long one. He found, after many years, though, that he still didn't fit in there, yet when he came back to England he found he no longer belonged here, either."

She fell silent, looking at the chamber door, as if thinking about something.

"How did he end up at Tian-Long?" asked Harry.

"Eventually, he returned to China," she said, looking gravely at him. "Dumbledore says that he has always been a loner. Perhaps he realised that he would never fit in anywhere, anyway, no matter where he went. Or perhaps it was because he still felt a stranger there that the attraction remained…sometimes we always desire what seems to be unattainable. When Lady Wen-Li started her school, she wanted to include Western Magic as a subject in the curriculum, and she also wanted someone to translate the numerous Chinese texts in her library into English, so that east and west could gradually come to understand one another. That was her vision. So, she invited Septimus to join the school."

"I think I've seen him before, now," said Hermione slowly. "I remember a tall figure in white, going out of the library one day."

Jeanne smiled at her, then glanced at her watch.

"I'd better be going," she said. "I must finish those chores, or I won't be able to make it for tea."

She glanced at Shan, who was keeping silent and staring at the floor, then smiled at Robert who was looking solemnly at her. With a nod at Harry and Hermione, she went over to the nearest window, transformed into a hawk, and flew out.

"Robert, why'd you do that?" she said reproachfully. "We had a golden opportunity to look at the scrolls, and you threw it away. And you sabotaged poor Chong…now he'll have extra work to do, in addition to our assignments, and you know he's a slow student."

Robert seemed quite unrepentant.

"He loves Astronomy, Shan," he said mildly. "He wanted to do it. And he's the only one among us who's studied ancient Chinese script. If you want to find out what's in the scrolls, we'd have to ask him to help us, anyway."

Shan was not appeased.

"You know you can easily pick up ancient script, like you pick up everything else."

Robert, seeing how cross she was, looked amused.

"Chee Chong is discreet," he said. "I don't see why we can't let him in on the secret."

"Shan, I'm sure we don't mind Chee Chong knowing," said Hermione, taking Robert's side. "Right, Harry?" She looked meaningfully at Harry.

"Er - yeah," said Harry. If it had been Pixie they were talking about, he would have objected, but he didn't really mind telling Chee Chong about Liu Pei's scroll.

Shan still looked rather cross as they started back down the Tower. She fell behind with Harry, letting Hermione and Robert go in front. Robert took several new books out of his bag, and showed them to Hermione.

"He's not really interested in the scrolls," she grumbled, looking at the two in front. Harry saw that Robert had bought a new comic book, Gilbert the Grindylow. "He just wants to have more time to read all his books."

On their way back to the common room, they passed through a corridor lined with rooms used mostly for stores, including the storeroom that Harry had discovered two years ago, the night he'd encountered a werewolf in the Forbidden Forest. He'd never gone back since then, or used the secret passageway that led to the entrance behind the ivy, but every time he happened to pass this way he would always idly glance at the storeroom, and wonder if Jeanne and Lupin still used the passageway to enter the grounds, every full moon.

Today, however, Harry noticed something rather strange. When they reached the place where the storeroom door usually was, it wasn't there. He looked up and down the corridor. It sometimes shifted itself to another part of the corridor, as so many of the doors and windows in Hogwarts did, but this time, it seemed to have vanished altogether.

He stopped for a moment, and Shan, next to him, also came to a halt. "What's the matter?"

Harry looked up and down the corridor again, then continued after Hermione and Robert.

"Nothing, really," he said, still scanning the walls. "I thought there was a storeroom along this corridor, but the door seems to have disappeared."

"It'll probably turn up another day," said Shan, glancing around as well. "I still can't get used to the way everything keeps moving, around here."

She fell silent, after that. Harry shot a glance at her. Since that day by the lake, she had never spoken about her mother's death, and he wondered whether she had gotten over it. When the others were around, she always seemed cheerful, but when she was alone with him or with Robert he would sometimes catch a rather hopeless expression in her eyes, or a despairing look on her face. He also noticed that although she was more outgoing than Robert, she seemed to rely on him for a lot of things, like schoolwork, as if she had no confidence in completing anything by herself.

They found Ron in the common room and told him what had happened. He had been busy with Pixie earlier, but she had now disappeared somewhere with Parvati and Lavendar. Ron had got the hint that Harry wasn't very keen about letting Pixie know about Liu Pei's scroll, and although he was a bit hurt, he didn't really mind not telling her, since she seemed totally disinterested in the matter anyway.

Chee Chong did not appear until dinnertime, and since the rest of the class was there, they couldn't mention Liu Pei's scroll. They could, however, ask him what Snufflegint had asked him to do.

"There are many scrolls there," he said, "More than fifty. They are all very old and dirty. He taught me to lemove the dirt with a special blush; you must move the blush in small fricks, like this," - he made a flicking motion with his hand - "but not too hard, or you will damage the parchment."

He poked his fork into a potato, looking tired.

"What is on the scrolls?" asked Shan, trying not to look too interested.

"Most of them, there is too much dirt to see," said Chee Chong, "but some are better. Those I can read look rike an old copy of the Chou Pei Suan Ching."

"The what?" said Harry, startled.

"The Chou Pei Suan Ching," repeated Chee Chong, looking earnestly at him. "It is an old Chinese astronomical manual."

Ron looked impressed.

"What does it mean, in English?" he asked.

Chee Chong didn't know the English translation. He looked at Shan and Robert for help.

Robert, seeing that they were now looking at him, said, "The Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven."

"Huh?" said Ron, looking totally lost.

Harry, glancing at Hermione, was relieved to see that even she was looking blank.

"It's a very old text," said Robert. "But I don't know why Professor Sinistra would want this particular copy. We have a good one in the Tian-Long library."

"She does not want it," said Chee Chong, looking mournful. "I heard her talking to Master Li-Kai. She is only intelested in ten of those scrolls, which contain an account of the deveropment of the Lunar Mansions. But Master Li-Kai, he said we might as well lestore all the scrolls for the Emperor."

"How long does it take to restore one scroll?" asked Shan, looking concerned.

"Very long," said Chee Chong, "I do not know how I can do all this and my assignments as well."

Shan gave Robert a look as if to say, "I told you so!"

"What are Lunar Mansions?" asked Hermione.

"The Chinese equivalent of the Zodiac," said Robert. "The ancient Chinese mapped the stars along the Celestial Equator into twenty-eight constellations, not twelve. Each is called a Lunar Mansion." He glanced at Lavendar and Seamus who were sitting nearby, and added, "It's quite, er, common knowledge."

Harry and Ron looked disappointed; they knew what Robert was trying to say. The scrolls mentioned so far weren't important enough for someone to have stolen them from the Imperial Archives.

Harry decided to have one more shot.

"The scrolls are usually wrapped in silk, aren't they?" he said casually. "What's the colour of the silk?"

Chee Chong looked surprised at the question. Shan hurriedly said, "Probably yellow; that's usually the colour of the Emperor. Right, Chong?"

"No," said Chee Chong, still looking puzzled, "They are wrapped in brue silk."

Harry looked at Shan. So, he had been wrong - Liu Pei's scroll probably wasn't among those Imperial scrolls. They had been barking up the wrong tree.

"It doesn't mean anything," said Shan, when dinner was over and they were going back to the common room. "The thief could have removed the yellow silk and wrapped the scroll in blue instead."

"Well, yeah," said Harry, feeling slightly disheartened, "But we're probably just wasting our time anyway. Maybe Liu Pei's scroll isn't important after all. Maybe he just happened to pick it up somewhere, and was looking at it to kill time."

"But it was an Imperial scroll," pointed out Shan. "And somebody thought it important enough to steal."

"Not all the scrolls in the Imperial Archives contain significant information, Shan," said Robert, who had been listening. "A lot just have historical value."

"Right," agreed Harry gloomily. "And I don't even know if that figure in black took it or not. For all we know, the wind blew it out the window, or something."

They had their first Divination exchange class the next day. Shan and the others looked intrigued when they discovered that they had to climb a ladder to get up to Professor Trelawney's room.

"Ooo, this is so quaint, Ronniekins," said Pixie, when she saw the classroom with its chintz armchairs and pouffes. "So much more interesting than our classroom at Tian-Long!"

Hermione, who disliked Divination in general and Professor Trelawney in particular, was looking unenthusiastic. Professor Trelawney did not seem to be around, so they settled themselves in the armchairs and pouffes to wait. Parvati and Lavendar had, of course, willingly volunteered to attend all the Divination classes, but to Harry's surprise, both Seamus and Dean turned up for the first class as well.

"We've got a bet on," whispered Seamus, so that Lavendar wouldn't hear. "This can be considered a new class, and we're betting that Trelawney will predict one of the Chinese students is going to die."

"Not likely," said Ron. "Harry's in this class. And so far she's reserved all her fatalistic predictions for him."

"Who're you betting on?" asked Harry.

Dean and Seamus both spoke at the same time.

"Chee Chong." "Robert."

Robert and Shan, who were sitting nearby, heard Robert's name being mentioned, and looked inquiringly at them.

Hermione, looking disapproving as she always did when speaking about Professor Trelawney, explained that their Divination teacher's favourite way of greeting a new class was to predict someone's death.

"Hm," said Shan, not looking impressed. She disliked Divination, and usually spent most of Madam Tang's classes playing with LeafSong on the sly.

A slight movement to Harry's left caught his eye, and he saw that Professor Trelawney had appeared in her habitual silent, unnerving way. Adjusting her gauzy, spangled shawl, her innumerable chains and beads hanging around her spindly neck, she glided over to her winged armchair by the fire, and seated herself in it.

"Welcome," she said dreamily, surveying the Tian-Long students in turn with her enormous eyes, "I bid our young friends from the Middle Kingdom a warm welcome."

The Chinese students, who had been looking at her in fascination, didn't seem to know what to say to this. Robert was looking deadpan, Shan polite, and Chee Chong respectful. Pixie giggled nervously, while Fatty was looking slightly sceptical. Fatty had lost some faith in Divination ever since Madam Tang had failed to predict the failure of his father's business, although he continued to assure Harry, to the latter's chagrin, that he still believed Harry would one day bring him good luck.

"Doubtless you have been thoroughly schooled in the ancient techniques of Chinese Divination," Professor Trelawney continued dreamily. "I now have the privilege of revealing the knowledge of the Diviners of the western world to you." She suddenly shot a look at Fatty. "Tell me, boy, are your business projects doing well?"

Fatty scowled and said, "tolerably."

"One should not be too certain, my dear," said Professor Trelawney solemnly. She glanced at Parvati and Lavendar, who were listening to her breathlessly.

"The hours Fate has entrusted to us to share are few," she went on, turning back to the Chinese students again, "And so there are many secrets of western Divination that I will not be able to impart to you. Today, and for the next few weeks, we shall apply ourselves to the reading of tea-leaves. Then, after Christmas, we shall spend a fortnight contemplating the movements of the stars and planets. The final weeks shall be devoted to crystal-gazing."

She then instructed them to pair up, as Harry and the others had in their third year, and filled their teacups for them.

Seamus and Dean seated themselves between Fatty and Chee Chong, who were together, and Shan and Robert. Harry found himself with Hermione, because Ron had teamed up with Pixie. Seating themselves next to Robert's table, he heard Shan whispering, "This is such a waste of time!"

Professor Trelawney, her beads glittering in the firelight, moved from table to table, listening to see if they were interpreting their tea-leaves properly. Finally, she came over to Chee Chong's table. Seamus and Dean watched in excitement as she picked up Chee Chong's teacup, which Fatty had been examining.

"Let me see…" she murmured, looking critically at the cup, "The sparrow … an illness in the family," - turning the teacup - "Oh!" she started, and gave a shrill cry.

Dean, who had bet on Chee Chong, was leaning forward and listening eagerly.

Professor Trelawney turned to gaze at Chee Chong, a mournful expression in her eyes. "My poor boy…I am distressed, to have to break the news to you..."

Harry and Hermione were also watching with interest.

"Poverty, my dear," said Professor Trelawney, turning the teacup around in her thin hands and staring sorrowfully at it, "You have the shattered bowl…extreme poverty…yes, the bowl is broken…hunger till the end of your days…"

Chee Chong looked alarmed, while Harry felt indignant. It seemed cruel, however unintentional, to remind Chee Chong that his family's farm had been destroyed. Seamus grinned at Dean, who was now sitting back in his chair, looking disappointed.

Professor Trelawney moved over to Harry and Hermione. She did not stay with them long, because Hermione persisted in wearing a scornful expression on her face. Moreover, Professor Trelawney had been feeling annoyed with Harry lately, having noticed that neither he nor Ron seemed to be taking her classes very seriously. Harry, seeing her look around the room, had a feeling that she was searching for another victim; her eye fell on Robert.

Robert, who had been quietly reading Gilbert the Grindylow under the table, quickly hid it when he saw Professor Trelawney approaching. Seamus, pretending to examine Dean's teacup, winked at Dean and mouthed the word "Ten Galleons" at him.

Professor Trelawney picked up Robert's teacup, which Shan had been looking at, and turned it around. She was so absorbed that she hardly noticed Seamus and Dean coming over; they were peering over her shoulder, holding their breath.

"The dragon…one of your family is in danger, my child…"

Harry and Hermione, wondering if Seamus would win his bet, had also come over.

"A full moon…a great surprise lies in store for you…"

Ron and the others, wondering why they were crowding around Professor Trelawney, had now come over as well.

Professor Trelawney's huge eyes suddenly widened, and she gave a soft, gasping scream. Seamus, seeing this, leaned forward and looked anxiously at her.

"Oh…my dear boy…my poor child…it cannot be…"

"What, Professor?" said Seamus, looking at her intently, "What is it?"

Professor Trelawney was looking at Robert, her eyes brimming with tears.

"My poor, dear child…my heart bleeds for you…no…I should spare you the fell news…"

"Oh," said Parvati, glancing at the cup, "Oh, Professor, you don't mean - "

"My dear," said Professor Trelawney, gazing at Robert, her voice throbbing with emotion, "My poor, dear boy, I must break the news to you. My dear, you have the Grim!"

"Yes!" said Seamus loudly, punching a fist in the air. Then, realising what he'd done, he went extremely red, as the rest of the class turned to look at him.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Professor Trelawney slowly turned her enormous eyes on Seamus.

"My dear boy," she said at length, looking severely at him, "I need not say, as I think we all know, that it is extremely unfeeling of you, to say the least, to rejoice in the ill-fate of one of your fellow students."

Parvati and Lavendar were looking in a shocked and horrified manner at Seamus, who was still rather red. Dean tried to suppress a snort of laughter.

Professor Trelawney turned back to Robert.

"My child," she said, "It rends my heart to be the one to inform you…but we must be brave…life is such, often so, that our destiny is not ours to choose."

Robert looked up at her, his glasses reflecting the surroundings. Seeing that Professor Trelawney expected him to reply, he searched his mind for an appropriate response.

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

Professor Trelawney frowned slightly.

"My dear," she said, "Perhaps, though I fail to see how it can be, the import of what I have said seems to have been lost on you. My dear, you have the Grim! The giant dog, the midnight shadow, that haunts the graves of the dead! My dear, it is an omen - the omen of death!"

Robert gave a small sigh, hardly noticeable, and flicked a glance at Shan who, always protective of her cousin, was looking disapprovingly at Professor Trelawney. Seeing that Professor Trelawney was looking expectantly at him, he tried to think of something more interesting to say, but couldn't.

"Yes, ma'am," he said again. Then, when she continued to look at him, added mildly, "As you say, ma'am."

Dean and Seamus sniggered, then hurriedly turned it into a cough and a sneeze. Professor Trelawney began to look rather impatient.

"My boy," she said, drawing herself up slightly and looking severely at Robert, "You do not realise the significance of this omen! The Grim, the ghostlike canine that prowls the tombs of those who have passed on, usually strikes fear into those with the awareness of its import! Death approaches, my child! Your death! The Grim is an omen of death, of -"

Harry could see that Shan had had quite enough of Professor Trelawney, and braced himself as she opened her mouth to say something in Robert's defence. Hermione, however, beat her to it.

"That's enough!"

Everyone turned to look at her.

Hermione was looking very cross, and her face was rather red.

"You've said enough!" she said impatiently. "We got it the first time around! You don't have to keep hammering it in, as if we have no brains of our own!"

Professor Trelawney looked highly affronted. Parvati and Lavendar, ever willing to champion their favourite teacher, hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"Ignore her, Professor," said Parvati, looking darkly at Hermione. "We understand the importance of what you said."

"Professor, we appreciate your efforts," said Lavendar, looking anxious, "someone had to be burdened with the unwelcome task of breaking the news to Robert; I'm sure he agrees with me." She looked at Robert, who merely looked expressionlessly back at her.

Hermione gathered up her things.

"I've had enough for today," she said flatly. With a scornful glance at Professor Trelawney, she left the classroom.

Professor Trelawney chose to ignore this, and somewhat mollified by Parvati and Lavendar's loyalty, dismissed the class in a dignified manner. Dean, scowling, took ten Galleons out of his wallet and gave them to Seamus. Ron, leaving together with Harry and Pixie, was frowning.

"What's up?" said Harry.

"Hermione," said Ron, looking highly displeased, "Since when is she so defensive of Robert? She's been awfully chummy with him lately. Know what, Harry - I think she fancies him!"

Pixie giggled. Harry looked startled.

"Robert?" he said. "Come off it, Ron. It's just Trelawney … you know Hermione doesn't like her."

Ron was still frowning.

"She likes him," he insisted. "I've seen her looking at him with a funny expression on her face. And she grabs every chance that she can get, to discuss books with him!"

Pixie giggled again.

"Well, what about it, Ronniekins," she said, dimpling, "It'd be a good thing, wouldn't it? Then she might get him away from Shan, and give Harry a chance!"

Ron did not reply, but continued to scowl darkly. Harry, privately wishing someone would throttle Pixie, fell behind, and saw Shan and Robert smiling at some joke.

"What's so funny?" he asked, hoping they hadn't overheard.

Shan gave him a broad grin.

"Our teacups," she said, pushing her glasses up her nose and shaking slightly with mirth, "We forgot that we were supposed to swap them. That was my teacup that Professor Trelawney was looking at, all the time."

Later that day, Harry happened to pass through the Stores corridor again, and noticed that the storeroom door was still missing. He felt slightly intrigued. In the two years since he'd discovered the hidden passageway, the door had always been there, every time he'd passed this way. The most it did was shift up and down the corridor a bit. Moreover, there was quite a large area of wall between two of the doors, as if they were leaving ample room for the storeroom door to come back.

However, it wasn't peculiar for a door in Hogwarts to disappear, so he decided not to make too much of it. He was just turning the corner at the end of the corridor when he heard faint footsteps, and looking back, saw that Dumbledore had entered from the other end.

Harry continued round the corner, but then, something made him stop. He could hear Dumbledore's footsteps coming down the corridor. Harry was just estimating that he was about halfway down the corridor, when the footsteps stopped. After a few moments, the sound of a door opening and closing could be heard.

Harry went back to the corner and looked round it. The corridor was now empty. He stood there for a moment, then continued making his way back to the common room. It didn't mean anything; Dumbledore had probably gone into one of the other rooms.

"But the rooms along that corridor are mostly for stores," thought Harry. "There aren't any teachers' offices or classrooms there. Why should Dumbledore be inspecting the stores?"

On an impulse, he turned and started off in the direction of the Entrance Hall instead. Leaving the castle and entering the grounds, he headed for the part of the castle where the ivy had been growing. It was winter now, and the ivy had lost all its leaves, exposing the wall behind. The door of the passageway was not visible. Harry felt sure it was still there, and that one just needed the right incantation to make it appear. He looked up to see if the storeroom window was there, but it wasn't. It, too, had disappeared.

He stared at the section of blank wall where the window was supposed to be. Had it shifted itself elsewhere? Feeling curious, he turned and made his way back to the Gryffindor common room and up to his dormitory, and took the Marauder's Map out. He wanted to see which room Dumbledore had gone into.

To his surprise, the Map showed that Dumbledore wasn't in any of the rooms along that particular corridor.

He searched through the whole Map, thinking Dumbledore might have left by now and gone to some other part of the castle, but he couldn't find him anywhere.

He looked at the corridor again, and blinked. A small dot labelled 'Albus Dumbledore' had suddenly appeared, in the exact spot Harry remembered the storeroom to be. The dot then moved out of the storeroom and down the corridor, and back to Dumbledore's office.

Harry felt rather excited. What did this mean? Was the storeroom still there? Why had Dumbledore not shown up on the Map? He couldn't have Apparated. Had he opened another Vortex, like the one that had brought Harry to Kamchatka?

He looked at the Map again, and by chance, something else happened to catch his eye.

Jeanne and Professor Snufflegint were in the school grounds, in a place far from the castle that Harry had never ventured to before. It was on the other side of the lake, at the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.

He watched them curiously for a while, wondering what they were doing there. He thought that Jeanne might be showing Snufflegint round the grounds, but they were staying in the same spot and not going anywhere. After about ten minutes he grew tired of watching them, and rolled the Map up and placed it back in his trunk.

He wondered again about Dumbledore and the elusive storeroom. Dumbledore doesn't need to go to the storeroom to open the Vortex, thought Harry. Perhaps he had Portkeyed somewhere, and the Portkey was in the storeroom. That seemed more likely. But where had he gone? Wherever it had been, Dumbledore hadn't spent very much time there.

He spent the rest of the day wondering about it, but couldn't come up with anything. He thought of putting his Cloak on that night and going to the corridor to snoop around, but decided against it.

"It's none of my business, anyway," he said to himself, as he lay in bed with Ping at his feet. "And Dumbledore won't be pleased if he were to catch me poking my nose into his affairs."

Having decided this, he turned over and closed his eyes, and eventually fell asleep.

"Potter! I want a word with you!"

Harry, who had been bending over his bag, looked up and saw that Professor McGonagall was looking sternly at him. Their Transfiguration class had just ended, and all the others were busy packing their bags and leaving.

"She doesn't look like that unless something's wrong," he muttered to Ron. "Tell Shan I'll be a bit late, will you?"

Ron and Hermione looked sympathetically at him, and then left. Harry gathered his things, and went up to the front.

Professor McGonagall was looking displeased.

"Severus Snape says that you sent Draco Malfoy flying into the lake a few days ago, Potter," she said. "Not only are you not supposed to use magic between classes, but it is extremely thoughtless of you to immerse a fellow student in a freezing lake in the middle of winter!"

Harry said nothing. He didn't intend to give Robert away.

"Well, Potter?"

Harry looked at Professor McGonagall. She was looking angrier than ever.

"Yes, Professor."

Sparks seemed to fly from Professor McGonagall's eyes.

"You don't deny, then, Potter, that you did it?"

A quiet voice spoke from the doorway.

"He didn't do it, Professor, I did."

Professor McGonagall looked up sharply. Harry turned around.

Robert was standing there. Ron must have told him and Shan, Harry thought. He grimaced at Robert, to indicate that he should go away.

Robert, however, was coming over to them. Professor McGonagall seemed rather taken aback. She looked down at Robert, who was looking calmly up at her.

"Harry wasn't the one who threw Malfoy in the lake, Professor; I did."

Professor McGonagall glanced swiftly at Harry, then back at Robert again. Harry knew what she was thinking. Both she and Dumbledore wanted the exchange programme to be a success, and they were reluctant to punish any of the Tian-Long students.

"Very well, Potter," she said crisply, looking at Harry, "you may go. I will have to discuss with Lady Wen-Li about how to deal with this."

Harry glanced at Robert, who was looking his usual deadpan self. He hesitated, then picked his bag up and left the room.

Shan was waiting outside, together with Ron and Hermione.

"What's happening to Robert?"

"Dunno," said Harry. "McGonagall says she's going to speak to Lady Wen-Li."

Shan looked rather worried. She seemed about to say something, but stopped because someone was coming down the corridor.

It was Jeanne, looking very tired. Harry also thought she looked rather upset, though she smiled at them as she passed. She seemed in a hurry, though, and didn't say anything. Harry, watching her make her way down the corridor, found himself wondering what she and Snufflegint had been doing near the Forbidden Forest.

Professor McGonagall now came marching out of the classroom together with Robert. She ignored them, but Robert gave Shan a smile as he went past. He looked smaller than ever next to Professor McGonagall, because she was so tall.

"Relax, Shan," said Ron, as the two of them disappeared down the corridor, "I tell you, Robert can take care of himself. Look at him, calm as a breeze."

Harry had planned to bring Shan and Robert to have a look at the owlery, but there was no point now. Their next class was Charms, so Shan left them and went back to the common room while they made their way to the Charms classroom, although it was still early. Hermione had managed to persuade Professor Flitwick to give them a lesson on Hover Charms.

"Wonder what's happening to Robert," said Hermione, later during the class, as she suspended a large dictionary in the air.

"Probably nothing much," said Ron, trying without much success to lift Trevor, Neville's toad, off the ground. "He'll probably get a detention, that's all."

Hermione said nothing, but there was a rather odd look in her eyes. Harry, noticing, wondered if there was something in what Ron had been saying, after all.

"That Robert's pretty creepy-looking, huh, Hermione?" said Ron casually, obviously trying to test her. "I bet, if he doesn't change his glasses one day, no girl'll ever look at him."

Hermione looked very angry, and the dictionary hit the floor with a loud thump!

"He's not creepy-looking! He's one of the nicest boys I've ever met!"

She pointed her wand at the dictionary again, but she was so cross that her spell also caught tiny Professor Flitwick, who was walking past, and sent him sailing ceilingward. Hermione, realising what she was doing, hurriedly lowered him to the floor, apologising profusely.

"Quite all right, my dear," he chirped. "I see you've more than mastered it!"

"See what I mean?" Ron muttered to Harry, as Hermione, frowning, made the dictionary hover a few feet above the ground again, "I tell you, she fancies him!"

Harry wondered why this should bother Ron so much, especially since he was spending so much time with Pixie himself.

"And he's such a runt," Ron went on, turning back to Hermione, "I'd like to see which girl'd ever want to be with him … all of them are probably twice his height!"

The dictionary came falling to the ground again.

"You are so small-minded, Ron," Hermione said angrily. "Any decent girl would like Robert. Look how fond Shan is of him!"

"That's because she's his cousin!" said Ron, looking at her with a queer gleam in his eye. "She's just nice to him because he can help her with her schoolwork!"

"That's not true!" said Hermione, unconsciously raising her voice. "She's likes him because he's nice! You're just jealous of him because he's such a good student and you're not!"

"What d'you mean by that?" said Ron heatedly. "Me, jealous? Why should I be jealous? The fellow's starkers anyway, spending half his time talking to that mad Merlion and the rest of it reading imbecile comic books!"

Harry, seeing that the rest of the students had stopped Hovering their books and were looking curiously at them, decided that things were getting out of hand.

"Drop it, Ron," he said. "You know Robert's all right. He's not odd, just quiet - "

"Yes, he's not odd!" snapped Hermione, getting more and more worked up, "He's a nice person! Much nicer than that silly little airhead you're always with!"

"What did you say?" snarled Ron, his face going red, "Don't you call her an airhead! You're just - "

"Students! Please!" Flitwick had come over. He pointed his wand at both of them in turn.

"Tranquillus!"

Both Ron and Hermione seemed to calm down somewhat. They contented themselves with glaring at each other, before resuming with their Hover Charms. Hermione was scowling at her dictionary, which was hovering over Ron and looked in imminent danger of falling on top of him. Ron was glaring at Trevor, who was still refusing to rise so much as an inch in the air.

The two of them refused to speak to each other after that, and Hermione, on reaching the Gryffindor common room, settled herself in one of the squashy armchairs, defiantly reading a book she had borrowed from Robert.

Shan was in a corner, working on one of her Tian-Long assignments. As usual, she had Robert's completed essay next to her, and was occasionally referring to it. Several of the Gryffindor first-years, having never seen anyone do calligraphy before, were sitting next to her, watching curiously as she wrote her essay in neat, flowing strokes. They leaned forward intently as she placed some water on her inkstone, ground a stick of ink against it, and dipped her brush in it.

Robert wasn't around, and neither was Chee Chong. Harry guessed that the latter was in Snufflegint's chamber, restoring the Imperial scrolls. Fatty was busily talking to someone in his crystal globe, while Pixie and Lavendar and Parvati were watching some of the other Gryffindors playing with the Pandas.

Ron, who didn't want to be in the same room with Hermione, said grumpily, "Let's go to the library."

"OK," said Harry. He went over to Shan and asked her if she wanted to come, but she smiled and shook her head.

"I want to keep an eye on Ping and Pong," she said, as a burst of giggles erupted from Parvati and Lavendar.

Harry, going up to the dormitory with Ron to keep some of their books away, saw that Ping and Pong were greedily scooping honey out of a huge jar.

Ron was still grumbling about Hermione.

"She's so impressed with that Snufflegint as well! Saw him the other day … looks like a cold clod. One look from him is enough to make your blood freeze!"

Harry, since Ron had brought the subject of Snufflegint up, found himself unrolling the Marauder's Map to have a peek at it. He looked at the Forbidden Forest; Jeanne and Snufflegint were there again.

Ron was coming over. "I'm ready to go…what're you looking at?"

Harry showed him.

"Jeanne and Snufflegint," he said. "I saw them in the same place yesterday. Thought she was showing him around the grounds, but they just seemed to be staying in the same spot. And they're there again, today!"

Ron didn't look too interested. His mind was still on Hermione and Robert, and he said the first thing that came into his head.

"Maybe she's having an affair with him."

Harry gave a snort of laughter.

"Right, sure, Ron. The man is so old, he's practically at death's door!"

Ron looked sheepish.

"All right, it's stupid. I just don't trust the fellow, that's all. He gives me the shivers."

Harry, still laughing, took the Map away, and rolled it up.

"C'mon," he said, picking up his bag and grinning at Ron, "let's go to the library."

The library was rather crowded that day, but they managed to find a quiet spot away from the other students, and settled themselves there.

Harry started on his Transfiguration homework, but Ron seemed distracted.

"Guess I shouldn't have said all that stuff just now," he said, looking out of the window. "I don't really have anything against Robert. OK, so she's right, he's a better student than me." He fiddled with the strap of his bag, looking gloomy.

"Hm," said Harry, trying to concentrate on his essay. Ron, seeing a large, thick book on the table which some other student must have left behind, pulled it over and began absently riffling through its pages. It was a Who's Who of the Wizarding World, S - Z.

"Maybe Snufflegint's in here," he said, after a few moments. He searched through the book for a while, then stopped at one page, and started reading.

Harry, finishing one sheet of parchment, pushed it aside and glanced at Ron. He seemed quite absorbed in the book.

"Found anything interesting?"

Ron read a few more lines, then tore his eyes from the book and looked at Harry.

"Interesting life he's had, this Snufflegint," he said. "He's even joined a Pugilistic Sect before."

Harry was rather startled. "What?"

Ron shoved the book over to Harry. "Have a look."

Harry dragged the book over, and looked curiously at it.

"Skip the beginning," said Ron, who had come over to Harry's side of the table. He pointed at a paragraph further down. "Read that!"

Harry stared at the book, unsure what to think. Snufflegint? A Pugilist? Skilled in Black Magic?

"What d'you make of it?" said Ron, looking fascinated. "The guy probably knows Internal Magic! Dabbled in the Dark Arts!"

Harry put the book down.

"How can he join a Sect?" he said. "He's not even Chinese!"

Ron shrugged. "Who knows? Anyway, it's just a rumour. Maybe it's not true."

He pulled the book back to his side of the table, and resumed reading.

Harry tried to continue writing, but now he couldn't concentrate. Ron was holding the book up and reading, and Harry found himself staring at the call number on the spine of the book.

"There should be a Who's Who with A to D, as well," he said to himself. He got up and went to look for it.

He found it. Who's Who in the Wizarding World, A - K. He carried it back to the table, and opened it.

"What's up?" asked Ron curiously.

Harry had finished looking at all the D pages, but he hadn't found what he'd been looking for.

"Nothing," he mumbled, closing the book in disappointment.

Ron looked at him, puzzled. "Who were you looking for?"

Harry stared at the book for a few moments, feeling rather stupid. Then he looked at Ron and said rather reluctantly, "Deorg."

Ron looked startled. "Deorg?"

"I know it's dumb," said Harry. "It's just…I remember something Snufflegint said to Jeanne - about him being very interested in shape-shifters. And I haven't seen Deorg's face, but he's tall, and has a deep voice, and wears black robes, like the Tomb Sect members do."

Ron remained silent for a few moments, digesting this.

"Are you saying that Snufflegint is Deorg?" he said at last. "But - he can't be. You told me Deorg has been in Siberia during the last few years, while Snufflegint's been in Tian-Long, teaching!"

"I know," said Harry. "It's just a wild guess. I'm not saying they're the same person, but maybe there's some connection between them."

Ron looked serious.

"You think Snufflegint's out to harm Jeanne?"

"Well - no," said Harry hastily. "I mean, I can't say. OK, I admit I don't really like him, but he doesn't seem evil to me. Just that the Map's shown him and Jeanne doing something together in the Forbidden Forest two days in a row - kind of weird, isn't it?"

Ron thought about it, then shrugged. "We can just ask Jeanne."

But Harry wasn't going to let Jeanne know that he had been spying on her again. After thinking about it for a while, he decided that whatever Jeanne was doing, it was none of his business. Maybe Snufflegint just liked watching shape-shifters transform, and she was obliging him. He shoved Who's Who, A - K aside, and resolutely bent over his essay again.

Later that evening, both Robert and Chee Chong turned up together in the Great Hall for dinner.

"Professor McGonagall gave me detention," said Robert, in answer to their questions. "I spent the afternoon helping Chee Chong restore the scrolls."

"Oh," said Shan, looking relieved. "Did you find anything interesting?" She looked hopeful.

"Lots," said Robert cheerfully, and he and Chee Chong looked at each other and grinned. "The way in which the Lunar Mansions came to be developed is quite interesting. I didn't know such a detailed description of it existed. It starts off at the beginning of - "

"I didn't mean that," said Shan, crossly. Then, seeing Chee Chong looking rather puzzled, she quickly said, "I mean - we already know that the Lunar Mansions thing is there. What I meant was, did you find out what the other scrolls contain?"

"Some of them are definitery the Chou Pei Suan Ching," said Chee Chong, "but we have not lestored the rest. We have been working on the Lunar Mansions first, because Plofessor Sinistra wants those."

Shan looked disappointed.

"Master Li-Kai is not preased because I am very slow," added Chee Chong, looking at Robert. "He was happy that Yuan-Ming came. He told him that he can come back anytime he wants, and continue helping me."

"I'll go," said Robert, seeing Shan looking at him, "since I got him into this. In fact, we're going to work on it again after dinner. The Lunar Mansion scrolls are quite interesting."

"Does Professor Snufflegint stay around and supervise you all the time?" Harry asked, casually.

"No," said Chee Chong. "Most of the time, he is in his office, just next to the chamber. But every afternoon, flom two to four, he will go out."

"Where?" asked Ron at once.

Chee Chong shrugged. "I do not know."

"What's he doing in his office?" asked Harry.

"I do not know," Chee Chong said again. "He keeps the door shut. And if I ask him anything, he will always come out of the office and rock the door behind him."

Harry looked at Shan, and saw that she was looking intrigued. Ron, too, was looking rather excited. Was Snufflegint up to something?

"All right, Robert," said Shan, after dinner, as they left the Great Hall and Robert and Chee Chong started heading back to the Astronomy Tower, "it's great that you're helping Chong. Now you can try finding out what Master Li-Kai is doing inside his office."

Robert didn't look enthusiastic.

"He's probably sleeping," he said. "That's what he does in Tian-Long. He always sits in the library, nodding off, when he's doing his translations."

"This is different," said Shan firmly. "Li-Kai is not the type to volunteer to restore old scrolls, especially scrolls that only contain common information. He has better things to do. And he doesn't leave China easily. I tell you, he's come back to Britain for something."

Robert, seeing her looking so earnest, smiled at her, and then went off with Chee Chong. Shan, following as the rest of them made their way back to the common room, quietly asked Harry if the missing storeroom door had reappeared.

"No," said Harry, adding, "and the storeroom window, which is usually visible from the grounds, is gone as well."

Shan glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then said softly, "last night, I happened to pass by the corridor, and I saw something interesting."

Harry looked at her, surprised.

"I transformed into a postal dragon; I wanted to have a look around the castle," she explained. She glanced at Ron and Pixie, who were in front. "As I was flying through the corridor, I saw Professor Dumbledore entering it. So I stopped, just on impulse, and perched myself near the ceiling. And then, what do you think I saw him do?"

She looked at Harry, grinning.

"What?" asked Harry, looking at her in suspense.

"He stopped halfway, and took out his wand, and tapped it on the blank wall," said Shan, "And a door appeared, and swung open."

She looked at Harry, as if enjoying the effect her words were having on him.

Harry looked impatiently at her.

"And then - ?" he prompted.

"And then, he went in, and the door closed and disappeared again," she said. "After that I waited for ten minutes, but he didn't come out, so I left."

Harry felt excited. He mused over this news for a while, then asked, "What did Dumbledore say to make the door open?"

Shan shook her head.

"I couldn't hear." She looked at him, and seemed to read his mind. "If you're going to look for it tonight, I'm coming along."

Harry hesitated. The Invisibility Cloak wasn't large enough for four, and he didn't want to leave either Ron or Hermione out. He knew Hermione might not want to go anyway - it would be breaking rules, and trying to find an invisible storeroom door would seem a waste of time to her. But she was good at Charms, and the most likely of all of them to be able to figure out how to get the door open.

However, he had Shan to thank for this information, and besides she would know which part of the wall Dumbledore had tapped with his wand. In the end, much as he hated to, he decided he'd have to leave Ron out. He and Hermione were still not speaking to each other anyway.

So he told Hermione about the door. She seemed a bit doubtful at first, but seeing that Harry was determined to go, finally agreed. They arranged to meet at midnight in the common room, and spent the rest of the evening looking up Opening and Unlocking spells in their Charms spellbooks.

When Harry came up to the dormitory, he found Ron already asleep. He waited till Neville and the others had gone to bed, and then, as he was about to leave, began to feel guilty. Maybe four people would be able to squeeze under the Cloak.

He tried rousing Ron, but Ron refused to wake up. He simply grunted and turned around, and began snoring again. Harry, afraid of making too much noise and waking the others, finally gave up. As he covered himself with the Invisibility Cloak and moved toward the door, he noticed that Robert and Chee Chong's beds were still empty.

The castle seemed very quiet as the three of them made their way to the corridor, their spellbooks tucked away in their robes.

It was dark when they arrived; the corridor was not lit. Shan lit her wand, and stopping about halfway down the corridor, looked at the wall.

"I think it was here," she said.

Hermione took her spellbook out, and removing the Cloak from her arm, opened it.

"Adaperio," she muttered, reading from the book, and tapping the wall with her wand. Nothing happened. She tried the next few charms. "Aperio! Exsolvo! Refringo!"

The wall stayed as blank as ever.

"Let me try," whispered Shan, when Hermione had exhausted all the known charms. She extinguished her wand, and began tapping the wall with it, muttering incantations in Chinese.

After a while, she couldn't think of any more. They looked at each other.

"We should have asked Robert to come," said Hermione, at length. "He'd probably know what to do."

"Maybe the door's shifted," suggested Shan. She transformed her wand into a wooden staff, and moved down the corridor, knocking softly at the wall. After about seven steps, she stopped.

"Did you hear that?" She knocked again. "It sounds hollow!"

She reached out a hand, and feeling around, caught hold of something.

"I think I found the doorknob," she said. She tried turning it, but nothing happened.

Feeling excited, Harry watched as Hermione stuck her hand out from under the Cloak again, so that she could see her spellbook, and went through the incantations once more. When she had finished, Shan transformed her staff back into a wand, and did likewise.

"It's not working," she said at length, sounding discouraged.

They stared at the wall, feeling rather dejected. Then, Hermione remembered something.

"There's one more," she said. She tapped at the invisible door again. "Alohomora!"

For a second, nothing happened. Then, the faint outline of a door appeared in the light of Shan's wand. The outline became more distinct, and then the door, with a faint creak, swung open.

Harry heard a slight noise behind him. Heart thumping, he turned around. Chee Chong, with Chester on his shoulder, and Robert were standing a few feet away from them. Chee Chong's eyes were wide, looking at the door and Hermione's wand, which was sticking out from under the Cloak. Robert, however, was looking directly at the three of them.

Shan stepped out from under the Cloak and hissed crossly at them.

"What are you doing here?"

"We just finished restoring the Lunar Mansion scrolls," said Robert, looking at the door with interest. "We'll go away, if you want us to."

Shan hesitated, and Harry knew she wanted him to come along. He took the Cloak off.

"No need," he said. "We were just saying, a short while ago, that we should have asked you to come."

So all five of them entered the room, closing the door behind them and holding their lighted wands up in front of them. The storeroom looked just as Harry remembered : empty boxes were strewn on the floor - it seemed that Filch never bothered to tidy up here - which was carpeted with dust.

"What is it you are looking for?" asked Chee Chong, looking around the room with a perplexed expression on his face.

Harry, deciding that Chee Chong was discreet enough to keep the Marauder's Map a secret, briefly explained about seeing Dumbledore vanishing and re-appearing.

"We should test each object in the room, then," said Shan, "in case one of them is a Portkey."

They joined hands, so that if one of them disappeared the rest would follow. Harry was at one end, holding Chee Chong's hand; he found himself feeling rather disappointed that it wasn't Shan who was next to him.

They tried out all the objects in the room, but none seemed to be a Portkey. Harry even pushed the wooden chest aside and went down through the trapdoor, and managed to open the door behind the ivy; but other than being able to get out into the grounds, nothing else was revealed to them.

"Well, maybe I was mistaken," said Harry, feeling rather downcast. Chee Chong looked at Chester, who was looking grumpy.

"I must bling Chester back to the dormitory," he said. "He is tired. He does not rike the Astronomy Tower - it is too cold for him there."

Harry, feeling that he had been wasting everyone's time, started toward the door. Robert, reaching it first, tapped it with his wand, and it flew open at once. They were filing out when Chester suddenly leapt off Chee Chong's shoulder, and back into the room.

Chee Chong gave an exclamation of surprise, then went back in after him. Harry, standing just outside the door, heard a familiar voice approaching, singing a rude song.

"Peeves is coming," he hissed. "Quick, get back in!"

They hurried back into the room and shut the door. Chester had flown over to the wooden chest, and was hopping around on it, evading Chee Chong's attempts to catch him.

"Chester!" said Chee Chong crossly, and then began to scold him in Chinese. Finally, he did a Summoning Charm, and Chester, struggling, shot into his hand.

"I do not know what is wrong with him," he said.

Robert was looking thoughtfully at the chest. He went over and tried opening it, but it seemed to be locked. He then took his wand out, and pointing it at the chest, said something softly in Chinese.

There was a slight, clicking sound, and the lid of the chest swung smoothly open. The five of them bent over it with their lighted wands, and looked in. The chest had no bottom. A ladder was attached to one end, leading down into pitch darkness.

Shan looked excited. "Let's go down!"

Robert caught hold of her sleeve. "Not so fast, Shan. We don't know what's in there."

He stuck his wand, still lit, into his belt, and then climbing into the chest, went down the ladder first. Harry, watching him disappear, followed him. Shan went next, then Chee Chong, and Hermione.

"Leave the lid open," Harry heard Robert calling from below.

After a few minutes, they reached the bottom. A round tunnel, hewn in rock, stretched away in front of them. Strangely enough, the place did not feel enclosed. The air was fresh, and even as they stood there, a breeze blew in through the tunnel, caressing their hands and faces.

"I think the tunnel leads outdoors," said Robert, sounding surprised. He started off down the tunnel, the others following.

After less than a minute, Harry thought he saw a faint light in front of them. They rounded a bend, and stopped short in surprise.

The tunnel opened out onto the side of a cliff. Dawn was breaking, and the sun was just about to rise above the encircling mountains. A fresh, cool breeze was blowing, and in the distance they could hear singing : haunting voices were rising and falling, as if welcoming them to a new and undiscovered land.

Shan was the first to break the silence.

"It's incredible, isn't it?" she said softly. "Where do you think we are?"

Chee Chong and Robert were looking at the sky.

"Western China," said Robert, in a decided tone of voice.

Harry and Shan gaped at him in amazement.

"What?" said Shan. "Where did you get that from?"

"Look up there," said Robert, pointing at the sky, where a few faint stars were still shining. "Chee Chong and I were just looking at the night sky before we left the Tower, and the stars were in a different position. We're about six hours further east from Hogwarts now, and we're still in the northern hemisphere, but at a lower latitude. In fact I'd say we're somewhere in Sinkiang or Tibet, except that it should be winter there now. "

They stared at him for a moment, then looked around again. Harry looked at the mountains; they were wreathed in cloud, tall and rugged-looking, and covered with snow. But the air around the mountain they were standing on was mild, as if it was spring, and the ground around them was carpeted with bright green grass.

"You mean, we're not in Britain any more?" he said. But actually, that makes sense, he thought. The Marauder's Map only shows what's happening inside Hogwarts. If Dumbledore came here that day, he wouldn't have been in Hogwarts any more.

Chester hopped off Chee Chong's shoulder and into the grass, and began to chirp happily.

"He knew, didn't he?" said Shan, watching him, "He was hopping all over that chest!"

Looking up, they saw that they were near the summit of the mountain, so they climbed up and eventually came to level ground. The top of the mountain seemed quite flat, as if someone had horizontally sliced its peak off. A meadow lay in front of them, and beyond that, a forest of dark green conifers was visible.

They wandered out onto the meadow. There was not a person in sight, but just to be on the safe side, they kept their wands out. Harry found himself scanning the surroundings warily, in case Dumbledore suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Flowers were blooming all around them. There were long spikes of lemon-yellow flowers, with dark blue-green foliage; there were plenty of gentians, and another blue-violet, star-shaped flower; there were fields of scarlet and yellow cockscombs. As they came near the forest, they found rhododendrons blooming in plenty, of all colours : red, maroon, white, cream and pale pink.

The forest consisted of mostly fir and pine, the trees having a rather unusual appearance : their trunks glittered faintly in the morning sun, and looked as if gold dust had been somehow mixed in with the bark. The pine and fir needles, too, had a translucent look to them, as if they were made of fine jade.

"Look, there is a peach orchard," said Chee Chong, as they walked around the perimeter of the forest. He was pointing at a stretch of trees in full bloom in the distance. He had placed Chester, who was looking very smug, back on his shoulder.

They could still hear voices singing, from afar, but there was nothing to indicate where the music was coming from. As they approached the orchard, Harry thought he could hear other voices as well.

"Tortoises!" he exclaimed, as a small, wrinkled face emerged from a shell several feet in front of them.

"It's almost as if the orchard in Tian-Long has been transplanted here, except that the trees in Tian-Long have stopped blooming," said Shan.

The tortoises did indeed look like the Tian-Long tortoises; they were just as vocal, at any rate, and a few were speaking Chinese. These appeared to have been influenced by the ceaseless music around them, however, for the majority were singing more than they were talking.

"I'm glad I came, after all," said Hermione, looking at the tortoises in delight. "I was really keen to meet some of these."

"This isn't the Tian-Long orchard," said Robert, breaking his customary silence. "These trees feel different."

It was true. Harry couldn't quite place it, but as they walked under the trees, there was a timeless feel emanating from them, as if they were eternal. However, unlike the conifers, these looked just like normal peach trees, and he shrugged the feeling off as fanciful.

"Actually, it's not just the peach trees," said Hermione slowly, looking around. "It's the entire place. It just feels as if Time has no meaning here."

"Yes, I feel that, too," agreed Shan.

They left the orchard, and made their way to the edge of the summit, and looked down the steep cliffs.

"So, do you think this is where Professor Dumbledore came, the other day?" said Shan, stopping to look at a clump of gentians. "It must be his private mountain, where he comes to relax. I guess we shouldn't be here."

Chee Chong looked back, rather nervously.

"If it is, I wouldn't have thought he'd have one located in China," remarked Hermione.

"Maybe Lady Wen-Li gave it to him as a plesent," said Chee Chong. "She has done it before. Once, she gave the Emperor a frower garden, for his birthday."

They continued on a bit further, the distant singing still in their ears, and then Hermione stopped.

"I think we should go back," she said, glancing at her watch. "This is a strange place; it feels as if time has stopped here. We don't know whether it passes at the same pace as back in Hogwarts - we might get back and find that a month has already passed there."

This thought alarmed them, and they rapidly started making their way back. Hermione, who seemed quite taken with the tortoises, stopped for another look at them.

"I wonder if they can be taught to sing English songs," she said, as they left the orchard. Before descending the side of the mountain to the tunnel again, Harry turned back for one more look.

It's almost too good to leave, he thought. Strange as the place was, it did not feel evil. The haunting voices rose to a crescendo, as if bidding them farewell, and then became softer, finally falling to a muted murmur.

Fortunately, it appeared as if time did pass at the same rate on the mountain as in Hogwarts, for it was about half-past one in the morning when they climbed back into the storeroom, and they had been gone for about an hour. After they had closed the lid of the wooden chest, Harry tried the Alohomora Charm on it, and to his relief it worked. He didn't want to have to drag Robert there every time he wanted to visit the mountain. For he intended to visit it again. There was something very serene about the place; all of them felt it, and even Hermione was already talking about borrowing Jeanne's cassette player so that she could teach the tortoises how to sing in English.

As the days went by, they found themselves spending a lot of their spare time on the Plateau, as they had christened the mountain. The springlike weather persisted, and it became their favourite retreat whenever they wanted to escape from the tedium of winter. Chester, especially, seemed happy whenever Chee Chong brought him there, which was seldom because he and Robert were now spending all their free time analysing the Imperial scrolls. In the end, Chester looked so cold and miserable that Chee Chong finally left him on the mountain, coming back every evening and morning to check that he was all right.

The next few weeks went quickly by; Harry found himself sometimes losing track of time because he had so much to do. He had Quidditch practices to catch up on (Shan tried out his Firebolt, and assured him that it was 'almost as good as flying a dragon'), and these, together with the exchange classes in addition to his normal ones, made the days seem to fly. He had almost forgotten his suspicions about Snufflegint, when he noticed one day during Potions that not only was Jeanne still looking tired, but that she also occasionally seemed to be distracted, as if she were thinking of something, and a bitter, almost angry expression, would come into her eyes.

He asked her if everything was all right, and she said she had been practising her Internal Magic and that it was tiring her out.

Harry always brought the Map along whenever he went to the Plateau, so that the corridor outside the storeroom could be monitored in case Dumbledore decided to drop in for a visit. At the same time, he would also sometimes idly check the part of the Forbidden Forest where Jeanne and Snufflegint were still appearing, almost every afternoon.

Harry had decided, after last year, that he wouldn't poke his nose into Jeanne's affairs again. Even so, he couldn't help feeling curious. What were they doing there every afternoon, in the middle of winter? He noticed that they hardly ever approached that spot together, and that Snufflegint would sometimes stand some distance away from Jeanne. Harry began to wonder whether Jeanne knew that Snufflegint was there. Snufflegint might be hiding in some spot, spying on what she was doing.

The only person who might want to harm Jeanne was Deorg. Harry decided, to set his mind at rest, to try checking out Deorg's background again, and see if there was any connection between him and Snufflegint. He suspected Deorg might have another name, just as Voldemort did. There was no use asking Dumbledore or Lupin for Deorg's real name, because they were sure to ask him why he wanted to know, so in the end he sent Hedwig off with a letter to Professor Bubcek, pretending he had to write an essay on the Dark Arts in Russia and that he wasn't supposed to receive help from any of the Hogwarts teachers. He felt sure that Bubcek, being his usual jovial and amiable self, would be unlikely to suspect anything.

Hermione, in the meantime, had been applying herself diligently to teaching the Talking Tortoises how to sing in English. She had borrowed Jeanne's cassette player, and had a parcel of music tapes sent to her from home.

"It won't work, Hermione," said Harry, watching her one day as she rewound the tapes for the umpteenth time, "Those tortoises don't even know what they're saying in Chinese, you'll just confuse them if you try teaching them English."

"No, they won't," said Hermione firmly, "they just need to be exposed to the right music. They're sounding more and more like those distant voices every day."

Harry looked at the tapes.

"Christmas carols?" he said. "You're going to teach them A Partridge in a Pear Tree?"

"Yes," Hermione said, smiling and looking pleased, "I've counted thirteen of them … it's just nice, for parts. I thought we could bring them to the common room for Christmas…the Chinese students will be here, you know…we can have some live music."

"Oh, that's a good idea!" said Shan, looking enthusiastic, but then added, "We'll have to explain where we got them, though."

"Oh, we'll just say we borrowed them from Hagrid," said Hermione. Harry, however, was looking doubtfully at the tortoises. One was busily nibbling at some clover, while another was trundling off to another part of the orchard. Neither was showing any interest in the music whatsoever.

"Why don't we just play the tapes for Christmas?" he said. "Jeanne's player works all right in Hogwarts."

"It's not the same," said Hermione stubbornly, "A live choir will be much nicer."

Ron had been told about the Plateau, but he had not told Pixie, for she would probably have told Parvati and Lavendar about it. He had been looking depressed, and was spending less time with her now, for she was constantly receiving flowers and gifts from her various admirers, and was in a fair way of getting her head turned. Fatty had not been told about the Plateau either; Harry figured he probably wouldn't have shown any interest in it anyway, for lately he seemed obsessed with earning enough money to help his father start over again. He was spending all his free time discussing his projects with Mui Sing, especially now that Christmas was coming.

"Christmas is the peak period for business, except for Chinese New Year," he gravely informed Harry.

Because the others kept badgering him about the contents of the remaining scrolls, Robert finally restored each to the extent that he could roughly tell what they contained.

"Some are old star-maps which look out of date," he said. "The rest look like the Khai-Yuan Chan Ching, another astronomical manual; but we have a good copy of that in the Tian-Long library too."

Shan and Harry, naturally, were disappointed. If Liu Pei's scroll was among the Imperial scrolls, it obviously didn't contain anything important.

"We haven't fully restored all of them yet," said Robert, trying to cheer them up. "Something interesting might still turn up."

Hedwig finally returned with Professor Bubcek's reply a week later. Since Harry had politely asked him how his research was progressing, Bubcek had written a long and enthusiastic letter describing his current projects, and Harry, scanning through the letter anxiously, hoped that the kindly old wizard hadn't forgotten to answer his question.

"Here it is!" he said in relief. Ron, who was eating breakfast next to him, also turned to look.

"Got it, now," muttered Harry. "Once Magical Creatures is over, I'm heading to the library."

They set off for the lake. Ron looked as if he wasn't looking forward to the lesson; he, together with many of the other students, still hadn't managed to completely master Hover Charms.

The students, however, had a surprise when they arrived at the lake : the tank was completely devoid of fish. Instead, Sang Nila was lying smugly in its centre, a satisfied and well-fed look on his face.

Robert gave a small exclamation in Chinese, and hurried over to the tank. Shan, looking panicky, hissed, "Get him back into the lake!"

But it was too late; Hagrid had already arrived.

He came toward them, humming cheerfully to himself, carrying his usual boxes of worms. Shan and Robert looked at each other, then turned to watch Hagrid with a resigned air. Hagrid put the boxes of worms down, and then looked at the tank. He started, shook his head, and took another look. Then he stood there with a rather lost expression on his face, staring uncomprehendingly into the water, as if unable to grasp the fact that the fish had really disappeared. Sang Nila, in the meantime, was staring coolly back at him, his tawny eyes narrowing slightly.

Robert, seeing there was no help for it, went over to Hagrid.

"I'm really, really sorry, Hagrid," he said, looking up at Hagrid, who was almost five times his height.

Hagrid was still staring at the empty tank in disbelief. Then, as the truth sank in, he looked down at Robert, who was still looking apologetically up at him.

"Ay, well," he said, a bemused expression on his face, "Guess yeh can' blame the poor feller - he wouldn' understan' what he was doin', would'e…guess he was hungry."

The rest of the students, however, were looking jubilant. The Slytherins were all smirking, while Neville, Seamus and Dean were grinning. Only Hermione looked crestfallen.

"We learned all those Hover Charms for nothing," she said.

"I'll get you another batch of fish, if you tell me where they're from," offered Robert. Both the Gryffindors and Slytherins, standing behind Hagrid, glared at Robert and shook their heads vigorously at him.

Hagrid, however, was now looking at Sang Nila in an interested fashion. Sang Nila, looking totally unrepentant, stared back at him, and growled menacingly.

"'E's a lovely an'mal, actually," said Hagrid, going to the side of the tank to have a better look. "Yeh don' see his kind very often. Oughter take advantage of his bein' here, before the exchange programme ends."

He paused, still looking at Sang Nila, and then said, "Tell yeh what, we can have a go with him till end Jan'ry, an' then I'll get a new batch o' fish."

"What?" whispered Pixie, looking horrified. "Look after that Merlion? No! No, no, no, no!"

Malfoy, too, was looking displeased.

"I object," he snapped, looking at Hagrid. "The creature's a menace. If it draws even a drop of blood from any of us, I'll see that it's executed."

Robert abruptly turned, and looked at him. Malfoy, suddenly remembering who the Merlion belonged to, turned pale and became silent.

Hagrid, however, was looking more and more pleased with this solution.

"Lovely an'mal," he repeated, ignoring Malfoy and looking rather covetously at Sang Nila. "Shoulda thought o' this before. Except, yeh'll have ter tell us what ter do," - looking at Robert - "Haven' had much experience with Merlions, meself."

Robert looked hesitantly at Hagrid, and then at Sang Nila.

"Well…once he's fed, he doesn't need much looking after, actually," he said, and then added, with a perfectly straight face, "And I think he's pretty full right now."

The Slytherins and Gryffindors were now looking at Sang Nila, as if trying to size him up. Sang Nila stared coldly back at them, and growled.

Hagrid looked rather lost. Robert, seeing this, said, "I suppose we could read to him."

The others all turned and looked at him.

"He likes being read to," explained Robert. "Thrillers and fantasy. Not romance, though."

"What?" said Pixie shrilly. "Read to that mad Merlion? After he's tried to chomp my hands off twice? You've got to be joking!"

The rest of the class, however, was enthusiastic. Reading aloud, though it seemed rather silly, was a pleasant task compared with a lot of things they'd been required to do in the past for Hagrid's classes.

"Topping idea," said Dean. "I've got some Stephen King in my bag. Guarantee he'll like it."

So they spent the rest of the lesson taking turns to read aloud to Sang Nila, who persisted in fixing the various readers with a baleful and unwinking stare.

Once Magical Creatures was over, Harry grabbed his things and sped off to the library. Taking Who's Who in the Wizarding World, A - K from the shelf, he searched for Deorg's name.

"Here it is," he muttered. "Khorkin, Boris Mikhailovitch."

He sat down, and started reading.

Ron, who had followed him, sat by and waited for him to finish.

"Well?" he prompted, after a few minutes.

Harry read a few more lines, then looked at Ron.

"I was right," he said, "The Tomb Sect takes in members from any country, so long as they're proficient in the Black Arts. And Deorg was leader of the Tomb Sect, the same time Snufflegint became a Sect member."

"I came across Professor Snufflegint's name in a wizard's Who's Who book, in the library, the other day," he said casually, after they had talked about several other things. "It said he used to be in a Pugilistic Sect."

Jeanne didn't seem surprised.

"Yes, that's right," she said, smiling slightly.

Harry, who hadn't been expecting this reaction, was rather nonplussed.

"The book said that this Sect dabbles in Black Magic," he said. "Sounds suspicious, doesn't it? D'you think he can be trusted?"

Jeanne raised an eyebrow.

"Professor Dumbledore seems to think so," she remarked, "or he wouldn't have allowed Septimus into Hogwarts."

"The Tian-Long students seem to think he's up to something," Harry added. "They say he isn't the type who'd volunteer to restore old scrolls. In fact, Robert and Chee Chong have been doing all the restoring; Snufflegint's just been hiding inside his office, looking secretive."

Jeanne looked amused.

"You're imagining it, Harry," she said. "Septimus probably became a Pugilist out of curiosity. It was a long time ago, anyway. He seems perfectly trustworthy to me; I had a very pleasant tea with him, that day."

Harry persisted.

"Chee Chong says he goes out every afternoon, no one knows where. What if he's up to something?"

Jeanne looked speculatively at him, then smiled. Harry held his breath, hoping she wouldn't suspect that he'd been spying on her.

"If you don't trust Septimus, there's no use telling me, Harry," she said calmly. "You should tell Dumbledore instead. I've hardly come into contact with him, since the day I had tea with him."

Harry hesitated. He had the feeling she knew he had been watching her. He knew he should back off. But what if Snufflegint was really spying on her, without her knowing? Should he tell her what the Map had shown? If she was really doing something together with Snufflegint, and he told her he knew she was lying, things weren't going to be very pleasant.

In the end, he decided to tackle Professor Lupin instead. Lupin probably knew what Jeanne was doing near the Forbidden Forest. He stayed back later that afternoon, after their Dark Arts class. As he approached Lupin's desk, he searched his mind for a way to bring the subject up.

"Just wondering about Jeanne's schedule," he lied, "She's never around between two to four, is she? I want to ask her something, and that's the only time I'm free nowadays."

Lupin didn't seem to suspect anything; he smiled at Harry.

"Yes, she always Portkeys back to Tian-Long during that time," he said. "She's still taking lessons from Master Kung."

Harry was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected to hear this. So, Lupin didn't know. Jeanne was deceiving him. It was unthinkable. Would Jeanne lie to Lupin? What was happening? Did Snufflegint have the same talents as Deorg, and was he exercising some sort of mind control over Jeanne?

He looked at Lupin, nonplussed. He couldn't tell him he'd been spying using the Map. Lupin could not sanction the use of the Map now that he was a teacher, and besides, if Harry told him, he would be bringing discord between Lupin and Jeanne.

But surely, ensuring Jeanne's safety is more important, Harry thought. However, he was beginning to feel rather confused now. Maybe he had got it all wrong, and something totally different was happening. He decided to let the matter rest for the time being, till he'd had more time to think things over. So he excused himself, and left the classroom.

The holidays soon arrived, and nearly everyone in the school, except for those involved in the exchange programme, went home for Christmas.

"I'm sorry all of you had to stay, because of us," said Shan, as they went down for breakfast the first morning.

Harry shrugged.

"I don't think Seamus and the others mind," he said, "Parvati and Lavendar have been planning all sorts of things for the Christmas party here. I always stay, anyway, and so do Ron and Hermione, to keep me company, though they won't admit it."

Shan had heard about the Dursleys. She could sympathise, since she was in a similar situation; but at least she also had Robert and his family.

"There aren't any holidays during Christmas, in Tian-Long," she said. "We have them some time in January or February instead, when the Lunar New Year comes around."

Harry and the others had missed the first Hogsmeade weekend because they'd been in China, so Professor McGonagall had given them permission to go that afternoon.

It had snowed heavily the previous night, and they had to trudge through several large snowdrifts to get out of the castle grounds. Robert, who was so small that he would have easily been buried in a snowdrift, took it easy at first by following behind and letting them trample the snow down for him. However, when he saw how tired they were becoming, he conjured up a shovel and bewitched it to dig a path for them.

"It looks like something out of a story-book," said Shan in delight, when they reached Hogsmeade. The thatched cottages and shops did look very pretty, their doorways wreathed in holly, the usual enchanted candles shining in the trees.

Ron had been spending more time with Pixie again, now that she wasn't surrounded by a crowd of would-be suitors. Predictably, she made a beeline for Wanda's Witches' Wardrobe, pulling him along with her. Shan, seeing Robert heading for the nearest bookshop, caught him by the arm and led him toward Dervish and Banges instead.

"I need you to help me choose a new calculator," she said. "Our old one is falling to bits."

Harry and Hermione found themselves going into Honeydukes with Fatty and Chee Chong.

"There's a market for these in China," said Fatty, when he saw the array of sweets in the shop, a familiar gleam in his eye. He looked around to see where the proprietor of the shop was, and was soon in deep conversation with her.

"Imagine, we might one day see Cockroach Cluster being sold in Hong Kong," murmured Hermione, as they filled their arms with goodies for the celebration they were planning on Christmas day.

Shan and Robert came in to look around after a while, holding a new roll of parchment and looking pleased with themselves. They then extricated Pixie and Ron from Wanda's Witches' Wardrobe and went to the Three Broomsticks for a drink, after which they just strolled around the village.

Ron was looking worried, wondering what to get Pixie for Christmas. When she became distracted by one of the shop-windows, he managed to slip away and dragged Harry along with him to one of the other shops.

"Lavendar suggested some embroidered handkerchiefs," he said. "Help me choose, Harry."

Harry had been wondering if he should get something for Shan. She seemed so tomboyish that he doubted that she would want handkerchiefs. Spying some quaint wooden English clocks in the same shop, he finally bought a small, old-fashioned bedside clock.

Most of the handkerchiefs looked the same to him, so in the end Harry suggested Ron choose a set that had Pixie's initials on them. They then hurried back before Pixie could notice Ron's absence.

The next few days were spent decorating the Gryffindor common room. They managed to squeeze a small fir tree in through the portrait hole, and then bewitched it to grow until it almost touched the ceiling of the common room. Robert volunteered to decorate the remainder of the room, while the rest worked on the tree. Hermione looked amused when she saw how seriously he was taking it. He managed to get hold of some of the decorations Professor Flitwick was using for the Great Hall, and the walls of the common room were soon festooned with holly and mistletoe. Robert added little sparkling lights to the garlands, and then stood there, wondering if their colours matched those of the Christmas tree or not. He would look gravely at the lights for a few minutes, shake his head, and then change them to another colour.

"Robert, do come and give us a hand," said Shan, after he had changed the lights' colours for the twentieth time. "The sooner we get the tree done, the sooner you'll know whether your lights match it or not."

Harry had not forgotten about Jeanne and Snufflegint. Finally, armed with the Map and the Invisibility Cloak, he set out for the Forbidden Forest one day to see what they were doing. However, he was still some distance from them when he checked the Map and noticed first Jeanne, then Snufflegint, moving away from that area. A chorus of chirps coming from one of the nearby trees made him look up; a flock of sparrows was nervously eyeing the footprints he was leaving behind in the snow. A flurry of movement to his right also caught his attention, and he saw several rabbits hopping away into a nearby clump of bushes. Jeanne must have planted watchmen all around the area, he thought, to warn her if anyone was coming. The Cloak was of no use; the animals could smell him. And Snufflegint was still following her.

Harry gave up and made his way back to the castle, feeling both intrigued and worried. What was she up to now? He later went to see her with the excuse that he wanted her to help him wrap his present for Shan.

Jeanne's eyes widened when she saw the clock.

"Are you sure you want to give her that?" she asked, taking the clock from him and examining it.

Harry was rather nonplussed. "Why not?"

Jeanne looked thoughtfully at the clock, then laughed.

"I guess it's all right," she said, placing the clock on a table and looking around for some giftwrap, "I don't think Shan is the superstitious type."

"What?" said Harry. "Why? What's wrong with my clock?"

Jeanne had taken several sheets of giftwrap from a drawer.

"Nothing's wrong," she said. "It's a very pretty clock. It's just that Chinese people don't usually give clocks as gifts."

She placed the giftwrap on the table, and reached her hand out to take hold of the clock, but Harry had already taken it away.

"Hold on a minute," he said. "They don't give clocks as gifts? Why not?"

"To 'give a clock' in Chinese is song-zhong," explained Jeanne, "which also sounds exactly like the words for paying your respects when someone has died."

She took her quill, and scribbled the Chinese characters on a sheet of parchment for him to see.

"Oh," said Harry.

"I don't think Shan really cares about such things, though," said Jeanne. "She'd understand that you weren't aware of it."

But Harry didn't feel like giving Shan the clock now. In the end, Jeanne took out a simple photo frame that she had decorated, and let him have it in exchange for the clock.

It was only five minutes after Harry had left the room, still looking at the photo frame, now nicely wrapped in red and green, that he realised he had forgotten to pump Jeanne about what she was doing in the Forbidden Forest. She was still looking tired, and he decided, at any rate, that he'd better find out what Snufflegint was being so secretive about, in his office. That afternoon, he managed to corner Robert before he went to the Astronomy Tower. Now that they had finished decorating the common room, both Robert and Chee Chong had resumed restoring the Imperial scrolls.

He began to explain about Deorg to Robert, but Robert stopped him.

"I already know," he said. "Sang Nila told me. He says the wildlife around here all know about Chien-Mei."

Harry was surprised. "Does Shan know?"

Robert shook his head.

"I wasn't sure if Chien-Mei wanted her to know, so I didn't tell her."

Harry privately agreed. Shan was already being so cool to Jeanne, there was no telling how she might react if she found out what Jeanne had done in Kamchatka.

"I found out that Snufflegint used to be in the same Pugilistic Sect as Deorg," he said. "The Marauder's Map has shown that he's been spending a lot of time with Jeanne, and I don't trust him. Can you try finding out what he's been doing inside his office?"

Robert looked at him for a moment, then finally nodded.

Harry could hardly wait for that afternoon to be over. At around four o'clock, Robert appeared in the common room, and seeing Harry and Shan in one corner playing exploding snap, came directly over.

Harry hurriedly kept the cards away.

"All right," said Robert, going straight to the point, "I went to Li-Kai's office pretending I wanted to ask him something, and I saw a scroll and a yellow piece of silk on his desk before he came out and shut the door."

Shan, hearing this, said at once, "Liu Pei's scroll!" She glanced at Harry. "So - that means Li-Kai was the thief!"

"Perhaps," said Robert. "When he went out later, as he usually does, I managed to pick his lock and have a look around the office. I didn't see the scroll anywhere, but a powerful Repelling Charm has been placed on a cupboard in one corner. I'm guessing that the scroll, or something important, is inside."

"Did you try breaking the Charm?" asked Harry.

Robert shook his head.

"I'd probably give myself away immediately, if I tried," he said. "It's like a burglar alarm. Wizards normally plug such repelling barriers into their consciousness, so that they can feel at once if anyone is trying to penetrate them."

Shan looked dismayed. "There's no way to get near the cupboard, then."

"There might be," said Robert, looking at Harry. "I looked around the rest of the office. Li-Kai left an old Pugilist's Manual on his desk, and there was a chapter on Repelling Charms in there. Those Charms were developed by the Mongols during the Yuan Dynasty to work on the Han Chinese. They may not have any effect on a non-Chinese. Harry might be able to bypass it."

Shan turned to Harry, an excited look on her face. Harry, however, wasn't so sure.

"I heard you mention a lot of 'mights' and 'maybes'," he said. "We're not completely certain, are we?"

"The worst that can happen is that you won't be able to get near the cupboard," said Robert. "Li-Kai can feel if someone is trying to penetrate the barrier, but he won't be able to tell who the person is. He'll most likely suspect it's me or Chee Chong. That's probably why he used a Mongol Repelling Charm in the first place. A normal Repelling Charm is easier to perform, but far less powerful."

"You can do it on Christmas night, Harry!" said Shan enthusiastically. "Professor Dumbledore is having a special little dinner for us Tian-Long students, and he is insisting Master Li-Kai attend, as well. All of you are invited too, but you can pretend that you're still feeling too full from our Christmas party."

"Fine, let's say I do manage to get the scroll," said Harry, "What, then? I can't just nick it - Snufflegint will be looking everywhere for the thief!"

"You don't have to steal it," said Robert, "Just duplicate it."

Harry stared at him. "Duplicate it?"

"You can easily look up Duplicating Charms in the library," said Robert. "Hermione should be able to perform them, with a bit of practice."

Harry looked at the two of them.

"You seem to have decided everything for me and Hermione," he said.

"Well, you want the scroll, don't you?" said Shan, grinning.

Harry glared at them, then thought of something else.

"Did Chee Chong know why you were breaking into Snufflegint's office?" he asked Robert.

Robert hesitated.

"I don't know if I should mention this," he said, rather reluctantly, "but I think Li-Kai has been interrogating Chong about something. He kept Chong back for half an hour the other day, and I think he did a Memory Charm on him, because he didn't seem to remember anything about it when I asked him later."

Harry and Shan looked at each other in dismay. It was a good thing they hadn't told Chee Chong about Liu Pei's scroll yet.

"Chong doesn't know I broke in," added Robert, "Li-Kai's office has two entrances : one from the chamber, and one from the corridor outside. I said I had to go somewhere for a while, and then let myself in by the corridor entrance."

"I can't imagine why anyone would suspect Chong of anything," said Shan. "He's so - well, harmless."

Harry suddenly remembered something.

"The Plateau!" he said. "Chee Chong knows about it!"

Both Shan and Robert looked at him.

"That's true," said Robert, "but how would Li-Kai suspect that Chee Chong knew? There's nothing on the Plateau that would interest him, anyway."

That was true, Harry thought. It was just a pleasant place, with flowers and Talking Tortoises. He decided not to worry about it for the time being, but concentrate on getting the scroll instead.

There was no time to lose; the next day was Christmas. Harry managed to get Hermione alone, after dinner, and tried to persuade her to help him duplicate the scroll.

"All right," said Hermione, a gleam in her eye, "But you've got to help me smuggle the tortoises out of the Plateau."

"What?" said Harry. "Haven't you given up on that idea? You haven't managed to get them to speak a single word of English!"

"I've thought of a way," said Hermione firmly. "You just have to help me locate them tomorrow. It'll be easy enough to put them to sleep, and I'll do all the carrying."

So, that night, they put the Cloak on and headed for the storeroom. Shan came as well, because she was fond of the tortoises, and said she knew how to lure them out into the open.

They came across Argus Filch on their way there, and stopped to let him pass. Filch was scowling and looking extremely annoyed; he had been in a very bad mood lately, and with good reason. The Monkey King had been having the time of his life, masquerading as Peeves, and wreaking more than his fair share of havoc. Because he was able to make himself look exactly like Peeves, it was impossible to tell when the mischief was done by him and when it was due to the real Peeves. Peeves, of course, was furious; he didn't mind messes made by himself, but he resented the fact that he was being taken advantage of, and a full-scale war had erupted between him and the Monkey King. This, of course, had resulted in even more work for Filch.

Once Filch had gone, Harry and the other two managed to get into the storeroom and were soon in the peach orchard, hunting for the tortoises. They found Chester there as well, who looked pleased to see them. He flew up into a peach tree and began chirping away happily, watching them as they searched around for the tortoises.

They found seven without much trouble, but the rest proved to be more elusive.

"Surely we don't need all of them," said Harry, when they had managed to catch another two.

"We need thirteen," said Hermione, "if they're to sing Partridge in a Pear Tree properly."

The captured tortoises, which had been placed in a sack on the grass, were making a lot of noise. Hermione tapped the bulging and squirming sack with her wand, and the tortoises promptly fell silent and stopped moving.

"Time to use a lure," said Shan, conjuring several strawberries with her wand. Within a few minutes, the remaining four tortoises came lumbering up to her.

The smallest one, a little horn-coloured fellow, was so cute that Shan picked it up, and said a few affectionate words to it.

"Is that another kindred spirit?" asked Hermione, looking amused.

"Not quite," said Shan, placing the little tortoise on the grass again. She watched it for a while, as it swallowed one of the strawberries, then said, "So far, no animal can beat a wolf I met once, back at Tian-Long. I felt really happy talking to it."

Harry, keeping his face expressionless, stuffed the other three tortoises into the sack.

"Wonder what it's like, to be a wolf," said Shan, now looking absently at the mountains in the distance.

"I guess you could ask Jeanne, or Professor Lupin," said Hermione, "They'd be able to tell you."

Shan looked surprised. "Professor Lupin?"

Harry searched his mind for another topic, so that he could change the subject, but Hermione was already continuing.

"Professor Lupin used to be a werewolf," she explained. "Everyone in the school knows about it. But he was partially cured last year, so now he only transforms into a normal wolf instead, during full moon."

Shan had gone rather pale. She glanced at Harry, who was suddenly very busy fiddling with the sack of tortoises.

Hermione spotted the horn-coloured tortoise disappearing behind a peach tree, and went to look for it.

Shan came over to Harry, who was still staring at the sack and looking very busy.

"He's been visiting Chien-Mei quite often, hasn't he, at Tian-Long?" she said, in a dangerously quiet voice.

Harry didn't know what to say. He cautiously lifted his eyes from the sack, and saw that Shan was glaring at him.

"Both times I saw the wolf, it was full moon, and Chien-Mei was there," she added. Her face was now red, and she was beginning to look extremely embarrassed.

Harry found his voice.

"He didn't mind you talking to him, Shan," he said, trying to think of something tactful to say. "Jeanne told me he refused to tell her anything you told him."

Shan's face went even redder.

"You knew," she said accusingly, "and you didn't tell me."

Hermione had come back with the tortoise. Not noticing Shan's embarrassed face, she placed it in the sack, then took her wand out.

"Soporus," she muttered, tapping with her wand. The little bulge in the sack immediately stopped squirming.

Hermione tapped the sack once more, saying, "Agitabilis!" and then lifted it easily and slung it over her shoulder. As they were about to leave, Harry happened to glance at the peach trees, and noticed that the flowers of one had all fallen to the ground, making it stand out from the rest, which were still covered with pale pink blossoms.

"First sign of change," he thought to himself. At least some things did change, on this mountain.

Shan was still looking slightly red-faced. However, she had now noticed something else.

"The tortoises are snoring," she said. "We'd better not pass Mr Filch again on the way back."

The tortoises were, indeed, snoring very loudly. They sounded like a pack of chain-saws. Hermione tried the Sleeping Charm again, hoping it might quiet them, but they just snored louder than ever. Finally, Shan took her wand out.

"Maybe I can soundproof the sack," she said, and tapping it, said something in Chinese.

It worked. The sack, though still vibrating, became silent. They left the Plateau, waving to Chester, who was still chirping away in his peach tree, and managed to get back to the common room with no one the wiser about their expedition.

The Christmas presents Harry received that year were quite unlike any he'd received before. Pixie's gifts were little ivory spheres, which she had carved herself, while Fatty distributed small hampers of Chinese sweets, labelled "With the compliments of the Season, from Mui-Fatt Enterprises". Robert gave everyone a block of chocolate shaped like a Merlion - Pixie had an extra large one - which growled menacingly when it was about to be eaten. Shan banded together with Chee Chong, and handed a sack of firework sticks around. These, when set off, flew to the ceiling and exploded into multicoloured Chinese dragons. They danced around for a while before dissolving into small glittering lights, which arranged themselves into four Chinese characters before eventually fading. Chee Chong said that the characters meant "Merry Christmas", and that he and Shan hadn't been able to get hold of the English version.

Ron managed to bring Pixie to one corner of the room and gave her a small parcel wrapped in psychedelic orange and purple. Pixie, on opening it, looked astonished. She hesitated, then gave Ron a dazzling smile and kissed him quickly on the cheek.

Harry, who had been watching out of the corner of his eye, noticed Chee Chong and Fatty also watching and looking rather shocked. They began muttering to each other, in Chinese.

Harry looked uncertainly at them. Shan came up with a box of Christmas crackers, and offered him one.

"Anything wrong?" she asked, looking at his face.

"That's what I'm wondering," said Harry, glancing at Ron and Pixie again. Pixie had just brought out a large parcel, and was watching Ron unwrap it. "Ron just gave Pixie a set of embroidered handkerchiefs, and Fatty and Chee Chong didn't look too pleased about it."

Shan seemed amused.

"Some Chinese don't like handkerchiefs as gifts," she explained softly. "They're associated with weeping, and tears. It's as if you're wishing the recipient unhappiness."

"Oh," said Harry, wondering what her reaction would have been if he had given her the clock.

"I don't think Pixie minds, though," said Shan, turning to look as a burst of giggles erupted from Parvati and Lavendar, who were watching Ron and Pixie. Ron was holding up a new set of dress robes. They were bright fluorescent pink, and ten times frillier than his maroon robes had been. Pixie was standing demurely by, looking her most innocent.

"Like it, Ronniekins?" she asked, and then, seeing the horrified look on his face, began to giggle.

"I'm just joking, Ronniekins," she said. She took the robes, and taking out her wand, transformed them into a sprig of mistletoe. "Here's your real gift."

Ron looked uncertainly at it.

"It's, er, very nice, Pix," he said, holding it up and looking at it.

Pixie dimpled at him, then giggled again.

"You obviously don't know how it's used," she said. "Let me show you." And she began leading him toward the portrait hole and out of the common room, almost knocking into Hermione who was climbing in, holding a cauldron.

"What's that for?" asked Harry curiously.

"Singing Solution," said Hermione placidly. Taking a piece of holly from one of the garlands on the wall, she dropped it into the cauldron, and then carried it over to the corner of the room where she had left the sack containing the tortoises. The sack was beginning to squirm, indicating the tortoises were starting to wake up.

"I hope that works on live animals," said Shan, looking rather anxious as Hermione took one of the tortoises out and squirted several drops of solution into its mouth. It gave a couple of surprised hiccups, then looked at Hermione with its boot-button eyes, and began to sing We Wish You A Merry Christmas in an alto voice.

Hermione, a triumphant expression on her face, began dosing all the tortoises, and they were soon trundling around that corner of the room, singing Christmas carols with great enthusiasm.

"They're all singing different carols," objected Shan, listening to the confusion of song that was getting louder and louder.

"I've thought of that, too," said Hermione, flipping through a Charms library book. She stopped at one page, and pointed her wand at the tortoises.

"Concentio!" she said.

The tortoises all immediately launched into A Partridge in A Pear Tree.

"Ooo, they're all singing in parts," said Pixie, who had come back into the room together with Ron. Neither mentioned what they had been doing outside, but Ron's face was extremely red, and he had a dazed expression on his face.

"This is an unusual Christmas lunch," said Lavendar, looking at the spread on the table. The Tian-Long students had insisted they must contribute something, and had summoned Ting-Ting out of the kitchens the day before and described what they wanted. And so, besides the normal Christmas turkey and mince pies, there was also a small table groaning with Chinese food: dim-sum, consisting of ten different types of dumplings, small spring-rolls, and a whole array of desserts.

"I hope there's enough for everyone," Shan whispered, as she handed Harry a goblet full of iced lychees; but as the others helped themselves, they saw that the dishes immediately replenished themselves again.

"What's this?" asked Neville, trying out a transparent, jelly-like dessert.

"Bird's nest," said Fatty.

Neville looked dubiously at it.

"But it doesn't look like a bird's nest," he pointed out.

"Well, it is," said Fatty. "Type of swift, to be precise. They don't use sticks or mud to build their nests, like most birds."

"What, then?" asked Lavendar, trying some.

Fatty grinned at her and Neville.

"Saliva," he said.

Lavendar spat her mouthful of bird's nest back into her goblet.

"What?" she spluttered. She looked at Fatty with big eyes, and then, realising he was serious, went dashing off to the girl's toilet to rinse her mouth.

Neville, who had swallowed his mouthful, was looking rather green. Shan, looking worriedly at him, said, "It's really quite edible, Neville. In fact, it's a delicacy. This stuff usually costs a fortune."

None of the British students, however, dared to touch the bird's nest after that. The Tian-Long students, looking amused, helped themselves liberally. Lavendar came back, looking rather pale, and insisted they explain what all the other dishes contained before she would agree to consume their contents.

Robert had smuggled one of the Imperial scrolls out of the Astronomy Tower, and once lunch was over, Hermione curled up in a corner of the common room with a pile of Charms spellbooks from the library, and began practising Duplicating Charms on it. Neville and the others could see what she was doing, of course, but didn't seem surprised, because Hermione was always trying out spells that were not in the school syllabus.

"You'll have to make a better copy than that, Hermione," said Harry, an hour later, looking at the pile of duplicated scrolls next to her, "or we won't be able to make out what the words are."

Hermione, screwing up her face in concentration, tapped the original scroll again.

"Imago," she said; another copy appeared.

"Still no good," she murmured, examining it. "Try another one."

She referred to her spellbook, and muttering, "Simulo!", tapped the original again.

"Li-Kai's office is on the third level from the top, with an east-facing window," said Robert, that evening before he and Shan left for Professor Dumbledore's Christmas dinner. "The Repelling Charm appears as a green line on the floor. If it works on you, you'll feel something like an invisible wall there; if so, try to get out of the office as fast as you can."

Harry nodded, as Ron came over with Fatty's crystal globe.

"Fatty's got a spare," he said, handing it to Harry, "which I'll borrow from him, when I see Snufflegint leaving the table. I've told him you have a family emergency, you're waiting for a call from home."

Harry took the globe. "How d'you use it?"

"Dunno," said Ron. "You don't need to, anyway. I'll be the one calling you. I'm going to ask Shan to activate it, when the time comes."

Harry tucked the globe into his robes. It was just a safety measure, for he intended to keep an eye on Snufflegint using the Marauder's Map, anyway.

"Good luck," said Shan, looking as if she wished she was going with him and Hermione, as she and the others left the common room.

Hermione was still sitting to one side, practising Duplicating Charms. There was now a small mountain of duplicated scrolls next to her.

"Snufflegint's leaving his office now, Hermione," said Harry, checking the Map. "Let's go."

Hermione distractedly stuffed several sheets of parchment into her robes, on which she had copied all the various Duplicating and Unlocking Charms. She then jabbed her wand at the pile of scrolls, and they immediately disappeared. Harry, bringing his Firebolt over to the common room window, waited till Hermione had seated herself on it, behind him. This proved to be a bit of a squeeze, for the Firebolt was not made for two. They then covered themselves with the Invisibility Cloak. Harry kicked the floor with his right foot, and the Firebolt sailed swiftly up in the air and out the window, and carried them away into the wintry night.

Robert hesitated.

"I don't know if I should mention this," he said, rather reluctantly, "but I think Li-Kai has been interrogating Chong about something. He kept Chong back for half an hour the other day, and I think he did a Memory Charm on him, because he didn't seem to remember anything about it when I asked him later."

Harry and Shan looked at each other in dismay. It was a good thing they hadn't told Chee Chong about Liu Pei's scroll yet.

"Chong doesn't know I broke in," added Robert, "Li-Kai's office has two entrances : one from the chamber, and one from the corridor outside. I said I had to go somewhere for a while, and then let myself in by the corridor entrance."

"I can't imagine why anyone would suspect Chong of anything," said Shan. "He's so - well, harmless."

Harry suddenly remembered something.

"The Plateau!" he said. "Chee Chong knows about it!"

Both Shan and Robert looked at him.

"That's true," said Robert, "but how would Li-Kai suspect that Chee Chong knew? There's nothing on the Plateau that would interest him, anyway."

That was true, Harry thought. It was just a pleasant place, with flowers and Talking Tortoises. He decided not to worry about it for the time being, but concentrate on getting the scroll instead.

There was no time to lose; the next day was Christmas. Harry managed to get Hermione alone, after dinner, and tried to persuade her to help him duplicate the scroll.

"All right," said Hermione, a gleam in her eye, "But you've got to help me smuggle the tortoises out of the Plateau."

"What?" said Harry. "Haven't you given up on that idea? You haven't managed to get them to speak a single word of English!"

"I've thought of a way," said Hermione firmly. "You just have to help me locate them tomorrow. It'll be easy enough to put them to sleep, and I'll do all the carrying."

So, that night, they put the Cloak on and headed for the storeroom. Shan came as well, because she was fond of the tortoises, and said she knew how to lure them out into the open.

They came across Argus Filch on their way there, and stopped to let him pass. Filch was scowling and looking extremely annoyed; he had been in a very bad mood lately, and with good reason. The Monkey King had been having the time of his life, masquerading as Peeves, and wreaking more than his fair share of havoc. Because he was able to make himself look exactly like Peeves, it was impossible to tell when the mischief was done by him and when it was due to the real Peeves. Peeves, of course, was furious; he didn't mind messes made by himself, but he resented the fact that he was being taken advantage of, and a full-scale war had erupted between him and the Monkey King. This, of course, had resulted in even more work for Filch.

Once Filch had gone, Harry and the other two managed to get into the storeroom and were soon in the peach orchard, hunting for the tortoises. They found Chester there as well, who looked pleased to see them. He flew up into a peach tree and began chirping away happily, watching them as they searched around for the tortoises.

They found seven without much trouble, but the rest proved to be more elusive.

"Surely we don't need all of them," said Harry, when they had managed to catch another two.

"We need thirteen," said Hermione, "if they're to sing Partridge in a Pear Tree properly."

The captured tortoises, which had been placed in a sack on the grass, were making a lot of noise. Hermione tapped the bulging and squirming sack with her wand, and the tortoises promptly fell silent and stopped moving.

"Time to use a lure," said Shan, conjuring several strawberries with her wand. Within a few minutes, the remaining four tortoises came lumbering up to her.

The smallest one, a little horn-coloured fellow, was so cute that Shan picked it up, and said a few affectionate words to it.

"Is that another kindred spirit?" asked Hermione, looking amused.

"Not quite," said Shan, placing the little tortoise on the grass again. She watched it for a while, as it swallowed one of the strawberries, then said, "So far, no animal can beat a wolf I met once, back at Tian-Long. I felt really happy talking to it."

Harry, keeping his face expressionless, stuffed the other three tortoises into the sack.

"Wonder what it's like, to be a wolf," said Shan, now looking absently at the mountains in the distance.

"I guess you could ask Jeanne, or Professor Lupin," said Hermione, "They'd be able to tell you."

Shan looked surprised. "Professor Lupin?"

Harry searched his mind for another topic, so that he could change the subject, but Hermione was already continuing.

"Professor Lupin used to be a werewolf," she explained. "Everyone in the school knows about it. But he was partially cured last year, so now he only transforms into a normal wolf instead, during full moon."

Shan had gone rather pale. She glanced at Harry, who was suddenly very busy fiddling with the sack of tortoises.

Hermione spotted the horn-coloured tortoise disappearing behind a peach tree, and went to look for it.

Shan came over to Harry, who was still staring at the sack and looking very busy.

"He's been visiting Chien-Mei quite often, hasn't he, at Tian-Long?" she said, in a dangerously quiet voice.

Harry didn't know what to say. He cautiously lifted his eyes from the sack, and saw that Shan was glaring at him.

"Both times I saw the wolf, it was full moon, and Chien-Mei was there," she added. Her face was now red, and she was beginning to look extremely embarrassed.

Harry found his voice.

"He didn't mind you talking to him, Shan," he said, trying to think of something tactful to say. "Jeanne told me he refused to tell her anything you told him."

Shan's face went even redder.

"You knew," she said accusingly, "and you didn't tell me."

Hermione had come back with the tortoise. Not noticing Shan's embarrassed face, she placed it in the sack, then took her wand out.

"Soporus," she muttered, tapping with her wand. The little bulge in the sack immediately stopped squirming.

Hermione tapped the sack once more, saying, "Agitabilis!" and then lifted it easily and slung it over her shoulder. As they were about to leave, Harry happened to glance at the peach trees, and noticed that the flowers of one had all fallen to the ground, making it stand out from the rest, which were still covered with pale pink blossoms.

"First sign of change," he thought to himself. At least some things did change, on this mountain.

Shan was still looking slightly red-faced. However, she had now noticed something else.

"The tortoises are snoring," she said. "We'd better not pass Mr Filch again on the way back."

The tortoises were, indeed, snoring very loudly. They sounded like a pack of chain-saws. Hermione tried the Sleeping Charm again, hoping it might quiet them, but they just snored louder than ever. Finally, Shan took her wand out.

"Maybe I can soundproof the sack," she said, and tapping it, said something in Chinese.

It worked. The sack, though still vibrating, became silent. They left the Plateau, waving to Chester, who was still chirping away in his peach tree, and managed to get back to the common room with no one the wiser about their expedition.

The Christmas presents Harry received that year were quite unlike any he'd received before. Pixie's gifts were little ivory spheres, which she had carved herself, while Fatty distributed small hampers of Chinese sweets, labeled "With the compliments of the Season, from Mui-Fatt Enterprises". Robert gave everyone a block of chocolate shaped like a Merlion - Pixie had an extra large one - which growled menacingly when it was about to be eaten. Shan banded together with Chee Chong, and handed a sack of firework sticks around. These, when set off, flew to the ceiling and exploded into multicoloured Chinese dragons. They danced around for a while before dissolving into small glittering lights, which arranged themselves into four Chinese characters before eventually fading. Chee Chong said that the characters meant "Merry Christmas", and that he and Shan hadn't been able to get hold of the English version.

Ron managed to bring Pixie to one corner of the room and gave her a small parcel wrapped in psychedelic orange and purple. Pixie, on opening it, looked astonished. She hesitated, then gave Ron a dazzling smile and kissed him quickly on the cheek.

Harry, who had been watching out of the corner of his eye, noticed Chee Chong and Fatty also watching and looking rather shocked. They began muttering to each other, in Chinese.

Harry looked uncertainly at them. Shan came up with a box of Christmas crackers, and offered him one.

"Anything wrong?" she asked, looking at his face.

"That's what I'm wondering," said Harry, glancing at Ron and Pixie again. Pixie had just brought out a large parcel, and was watching Ron unwrap it. "Ron just gave Pixie a set of embroidered handkerchiefs, and Fatty and Chee Chong didn't look too pleased about it."

Shan seemed amused.

"Some Chinese don't like handkerchiefs as gifts," she explained softly. "They're associated with weeping, and tears. It's as if you're wishing the recipient unhappiness."

"Oh," said Harry, wondering what her reaction would have been if he had given her the clock.

"I don't think Pixie minds, though," said Shan, turning to look as a burst of giggles erupted from Parvati and Lavendar, who were watching Ron and Pixie. Ron was holding up a new set of dress robes. They were bright fluorescent pink, and ten times frillier than his maroon robes had been. Pixie was standing demurely by, looking her most innocent.

"Like it, Ronniekins?" she asked, and then, seeing the horrified look on his face, began to giggle.

"I'm just joking, Ronniekins," she said. She took the robes, and taking out her wand, transformed them into a sprig of mistletoe. "Here's your real gift."

Ron looked uncertainly at it.

"It's, er, very nice, Pix," he said, holding it up and looking at it.

Pixie dimpled at him, then giggled again.

"You obviously don't know how it's used," she said. "Let me show you." And she began leading him toward the portrait hole and out of the common room, almost knocking into Hermione who was climbing in, holding a cauldron.

"What's that for?" asked Harry curiously.

"Singing Solution," said Hermione placidly. Taking a piece of holly from one of the garlands on the wall, she dropped it into the cauldron, and then carried it over to the corner of the room where she had left the sack containing the tortoises. The sack was beginning to squirm, indicating the tortoises were starting to wake up.

"I hope that works on live animals," said Shan, looking rather anxious as Hermione took one of the tortoises out and squirted several drops of solution into its mouth. It gave a couple of surprised hiccups, then looked at Hermione with its boot-button eyes, and began to sing We Wish You A Merry Christmas in an alto voice.

Hermione, a triumphant expression on her face, began dosing all the tortoises, and they were soon trundling around that corner of the room, singing Christmas carols with great enthusiasm.

"They're all singing different carols," objected Shan, listening to the confusion of song that was getting louder and louder.

"I've thought of that, too," said Hermione, flipping through a Charms library book. She stopped at one page, and pointed her wand at the tortoises.

"Concentio!" she said.

The tortoises all immediately launched into A Partridge in A Pear Tree.

"Ooo, they're all singing in parts," said Pixie, who had come back into the room together with Ron. Neither mentioned what they had been doing outside, but Ron's face was extremely red, and he had a dazed expression on his face.

"This is an unusual Christmas lunch," said Lavendar, looking at the spread on the table. The Tian-Long students had insisted they must contribute something, and had summoned Ting-Ting out of the kitchens the day before and described what they wanted. And so, besides the normal Christmas turkey and mince pies, there was also a small table groaning with Chinese food : dim-sum, consisting of ten different types of dumplings, small spring-rolls, and a whole array of desserts.

"I hope there's enough for everyone," Shan whispered, as she handed Harry a goblet full of iced lychees; but as the others helped themselves, they saw that the dishes immediately replenished themselves again.

"What's this?" asked Neville, trying out a transparent, jelly-like dessert.

"Bird's nest," said Fatty.

Neville looked dubiously at it.

"But it doesn't look like a bird's nest," he pointed out.

"Well, it is," said Fatty. "Type of swift, to be precise. They don't use sticks or mud to build their nests, like most birds."

"What, then?" asked Lavendar, trying some.

Fatty grinned at her and Neville.

"Saliva," he said.

Lavendar spat her mouthful of bird's nest back into her goblet.

"What?" she spluttered. She looked at Fatty with big eyes, and then, realising he was serious, went dashing off to the girl's toilet to rinse her mouth.

Neville, who had swallowed his mouthful, was looking rather green. Shan, looking worriedly at him, said, "It's really quite edible, Neville. In fact, it's a delicacy. This stuff usually costs a fortune."

None of the British students, however, dared to touch the bird's nest after that. The Tian-Long students, looking amused, helped themselves liberally. Lavendar came back, looking rather pale, and insisted they explain what all the other dishes contained before she would agree to consume their contents.

Robert had smuggled one of the Imperial scrolls out of the Astronomy Tower, and once lunch was over, Hermione curled up in a corner of the common room with a pile of Charms spellbooks from the library, and began practising Duplicating Charms on it. Neville and the others could see what she was doing, of course, but didn't seem surprised, because Hermione was always trying out spells that were not in the school syllabus.

"You'll have to make a better copy than that, Hermione," said Harry, an hour later, looking at the pile of duplicated scrolls next to her, "or we won't be able to make out what the words are."

Hermione, screwing up her face in concentration, tapped the original scroll again.

"Imago," she said; another copy appeared.

"Still no good," she murmured, examining it. "Try another one."

She referred to her spellbook, and muttering, "Simulo!", tapped the original again.

"Li-Kai's office is on the third level from the top, with an east-facing window," said Robert, that evening before he and Shan left for Professor Dumbledore's Christmas dinner. "The Repelling Charm appears as a green line on the floor. If it works on you, you'll feel something like an invisible wall there; if so, try to get out of the office as fast as you can."

Harry nodded, as Ron came over with Fatty's crystal globe.

"Fatty's got a spare," he said, handing it to Harry, "which I'll borrow from him, when I see Snufflegint leaving the table. I've told him you have a family emergency, you're waiting for a call from home."

Harry took the globe. "How d'you use it?"

"Dunno," said Ron. "You don't need to, anyway. I'll be the one calling you. I'm going to ask Shan to activate it, when the time comes."

Harry tucked the globe into his robes. It was just a safety measure, for he intended to keep an eye on Snufflegint using the Marauder's Map, anyway.

"Good luck," said Shan, looking as if she wished she was going with him and Hermione, as she and the others left the common room.

Hermione was still sitting to one side, practising Duplicating Charms. There was now a small mountain of duplicated scrolls next to her.

"Snufflegint's leaving his office now, Hermione," said Harry, checking the Map. "Let's go."

Hermione distractedly stuffed several sheets of parchment into her robes, on which she had copied all the various Duplicating and Unlocking Charms. She then jabbed her wand at the pile of scrolls, and they immediately disappeared. Harry, bringing his Firebolt over to the common room window, waited till Hermione had seated herself on it, behind him. This proved to be a bit of a squeeze, for the Firebolt was not made for two. They then covered themselves with the Invisibility Cloak. Harry kicked the floor with his right foot, and the Firebolt sailed swiftly up in the air and out the window, and carried them away into the wintry night.

But I am constant as the northern star

They had managed to unlock the window without any problem, using the Alohomora Charm. As they peered into the dark interior of the room, a thin line of green fire could be seen glowing on the floor at the far end, running in a semicircle around a dark shape that must be the cupboard. Harry, leaving his broomstick against the wall near the window, raised his lighted wand and went toward it first.

"Careful," murmured Hermione, just behind him, as he stopped in front of the fiery line. Harry took a breath, then stepped across the line. Nothing happened; Robert had been right - the Charm didn't work on non-Chinese!

"All right," whispered Hermione, stepping over the line and fumbling around in her robes for her parchment. She tried opening the cupboard, but it was locked. She then brought a luminous toadstool out, and placed it on top of the cupboard where it dimly illuminated its surroundings.

Harry watched as Hermione tried Opening spells on the cupboard, one by one. Leaving her to it, he seated himself in a chair near the window and took the Marauder's Map out, to make sure Snufflegint was still at the Christmas dinner.

After about ten minutes, there was a slight creaking sound, and Harry saw Hermione swinging the cupboard doors open. Hurrying over, he saw that the cupboard was almost empty, except for a hemispherical glass dome on the top shelf. A bundle, wrapped in yellow silk, lay inside, and so did a carved vessel, made of bronze.

"What's that?" said Harry, looking at the bronze vessel with interest.

"Don't know," said Hermione. She gingerly tried lifting the glass dome away, but it refused to budge. With a small sigh, she unrolled her parchment again, and started going through the Opening Charms once more.

Harry, deciding to continue keeping an eye on Snufflegint, turned around and had a terrible shock. The tall figure of a human-like creature was standing silently several feet in front of him, silhouetted against the dim light from the window. His heart beating fast, Harry raised his lighted wand, and then realised, to his relief, that it was the Monkey King.

Hermione, turning around, saw it too and gave a small gasp of fright before she realised who it was.

"How did he get in?" muttered Harry, as the Monkey King came over to them, an inquisitive expression on its face.

"The window, I guess," murmured Hermione, as she turned back to the dome, still looking rather shaken. "Keep an eye on him, in case he starts whooping and gives us all away."

The Monkey King came and stood next to her, watching as she tried one spell after another. Harry watched it for a while, but to his relief, it didn't utter a sound, and seemed content to just observe what was happening. After a while Harry went back to the window and sat down again, and continued watching Snufflegint on the Map.

Hermione gave up after twenty minutes, and came over to Harry, looking discouraged.

"None of the spells are working," she said. "I can't get the dome open."

Harry felt his heart sinking.

"Let me try," he said, although he was positive that the chances of his succeeding were even smaller.

The Monkey King had followed Hermione over to the window, and was still staring at her. Hermione, looking uncomfortable, glared back at it, but didn't dare shoo it off, in case it started making a racket.

Harry went through all the spells, but couldn't get the dome open either.

"I found another spellbook," said Hermione, coming over with a book she had taken from one of the shelves, "It's in English. Let me try again."

Harry left her and the monkey, and went back to his window seat. He checked the Map; Snufflegint was still in the Great Hall. He stared out of the window. Good thing it's not snowing tonight, he thought, or the snow'd come in when we leave through the window, and Snufflegint would see it melting on the floor.

He looked back into the office. Hermione was still patiently trying out charms, but the Monkey King had now become bored, and was looking around the room. It picked up a large, intricately carved sandalwood fan from the desk, and fanned itself for a while. Then it spied the tea-set, which was just in front of Harry. It came over and picked up two of the porcelain teacups, which filled up with steaming tea immediately. Offering one to Harry, it downed the other in one gulp.

Harry cautiously sipped the tea, and found it fragrant but rather tasteless; there was no sugar in it. When he had finished the monkey handed him another cup of tea, of a different flavour, but by the third he decided he'd had enough, and refused to take any more. The monkey, seeing this, placed the teacups back. Noticing the collection of snuff bottles on the rosewood table, it went over and to Harry's dismay, picked them up one after another and started juggling them.

"Shh, stop!" he hissed, but the monkey ignored him. Harry watched, holding his breath, and hoping fervently that none of the bottles would come smashing to the ground. The monkey was amazingly deft, and it was quite a sight, thirty or forty snuff bottles in the air at the same time. The monkey levitated up in the air, in a seated lotus position, then swung upside down and hovered there, looking at Harry, still juggling all the while.

Harry sat and watched, the Map lying next to him, forgotten. A sudden loud ringing from inside his robes suddenly brought him back to his senses.

The monkey, hearing the ringing, swung the right way up again, and sent all the snuff bottles sailing through the air back to the rosewood table, where they landed without a sound and stood neatly upright, in their original positions.

Harry hurriedly brought the ringing globe out, and tapped it with his wand. The monkey turned and looked at Hermione, and went over to watch her again.

Ron's face appeared in the globe.

"Snufflegint's just left the table, Harry," he mumbled, so softly that Harry could hardly catch the words.

"What?" he said. Ron shushed him.

"Shh, the others might hear," he said, muffling his voice with his hand. Harry could see Pixie talking to someone in the background, and her familiar giggling sounded faintly through the globe. He guessed that Ron had retreated some distance from the dinner table, to make the call.

"But you've only been there less than an hour," whispered Harry, glancing at the Map. Sure enough, he could see Snufflegint slowly leaving the Great Hall.

"Old git's being antisocial, as usual," whispered Ron. "Dumbledore tried to make him stay, but he said he was tired."

"Stall him, will you?" whispered Harry desperately. "We haven't got the scroll yet!"

But now several other voices could be heard approaching from Ron's end, and Pixie's giggles were getting louder. Ron suddenly mumbled, "Gotta go. People coming." And then, the globe abruptly went dark.

Harry looked at the Map : Snufflegint was now in the Entrance Hall, moving toward the marble staircase. He hurried over to Hermione.

"Hermione, we've got to go," he hissed, "Snufflegint's coming!"

Hermione was looking slightly distraught. "But I haven't got it open, yet!"

Harry took the spellbook from her and placed it back on the shelf.

"Never mind!" he said. "We can come back another time!"

Hermione locked the cupboard doors and, stuffing the luminous toadstool back into her robes, hurried over to the window. Harry picked the Firebolt up, and as Hermione pushed the window open, he turned and looked back at the cupboard. The Monkey King was still standing next to it, watching them. Then, it reached one long arm out and opened the cupboard doors. It stuck its arm through the glass dome, as if it wasn't there, and calmly took the yellow bundle and the bronze vessel out.

Harry and Hermione stood where they were for a moment, staring open-mouthed at the monkey. Then Hermione snatched her wand out and hurried back to the cupboard.

"Hermione, there's no time!" whispered Harry frantically, automatically reaching into his robes for the Map again. Hermione, however, had taken hold of the silk bundle, and was bending over it.

Harry unrolled the Map, his hands shaking slightly, and saw that Snufflegint had reached the bottom of the Astronomy Tower.

"He's coming up!" he hissed.

Hermione had lit her wand, and Harry saw that she had duplicated the bronze vessel as well as the scroll. She examined the copy of the scroll she had just made, then shook her head. Extinguishing her wand, she gave the duplicate one tap, and it disappeared. She then bent over the original, and tried again.

Heart thumping, Harry came over to her. Another look at the Map showed that Snufflegint was halfway up.

Hermione was now examining the second copy, and finally seemed satisfied. Tucking the items carefully inside her robes, she then took the originals and held them out to the monkey, indicating it should return them to the glass dome.

The monkey looked at her with bright eyes, then suddenly flew up in the air and hovered upside down playfully, still gazing at her.

"Oh, please," moaned Hermione, under her breath. She looked imploringly at the monkey, as Harry checked the Map again.

"He's almost reached this floor," he whispered.

The Monkey King suddenly fell to earth again, and taking the bundle from Hermione with one hand, pursed its lips and pointed at its mouth with the other.

Hermione stared at it in horror, and shook her head.

Harry was feeling too panicky to laugh.

"Hermione, if that's what it'll take, just do it, and let's get out of here!"

Hermione, looking sick, screwed her eyes shut, leaned forward, and kissed the monkey on the lips.

The monkey gave a whoop and flew up in the air, and then, swooping over to the cupboard, deftly placed the vessel and scroll back inside the dome, and closed the cupboard doors.

Harry and Hermione were already heading for the window. They could hear Snufflegint's footsteps in the corridor outside, approaching the door. As Harry hovered the Firebolt outside the window, he turned and saw the Monkey King disappearing with a soft Pop! Hermione closed the window with a snap, and then, covered with the Invisibility Cloak, they flew swiftly back to Gryffindor Tower, their hearts still beating fast.

One look at the scroll told Harry that it was the same one he'd seen in Liu Pei's office. Snufflegint must have been restoring it, for some of the dirt had been removed, and more of the star-map was visible. The bronze vessel was shaped like a small vase. They couldn't make anything out of it; there was nothing on it to indicate it had anything to do with the scroll, for they couldn't read the inscriptions on it.

Shan, Robert and Ron came into the common room about half an hour later, having got away from the dinner table as soon as they politely could. They looked relieved when they discovered the operation had been successful, and Snufflegint none the wiser.

"So that's the scroll," said Ron, looking at it. "Couldn't you have duplicated it alone, and not the dirt, as well?"

"You think it's so easy!" said Hermione, crossly. "I'd like to see you do it!"

Robert was looking at the bronze vessel.

"I don't know much about bronzes, and I've got to learn ancient Chinese script now, as well," he said. "I've been leaving most of the translating to Chee Chong. I'll restore the scroll first, and in the meantime, we can get some books from the Tian-Long library."

"Can you?" asked Hermione, rather anxiously.

Shan nodded.

"We brought a library catalogue along," she said, "in case we needed any books for our assignments. They can be delivered by dragon post, if not too heavy."

Robert went off to the boys' dormitory, and presently came back with a large roll of parchment. Taking his Chinese brush, he wrote several Chinese characters on it, and then tapped it with his wand. The characters faded, and then other small, fine characters began appearing, filling almost the entire scroll.

"Unfortunately, the book on bronzes which looks most useful is in the Restricted Section," said Robert, after scanning through the scroll's contents. He began copying some of the titles onto another sheet of parchment. "We need a teacher's signature for that. We'll just borrow the other books first, and worry about this one later."

He handed the note to Harry, and then kept the scroll, saying he'd get started on it as soon as possible. Harry went to the owlery to send Hedwig off with the note, hoping, as he watched her fly away, that Lady Wen-Li wouldn't wonder why the Tian-Long students had developed a sudden interest in bronze vessels.

The Christmas holidays soon came to an end, and the castle became noisy and bustling again as all the students came back for the new term. On the first day of school, as they went down to the dungeons for Potions, Harry found himself hoping that Jeanne would turn up to conduct the exchange class again, instead of Snape.

However, once they entered the classroom, they saw that Snape was already there. He had a sour expression on his face, and Harry guessed he wasn't enthusiastic about having to teach the exchange class.

Snape waited until they had taken their seats, and then stood staring at them, his eyes glittering strangely. The Chinese students sat staring back at him, looking rather nervous.

"So, it appears I have to waste my time teaching this class," whispered Snape. He picked up the register and took their attendance, frowning at each of the Tian-Long students as he matched name to face.

"You! Wong!" he suddenly said, looking at Chee Chong. "Tell me which mammal's organ is used in the remedy for snakebite."

Harry didn't know the answer, himself. He turned and looked at Chee Chong, who was sitting at the table to his right, and saw that he was looking apologetically at Snape.

"I do not know, sir," he said.

Snape's eyes narrowed.

"What would a fusion of vulture's gall and dragon's tail be used to treat?"

Chee Chong looked even more abashed. Harry looked around, and saw all the Hogwarts students looking blank as well, except for Hermione, who had raised her hand. After a brief pause, Chee Chong said again, "I do not know, sir."

Snape smiled unpleasantly.

"What is cynocephalia used for?"

Hermione raised her hand even higher.

Chee Chong's face was red, now. He looked at Snape, and remaining silent, just shook his head.

"So," said Snape softly, ignoring Hermione, "this is an exchange programme, and you think you may come here with little or no preparation. I have the privilege of informing you that this class will be different. There will be a test at the end of the month, and ten demerits will be awarded to every Tian-Long student who fails."

Chee Chong looked shamefaced, while the rest of the class looked indignant. Snape, seeing this, said silkily, "Ten points will be deducted from Gryffindor, too, for every Hogwarts student who does not pass."

The Hogwarts students all glared angrily at him. Snape, however, ignored them, and stood staring at the Chinese students with a faint sneer on his face.

"Pathetic," he whispered, "Is the standard at Tian-Long so low? Can not even one of you answer my questions?"

The Tian-Long students all turned to look at Robert. Robert hesitated, and glanced at Chee Chong, obviously reluctant to humiliate him.

Chee Chong said something in Chinese to Robert. Robert turned, and looked at Snape.

"The rennet of a fawn can be used to treat snakebite," he said. "Vulture's gall and dragon's tail is used to cure epilepsy. Cynocephalia is a safeguard against most poisons."

Snape's eyes narrowed, his eyes falling on Robert's nametag.

"What would a mixture of betony and githrife be used for?"

Robert returned his gaze, his glasses reflecting the surroundings.

"It allows an individual to consume alcohol without becoming intoxicated."

Snape frowned. "Why is vervain never added to a solution of henbane and white hellebore?"

"Henbane and white hellebore are normally used to cure fever," said Robert. "Adding vervain to the solution makes the patient hallucinate."

"Name the herbs used in the production of sedatives."

"Henbane, harewort, hedgerife and fennel."

Snape looked at Robert, his eyes glittering coldly.

"It appears that we have two know-it-alls in this class," he said, "except that Mr Mo, unlike Miss Granger, does not feel the need to endlessly show off."

Hermione flushed, and looked at the floor. Snape abruptly reached a hand out, and gave Robert's glasses a sharp tap with his wand.

"I expect you to wear normal glasses whenever you appear in this class," he snapped.

He tossed the register aside, and then instructed them to prepare a Shrivelling Solution.

The Tian-Long students, still unused to some of the ingredients used in the west, fumbled a bit, except for Robert, who managed to find time to help Shan out as well. Harry saw Shan smiling at Robert, who looked much nicer now that his glasses were like normal ones. Ten minutes later, Chee Chong made one of his windmill gestures and knocked his cauldron clean off the table, and onto the floor.

"Blundering idiot!" snapped Snape, clearing the mess with one wave of his wand. "It appears that Longbottom has competition."

Pixie, seated next to Ron, was in trouble. Her solution was turning blood red instead of blue, and she had accidentally cut her finger while chopping her roots.

Snape, noticing her predicament, came over.

"Ah, the redoubtable Miss Pei," he said, looking from the red solution to her frustrated face. "Your esteemed Potions teacher in Tian-Long has told me much about you." He flicked a glance at Ron. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, for not helping her properly."

Pixie flushed. The implication that Lady Han-Yin had told Snape how poor she was at Potions rankled.

"Lady Han-Yin would never say anything like that about me!" she said heatedly. "And this has nothing to do with Ron. If you're so anxious to punish someone, you might as well punish me!"

Snape's mouth curved into an unpleasant smile. He came right up to her table, and stood staring down at her.

"Very well," he said, his eyes glinting, "The other teachers have all been very lax with you, but I shall take this class in hand. I will not tolerate discourtesy from any student, Chinese or otherwise. You will sit alone in that corner and work on your solution until you get it right, after which you will come and see me, and I will arrange a detention for you."

"Hold on a minute!" said Ron indignantly, "That's completely unfair! She hasn't done anything to deserve that!"

"Five points from Gryffindor for insolence, Weasley," said Snape coolly. "And if you open your mouth again, I will double the length of your little friend's detention."

This successfully shut Ron up. Pixie, still looking angry, gathered her things and moved to the back of the classroom. The rest of the class continued working in silence, darting sympathetic glances at her, and angry looks at Snape.

"Spiteful git!" said Ron angrily, as they left the classroom, where Pixie was still valiantly trying to resurrect her solution, "I shouldn't have sat next to her, fat lot of help I was, in the end."

Their next hour was free, so Harry waited with Ron outside the classroom for Pixie to come out. Shan, seeing them, gave them a sympathetic smile as she and Robert went past. Harry noted that Robert's glasses had reverted to their usual reflecting state.

Snape came out half an hour later, with Pixie trailing behind him. Snape had a smug expression on his face. Pixie's anger seemed to have subsided, and her face was now rather pale. She looked at Ron as she passed, but did not smile.

"C'mon, Ron," said Harry, as the two disappeared down the corridor toward Snape's office, "There's nothing you can do. We've got to go for Lupin's class soon."

Ron stood watching until Pixie and Snape disappeared inside the office, then turned and followed Harry, still looking angry and worried.

Shan and Robert arrived late for the first Defence Against the Dark Arts exchange class of the new term, and Harry suspected that Shan had almost decided not to come. Her coolness to Jeanne had not extended to Professor Lupin, and she had got along very well with him during the first month of the exchange programme in Hogwarts. However, ever since that night on the Plateau, she had become very shy of him, and would go red and stare at the floor whenever she happened to pass him along the corridor, or look embarrassed if anyone mentioned his name.

Lupin, having probably noticed her behaviour and guessed her problem, kindly left her alone for the time being. They had been concentrating on Dark creatures for most of the programme so far, and he had brought a Grindylow along with him that day. Robert, who had been seated at the back of the classroom together with Shan, came up to the front to examine it when the class ended, obviously pleased to meet a real-life Grindylow at last.

As the students began leaving the room for their next class, Lupin made a small gesture at Harry, indicating he wanted to talk to him.

Lupin waited till Robert had finished with the Grindylow, and then quietly asked Harry, "How is Shan getting along?"

Harry glanced at the back of the classroom, and saw Shan disappearing out the door with Robert.

"OK, I guess," he said. "We never talk about - what happened. I think Robert would know better than me."

Lupin looked thoughtfully at him for a moment.

"Fatty and Pixie have been spending the last few weeks of the programme trying to persuade me to catch a Boggart, for this class," he said. "It seems that Seamus and Dean have been regaling them with enthusiastic accounts of the previous Boggarts they have fought with, and they are now extremely keen to meet one."

Harry looked at Lupin, wondering what he was trying to say.

"I don't think Shan is ready to meet a Boggart yet, Harry," said Lupin, looking intently at him, "which is why I have purposely not included one in any of the lessons. However I am aware that Dean and the others have been keeping an eye out for one, and they are quite capable of capturing a Boggart by themselves now, if they happen to come across one in the grounds. If that happens, I want you to keep Shan away from it."

"But - how?" said Harry. "I might not even be there when they find it."

"They will likely keep it till they've gathered all the Tian-Long students together, in which case you'd most likely be there as well," replied Lupin. "If not, it can't be helped, I suppose."

He looked out the window, his expression sober, and gave a small sigh. He then smiled and nodded at Harry, to indicate he could leave, and began to pack his things away.

Pixie did not turn up in the Great Hall for lunch, but they found her later in the Gryffindor common room, looking slightly subdued. When they asked her what had happened, she said that Snape had given her some Potions ingredients to sort out and keep away.

"Probably all the squishiest and most evil-smelling stuff," said Ron, looking at the brown stains on her fingers, which had refused to wash off. "Well, at least it's over."

"Not really," said Pixie, in a rather odd voice, "I didn't finish sorting everything. I could tell Professor Snape wasn't pleased. I said I would come back another day and finish it."

"What?" said Ron. "Why?"

Pixie didn't look at him. She seemed rather distracted.

"I want to show him I can finish what I've started."

Ron flicked a look of disbelief at Harry, who was nearby, listening.

"All because Lady Han-Yin told him you were poor at Potions?" he said, incredulously. "So what? Who cares what he thinks?"

Pixie gave a small sigh, and didn't reply. Seeing Parvati and Lavendar entering the room, she gave him a small smile, and then went over to join them.

Ron stood watching her, looking nonplussed and rather worried.

"Snape's done something to her," he muttered to Harry, ten minutes later when she'd gone up to the girls' dormitory to get something. "I'd better keep a sharp eye on her, from now on."

The library books from Tian-Long arrived a week later. Robert, after skimming through several, seemed to pick up ancient Chinese script without any effort, and having restored a bit more of the scroll, told Harry and the others whatever he could, for the moment.

"These red squares are seals, and the characters inside them are names," he said, indicating a string of faint red squares running along one side of the scroll. "This probably means the scroll has changed hands many times. Each new owner normally likes to stamp his own seal on."

"Whose names are they?" asked Harry.

"The majority have the surname Wu," said Robert, "so it looks as though the scroll was kept in a family with that surname for some time, and handed down from father to son. Then it must have been lost or stolen, because other names appear after a while. I'm guessing that eventually someone stole it for, or gave it to, the Emperor, so that it ended up in the Imperial Archives."

He paused for a moment, looking at the scroll.

"Only one name looks familiar," he said, "and that is Wu-Hsien. He may have been the author of the scroll, because his seal is faintest, and is situated on its own at the bottom here. His name also seems to appear in the main text." He pointed at two Chinese characters, vaguely visible through the dirt on the scroll.

Hermione looked intrigued. "Who is he?"

"He was an astronomer who lived during the Tang Dynasty," said Robert. "If it's him, that is. There are probably many people with a similar name. There's a book in Tian-Long that might tell us more about him, but it's also in the Restricted Section."

Ron was looking at the bronze vessel. "What about this?"

"It may not have anything to do with the scroll," said Robert, "It's a Western Chou Dynasty bronze. The books we've borrowed aren't that detailed, so I haven't been able to figure out the inscriptions yet, except for a name, Wang Lao, which doesn't appear on the scroll."

Hermione was referring to one of her books on Chinese history.

"The Western Chou Dynasty lasted from the 11th to the 7th Century B.C.," she said, "That means, if Wu-Hsien was the author, the vessel is at least 1400 years older than the scroll."

"Or more," agreed Robert, "I'll have to restore the rest of the scroll first, before we can know whether the two are related in any way."

Shan, who had been sitting quietly, listening, since Robert had already discussed all this with her, now spoke up.

"I guess that means we have to get those books from the Restricted Section," she said. "But we need a teacher's signature."

They looked at each other.

"How about writing to one of the Tian-Long teachers?" suggested Harry.

Shan and Robert shook their heads.

"We would have to ask our Astronomy Master, because it would be very odd to ask one of the other teachers if we can borrow an Astronomy book," said Shan. "And our Astronomy Master will know straight away that there's nothing in those books that have anything to do with our current assignments."

"Well, what then?" said Ron. "We can't pretend we want it for our Hogwarts assignments. Even if we tell Sinistra that we want it for general knowledge, she's sure to ask Snufflegint about it, and he'll guess at once that we know about the scroll and vessel."

Shan and Robert looked at each other, and smiled.

"Robert and I were discussing this earlier," said Shan, looking as though she was trying not to laugh, "and we thought that maybe we could ask Professor Trelawney."

"What?" said Ron, "Why her?"

"It makes sense, actually," said Hermione thoughtfully, "We're supposed to be looking at the movements of the stars, these two weeks."

"Yes, we can say we want it for general knowledge," said Shan. "You know, look at it from the Chinese viewpoint, as well."

"Fine, but will she agree?" said Harry, "Especially as all of us here aren't keen about Divination at all."

"We must put her in a good mood," said Shan, her eyes glinting, "Predict a really catastrophic event is going to happen; maybe one of us could pretend to have a premonition, have a fit and roll around on the floor, or something like that."

Harry noticed that both she and Robert were looking at him.

"Hold on a minute," he said, "Surely you're not suggesting that I pretend to have the fit."

Shan and Robert grinned at him.

"You're her favourite, Harry," said Shan, persuasively. "I've noticed she loves it when you make dire predictions about yourself. You can - you can pretend your scar is hurting, or something."

"No way!" said Harry. "Why me? What about Robert? She picks on him too!"

"I can't act," said Robert, with perfect truth.

Harry turned to Ron and Hermione. Ron was keeping quiet, obviously not wanting to oppose Harry, but he couldn't help grinning, as if he thought the idea very funny. Hermione, too, seemed to be trying not to look amused.

"We have to admit, Professor Trelawney is the only teacher here who might fall for this," she pointed out. "None of the other teachers are that gullible."

Harry glared at her. Ron, feeling obliged to help him out, tried to change the subject.

"Is that all that can be made out from the scroll?" he asked.

"I can only make out a few other words, besides Wu-Hsien's name," said Robert, bending over the scroll again, "The scroll is in such poor condition that I can only restore it slowly, or it might fall apart. These characters" - he pointed at another part of the scroll - "look like the words for 'Great Occurrence'."

All of them leaned forward, and bent their heads over the scroll.

"Great Occurrence?" said Hermione, "Is something going to happen?"

"We can't tell, until I restore the rest of the scroll," said Robert, patiently.

Harry looked at the scroll, at the two characters which were supposed to make up the name "Wu-Hsien". He then looked up, and saw that the others were all looking at him.

"Why do I need to throw a fit, or anything?" he protested. "We can just chirk her up with a few depressing predictions, and then ask her to sign the letter."

"Well, we want to make sure," said Shan. "If we haven't convinced her enough or she's in a bad mood, she'll say no, and we won't have any more chances."

Harry looked at them. Even Ron was grinning away at him.

"Give me some time to think it over," he said. "There has to be a less ridiculous way to get hold of those books."

Harry received this piece of news with mixed feelings. This meant that if Snufflegint wanted to harm Jeanne, he was going to do it within the week. Or, if he didn't harm her, it meant he would soon be gone, and Harry wouldn't have to worry about him spying on Jeanne any more.

It also meant that Snufflegint had probably finished restoring Liu Pei's scroll, and had found out what he wanted to know. Was he going back to China because the Great Occurrence was going to take place there? Why had he come to Hogwarts in the first place? If he had been the one who had stolen the scroll from Liu Pei's office, he could have restored it easily enough back at Tian-Long. Unless, someone else had slipped the scroll in with the other Imperial scrolls, and Snufflegint had come to Hogwarts to retrieve it. Or had he come to Britain to spy on Jeanne?

With so little time left, Harry wanted some answers fast, and he decided that they'd better get the books from the Restricted Section, however remote the chance was that they'd find anything useful in them.

"Good luck," murmured Hermione, as they made their way to their seats during the next Divination class. Harry, unsure of producing a convincing enough performance, had asked her to step on his hand, if necessary, if he wasn't groaning loudly enough.

They had fabricated some really dismal predictions for themselves that week, and read them out as solemnly as they could, with the exception of Robert who persisted in reading his very matter-of-factly, as if it were a shopping list. Professor Trelawney seemed both surprised and moved. By the time she came to Hermione, who for once wasn't looking scornful, she was close to tears.

"My dears," she said in her misty voice, pulling out a gauzy handkerchief and dabbing her eyes, "It appears, indeed, that the portents for this month are not good … winter is always a bleak period. But we must endure … spring, with all its tender mercies, will eventually reign again."

She moved on to Neville. Ron, turning to look at Harry, mouthed "Now!"

Harry took a breath, and then, falling to the floor, began writhing and yelling as loudly as he could, clutching his head in his hands.

Parvati and Lavendar cried out in fright, while Professor Trelawney gave a small scream and turned around. Fatty, Chee Chong and Pixie sat where they were, startled, as Ron and Hermione jumped up and hurried over to Harry, trying their best to look worried.

"Harry!" Hermione grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him, "Snap out of it! What's the matter?"

Professor Trelawney, seeing what was happening, came rapidly over.

"Allow me, Miss Granger!" she cried, "I have experience in such matters! Potter is undoubtedly the recipient of some unworldly premonition. Let me minister to him!"

Harry had stopped yelling, and was now lying on his back, looking blearily up at them.

"Keep groaning," whispered Ron, before making way for Professor Trelawney.

Harry groaned again, but very half-heartedly. Hermione, screwing her eyes shut, brought her foot down on his left hand, which he had flung to one side so that it was hidden under a tablecloth.

Harry winced, and his groans became more convincing.

Professor Trelawney was now kneeling next to him, an eager gleam in her eyes, which looked even more enormous than ever.

"Arise, Potter!" she cried. "The dark night has passed! Relax your tense limbs, and let yourself be receptive to the clairvoyant vibrations in this room!"

She caught hold of Harry's shoulder, and held it in a vice-like grip, as if afraid he would run away. Harry winced, and groaned again, more realistically this time.

He sat up, and let Professor Trelawney help him to a chair, still grasping his shoulder.

"Now tell us, Potter," she said, fixing her huge eyes on him, "exactly what you saw and felt."

Harry took a breath.

"I saw an old fortress, in ruins," he muttered, carefully avoiding Ron's eye, "bats were pouring out of it. And there was a storm…thunder and lightning…"

"An omen of ill-intent!" said Professor Trelawney, her nostrils quivering slightly. "Continue, my dear!"

"And then - I felt a blinding pain in my head," said Harry, "And I heard a snarling voice in my ears - "

"The sign of Great Evil, my dears!" cried Professor Trelawney, looking at the rest of the class, who had gathered around Harry and were listening breathlessly. "A terrible Event approaches!"

Lavendar put a hand to her mouth, and gave a frightened gasp. Professor Trelawney turned, and looked expectantly at Harry again.

"I closed my eyes, because of the pain, and when I opened them I found myself in the fortress," continued Harry, "and this three-legged demon was there, in front of me …all covered with slime…"

"The foul Mirkindole!" cried Professor Trelawney, becoming more and more excited. "The accursed beast who lurks in the shadows, and snares human prey for its repasts!"

Harry's eyes suddenly met Shan's, and he felt an uncontrollable desire to laugh. He looked away, and found he had forgotten what he was supposed to say next.

He closed his eyes. He had rehearsed it, five times that morning, with Hermione…

"Courage, Potter!" said Professor Trelawney, catching his shoulder in her pincer-like grip again. "Do not leave us! Awaken, and finish your tale!"

Harry opened his eyes; he decided he'd had enough. "I can't remember the rest."

Professor Trelawney looked disappointed. Harry hastily said, "I think the demon came up to me, and stared at me, and then…I passed out again, because of the pain. That's all."

He slumped back in his chair, trying to look despondent and worn out.

Professor Trelawney looked commiseratingly at him.

"Peace, Potter," she said, patting his hand, "The ordeal has passed. Your vision tallies with what I have already foreseen for you … pain and suffering … fear of your deadly enemy … the shadow of the Grim, always hovering over you …"

She gave a deep sigh, and gazed sorrowfully at Harry, then stood up and looked around at the other students.

"We shall end here for today," she said mistily, a melancholy expression on her face, "and let Potter recover from his harrowing experience. Potter, I shall ponder the profound consequences of this premonition, and divulge my conclusions to you during our next class."

"Good job," muttered Ron, coming over with Hermione, who was looking apologetic.

"Sorry if I hurt you, Harry."

"Forget it," said Harry, and turned to Shan, who was standing nearby with Robert, holding the letter which they had already prepared. "Let's get that signed, and get out of here."

He took the letter from Shan, and hurried after Professor Trelawney, who was moving to the other end of the room.

"Professor?" he said, holding out the letter. "Some of us would like to do additional research … since this is a cultural exchange, and we're studying the movements of the planets … we'd like to borrow some books from the Restricted Section of the Tian-Long library, so that we can compare both Chinese and Western methods."

Professor Trelawney looked extremely moved.

"Potter, your diligence is astounding," she said, signing the letter without even looking at it, "Displaying such determination even after what you endured today … it saddens me, that one endowed with courage should be destined to meet such a fate as I have foreseen for you …"

She returned the letter to him, and left them, holding her hand to her chest, as if clutching at her heart, and still looking moved.

"Done it!" said Shan, looking delighted. "Harry, you were marvelous!"

"OK," said Harry, handing the letter to her, "I've done my part, time for you to do yours."

They were in a hurry to get the books, as they wanted to find out what Snufflegint was up to before he left, so Shan had volunteered to transform into a Silverwing, and Apparate back to Tian-Long to get the books.

"Chen-Kang will get them for me, he owes me a favour or two," she had told Harry. "He's discreet, and he won't ask what it's for. I'll be back in time for Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Ron and Hermione, who didn't know that Shan could transform, were curious to know how they were to get the books on time, but seeing there was some secret, had decided to be tactful and not ask.

Pixie felt a chill settle into her bones. Snape's office was even creepier than the Potions classroom, and mould appeared to be growing on the walls. The room was full of shadows, and the sightless eyes of pickled animals stared out at her from the shelves of jars which lined the walls.

Pixie had a horror of all things and places dark and slimy. Although no one at home seemed to have any time for her and she often felt lonely there, still her parents' house was bright and cheerful, and filled with the beautiful objects of her father's trade. In Tian-Long, the classrooms were all pleasant enough, and although there existed regions under the school which were less appealing - as Harry had discovered - she managed to avoid those as far as possible. The Potions classes in Hogwarts she had tolerated so far, because Ron and the others were there, and Jeanne managed to make the lessons fairly entertaining. But to be all alone in Snape's office, without her friends around, was decidedly unsettling.

Snape wasn't around at the moment, having gone off for one of his classes. Pixie carefully removed the sting from the tail of a scorpion. She glanced at the clock, and saw that there were still fifteen minutes left before she'd have to go for Defence Against the Dark Arts.

She had initially felt she hated Snape, and when her detention ended that first day she would probably have felt a great relief and vowed never to step foot in that office again, if Jeanne had not happened to come in, carrying a box of potions ingredients.

Pixie's first reaction was one of relief when she saw Jeanne. It was some consolation, at least, to have a fellow human being in the room with her, even for a few minutes. She was also secretly hoping Jeanne might persuade Snape to let her off.

Jeanne looked surprised to see Pixie sitting in a corner, but a few words with Snape soon explained the situation to her. She gave Pixie a sympathetic smile, then began to unpack and store away the ingredients.

Pixie noted that Jeanne seemed quite familiar with Snape's office and knew where everything should be kept. Having emptied her box, she was about to leave, when Snape called her over to the desk and began discussing the progress of Lady Han-Yin's Tian-Long project with her.

The terms they were using were so technical that Pixie wasn't sure what they were talking about. She wondered how Jeanne, who was no more than the gamekeeper's assistant, seemed to know so much about Potions. She continued extracting the tongues from preserved salamanders and keeping them away in small jars, only half-listening to the conversation.

After a few minutes, Jeanne and Snape finished their discussion of the project, and then Snape went on to talk about other things - the way the school was being run, how badly some of the classes were being taught, what he would do if he were in charge, what a mess the Ministry of Magic was in, among others. Pixie found herself listening and watching. Snape criticised the way Jeanne had taught the Potions exchange class. He had plenty to say about Professor Lupin, and made no effort to hide how much he loathed him. Jeanne listened in silence, a neutral expression on her face, and only a slight flicker of anger in her eyes betrayed the fact that some of the cutting and hurtful remarks disturbed her.

Pixie had forgotten about the salamander tongues. She watched Jeanne putting up with Snape. She watched Snape talking. From the way he looked at Jeanne, it seemed that he almost hated her, and yet at the same time he was like a dam bursting, as if he harboured a desire to communicate all the feelings and plans and ambitions that he had, to another person…

Snape talked for about twenty minutes. Jeanne said less than ten words in reply. Snape ended by looking impatient, and saying he was busy, implying Jeanne was encroaching on his time and should leave. Jeanne said quietly that she would check if any more bats had frozen in a cave somewhere in the grounds, since he wanted bats' intestines for the project. She then turned, and left.

Snape turned and frowned at Pixie, who quickly looked down and began extracting tongues again. She looked up at Snape every now and then. He was sitting at the desk, staring sourly at the project report on it. Pixie had the impression that Snape thought the project a waste of his time, even though Lady Han-Yin was doing most of the work back in Tian-Long. She finished extracting and putting away the salamanders' tongues, and then turned to a huge pile of scorpions. She knew she'd never be able to finish it within the day.

She had only managed to remove ten scorpions' stings when Snape suddenly snapped at her to get out, because it was lunchtime and her time was up. She looked up at the sallow face, at those eyes which always had that awful glitter in them, but which never betrayed any sign of emotion.

Her offer to come back another day and finish the scorpions was received with a curt, almost indifferent nod. She left the room, but didn't go to the Great Hall; instead she went up to the Gryffindor common room, which was empty, still thinking about Snape's conversation with Jeanne, which for some reason disturbed her.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was going to start soon, and Shan had still not returned. Robert, who was painstakingly restoring Liu Pei's duplicated scroll in the common room, told Harry to go first, saying he would wait a bit longer for her.

As Harry came down the corridor, he saw Seamus and Dean carrying a large packing-case into the classroom : a packing-case that shook and wobbled, as if something inside was trying to free itself and come out…

Harry looked at his watch; Lupin should be coming any minute. He hurried toward the classroom, hoping that Shan wouldn't make it back in time for the lesson.

Neville, Fatty and Chee Chong were already there, looking curiously at the box in which the Boggart was imprisoned. Seamus was trying to get Chee Chong to say "Riddikulus" without mixing his r's and l's up.

Parvati and Lavendar soon came in, and so did Hermione, together with Ron and Pixie. Pixie was applying ointment to her hands, and looked rather subdued.

"Professor Lupin said he'd be a bit late," said Lavendar, "I just saw him in the staff room. He's being held up by a meeting." She noticed the packing-case. "What's that?"

"Boggart," said Seamus, proudly.

"But, I thought we're doing Red Caps, today," said Parvati.

"Well, we can do those another day," said Dean. "We've been waiting for this Boggart for ages."

They waited for five minutes, and then Harry said,

"Let's just start. Robert said that he and Shan will be coming soon. You've already explained what we're to do, and we know how to handle Boggarts, by now." He was hoping they would get rid of the Boggart before Shan came.

The others agreed, so Pixie, Fatty, and Chee Chong queued up near the packing-case, the latter two looking rather excited.

"OK," said Seamus, and pointed his wand at the packing-case, so that the lid flew off.

A corpse-like zombie stepped out, its limbs and body stinking and decomposed, with a small piece of red paper attached to its face. Pixie, who had been standing in front of the packing-case, took a step back, her face rather pale. Then, she lifted her wand, and pointed it at the zombie.

"Riddikulus!" she cried. There was a noise like a whip-crack, and the zombie stumbled; it was now dressed in frilly pink dress robes, the same ones that Pixie had given Ron for Christmas.

"Fatty, you next," said Seamus, looking excited. Fatty came forward, wand ready in his hand. Crack! The zombie turned into the ghost that Harry had seen in the tunnel leading to the Lake of Blood. Except that this ghost was twelve feet tall, and his face was completely black. His sightless eyes stared down at Fatty, boring themselves into him.

At this moment, the door opened, and to Harry's dismay, Shan came in.

"What's happening?" she said, seeing him standing near the door, and then opened her bag with a smile to show him that she'd managed to get the books.

"Where's Robert?" asked Harry, wondering desperately if he could 'accidentally' exterminate the Boggart before her turn came.

"Outside, talking to Professor Lupin," said Shan. "They'll be coming in in a few minutes."

Harry wanted to go outside and tell Lupin about the Boggart, but he didn't dare leave the classroom in case Shan decided to give the Boggart a try. Wishing that Lupin would hurry up and come in, he turned, and saw that the dark-faced ghost had now shrunk to the height of a child's doll, and was hopping up and down and squeaking in rage.

Chee Chong, looking nervous, came forward. Crack! The tiny ghost disappeared, and a large demon with three heads and long tentacles appeared. It came toward Chee Chong, its tentacles writhing.

Chee Chong had gone very pale. He retreated a few steps, and raised his wand.

"L-liddikurus!" he squeaked.

The demon came bearing down on him, a cold light in its pale eyes. Chee Chong, looking alarmed, retreated a few more steps, and then stood still, as if paralysed.

Shan was watching Chee Chong with a rather worried look on her face. Before Harry could stop her, she suddenly ran forward, pushed Chee Chong aside, and turned to face the demon.

There was a crack! and the demon disappeared. A corpse lay on the ground; it was a man, whom Harry instinctively knew was Shan's father. His eyes were closed, and he lay, sprawled as if he had fallen from a great height, blood staining his robes.

Then the corpse began to transform, into another lifeless form, that of a woman. Harry recognised Mrs Chen. Her eyes were wide open and staring, fixed unseeingly on Shan, and there was a look of great bitterness and hatred on her face.

Shan stood as if frozen, staring at it. Her face had gone very white. She brought her hands to her mouth, and began trembling. Then, she suddenly burst into a storm of loud weeping.

The classroom door flew open, and Professor Lupin came in, with Robert behind him. Lupin took the entire scene in with one look, and then strode swiftly over to Shan and pointed his wand at the still form on the floor, so that it rose from the ground and flowed back into the packing-case in a strange, fluid motion. He put a hand on Shan's shoulder, and she automatically turned and clung to him, still sobbing uncontrollably.

Lupin put one arm around her, and his eyes met Harry's.

Harry felt himself shaking slightly. He looked miserably back at Lupin. 

"She - she ran forward so fast," he said. "I couldn't stop her."

Lupin shook his head slightly, as if to say it didn't matter, then glanced at the weeping girl.

"I'll bring her outside," he said quietly, looking around at Seamus and the others, who were standing nearby with sober faces, and then turned back to Harry. "You might as well finish the lesson with the Boggart. I know you and the other Hogwarts students can handle it on your own." Then he turned and led Shan, still weeping, out of the room.

Seamus and the others watched as they disappeared out the door, looking startled and dismayed. Harry felt terrible. Lupin probably thought he was hopeless; he hadn't even been able to keep Shan away from the Boggart.

Dean and Seamus turned back to Chee Chong, and tried to get him to perfect his pronunciation of "riddikulus" again. Robert was standing as if rooted to the spot, staring at the door which Shan had just gone through, his face pale.

"I - I've never seen her cry like that, before," he said, sounding rather shaken, when Harry came over to him. Hermione, too, was coming over.

Robert continued to stare at the door. Harry looked uncertainly at him for a moment, then said, "D'you - d'you want to have a go with the Boggart?"

Robert suddenly turned, and looked at the packing-case. With one silent, awful movement, he lifted his hand and pointed a finger at it, and it immediately exploded violently into flames. Then he made a gesture at Shan's bag, which was lying on the ground nearby, and it flew over to him. Holding both Shan's and his own things, he turned, and left the room without a word.

Harry looked at what was left of the packing-case. The flames were rapidly dying down, and soon nothing but small pieces of ash were left.

Ron and the others were watching, stunned.

"What did he do that for!" said Seamus, half-startled, half-annoyed. "We haven't finished with the Boggart yet!"

Chee Chong was looking crestfallen. The others stood around for a few moments, looking at a loss, then, since the Boggart had obviously been obliterated, started collecting their things and leaving the room. Pixie said something to Ron, then picked her bag up and followed suit.

Ron came over to Harry and Hermione, looking gloomy.

"She's gone off to Snape's office again," he said. "What's with Robert, anyway? Over-reacting a bit, isn't he?"

Hermione was looking at the small pile of ashes on the floor with a rather odd expression in her eyes.

"Oh, Ron," she said softly, "don't you see - he's in love with Shan."

There was a silence for a few seconds, as Harry and Ron both turned to look at her.

"What?" said Ron, "Robert? C'mon, Hermione, the guy's hardly human - he never shows any emotion!"

Hermione looked as if she regretted saying anything.

"Did he tell you that?" asked Harry quietly.

"No," she said, rather hesitantly, as if unsure whether to tell them or not, "Jeanne told me. She said that Sang Nila told her, while we were still in Tian-Long. Sang Nila knows everything about Robert."

"That Merlion?" said Ron incredulously. "Who'd believe anything it says?"

"Explain what we just saw, then," said Hermione, impatiently. "Why d'you think he carries that book that she gave him around all the time? You're so dense, Ron; you don't understand anything about people."

Harry had recently decided he didn't want to have Shan as anything more than a friend. He knew that she only regarded him as such, anyway. Even so, he felt a sudden pang in his heart, and a loneliness spread over him.

"Well, in that case, bully for Robert," said Ron sourly, glancing at Harry. Ron was still harbouring hopes that Harry and Shan would get together. "He's always with her anyway, isn't he? Nothing to stand in his way."

Hermione said nothing, but looked sadly at the pile of ashes on the floor, then picked her bag up and left the room. Harry watched her, feeling rather confused. Of course, Robert cared for Shan. That had been obvious all along - he was, after all, her cousin. But this put things in a different light.

He left the room with Ron, feeling rather uncomfortable. They passed a flight of steps that led down to the dungeons, and Ron, glancing at it, looked gloomy.

"Tell you, Snape's bewitched her, Harry," he said, referring to Pixie. "She's been going to his office, almost every other day."

Harry didn't reply; he was still thinking about Shan and Robert. Malfoy was still making annoying comments about Harry and Shan, because he knew it made Harry uncomfortable, and although he always did it out of earshot of Robert, Harry felt sure the news was capable of filtering down to the latter. Some of the Gryffindors, especially the girls, also seemed to assume Harry and Shan were a couple, and kept giggling and making silly remarks. If Sang Nila was right, then how would Robert feel when hearing such comments? He had remained perfectly friendly to Harry, all this time. Jeanne could have been mistaken. What could a Merlion know about human feelings anyway?

Shan and Robert didn't turn up for dinner. Harry checked the Marauder's Map, but couldn't find them anywhere. He happened to meet Jeanne, and asked her if she knew how Shan was.

"Remus spent some time talking to her," said Jeanne, "I didn't ask him what he said to her. She still resents my presence, so I made myself scarce." She looked rather hurt, as she said this.

Harry felt rather worried. "Where is she now?"

"I don't know," said Jeanne. "Remus said she and Robert left our room a while ago. He said Shan was all right; she just wanted to go somewhere quiet for a while, and think things out."

Harry, hearing this, guessed that Shan and Robert must have gone to the Plateau. He knew Shan liked it there; she had once commented on how serene the place was, and that whenever she went there she felt as if all her troubles had been left behind in the tunnel.

Robert didn't come back to the boys' dormitory that night, but both he and Shan appeared in the Great Hall the next morning for breakfast. Robert looked his usual calm self, while Shan looked composed enough, though her eyes were rather red. They were very quiet throughout the meal, and the other students in the exchange class left them alone, unsure what to say to them.

Harry had been so distracted by the previous day's events that it wasn't until he saw Chee Chong heading toward the Astronomy Tower that he remembered that Professor Snufflegint was due to leave in three days' time. The scroll and its interpretation lay in Shan and Robert's hands, and Harry didn't have the heart to badger them about it at present. However, he needn't have worried. Shan and Robert promptly took the scroll as an excuse to isolate themselves from the rest of the class, and began to spend all their free time in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, restoring and translating it.

By the third day, Harry noticed that the entire scroll had been restored. Shan had brought out the calculator scroll that she had bought in Dervish and Banges, and Robert seemed to be writing all kinds of complicated equations on it, which faded once he tapped the scroll with his wand, to be replaced by an answer a few seconds later.

Chee Chong had reported that Snufflegint had left early that morning, and that the chamber and his office were now empty. Jeanne was still going around doing her chores, and Harry felt relieved that no harm had apparently come to her. He suspected that Robert and Shan had made some kind of breakthrough, for they skipped lunch and spent most of the early part of the afternoon looking at the scroll and their calculations, softly discussing something in a mixture of English and Chinese.

Harry was tempted to take the Translator out and eavesdrop on them, but resisted. Shan seemed to have forgotten her unhappiness; there was a curious light in her eyes, and she was talking animatedly to Robert, as if trying to persuade him to do something.

Finally, around four o'clock, they took the scroll and bronze vessel, and disappeared out the portrait hole. After about ten minutes, Shan came back in to look for Harry. She seemed her normal cheerful self again, and there was an air of suppressed excitement about her.

"Robert and I think we have solved the scroll, Harry," she said. "Get Ron and Hermione, and come to the empty classroom at the end of the corridor outside, and we'll show you what we've found."

Harry's heart leapt in excitement, but even as he turned to look for Ron and Hermione, he stopped, and looked back at her.

"Are you all right now?" he asked.

She hesitated, then shrugged.

"I guess so," she said. "I had a long talk … first with Professor Lupin, then with Robert. I'm working on it ... I'll sort it out, eventually."

She looked rather sad as she said this, but then remembered the scroll, and the excited look came back into her eyes.

"Call Ron and Hermione quick, Harry," she said, "We don't have much time."

Robert and Shan were sitting on the floor in a corner of the classroom, looking at the scroll, when they arrived. Hermione seemed excited, but Ron looked wary. The way in which Robert had destroyed the Boggart had unnerved him, and Harry suspected that Ron was secretly rather afraid of Robert.

Robert seemed as placid as ever. He brought a sheet of parchment out, and handed it to them.

"It looks as if Wu-Hsien was quite famous in his day," he said. "Several legends seem to have gathered around his person. We found a passage that tells a story which possibly shows how the vessel and scroll are related; we've written out a translation for you."

Harry, Ron and Hermione bent over the parchment, and began to read.

Wu-Hsien had at one time become very poor, and had had as a neighbour one Wang Lao, who often helped him. Wu-Hsien had tried to make some return, especially during the Khai-Yuan reign period when he was in high favour with the Emperor. Eventually Wang Lao, having killed someone, was imprisoned, and called upon Wu-Hsien for help. Wu-Hsien went to see him and said, "If you want gold and silver I can give you all you want, but as for the law, I cannot change it." Wang Lao reproached him, saying, "What good is it to me that I ever knew you", and so they parted.

Later Wu-Hsien was in the Hun-Thien Temple, where there were several hundred workers. He ordered some of them to move a huge pot into an empty room. Then he said to two servants, "In a certain place there is a ruined garden. Do you hide there secretly tomorrow, from noon to midnight. Something will come - if it is seven in number, put them in the pot and cover them up, and if you lose one I shall give you a great beating." About six o' clock in the evening, sure enough, a herd of seven pigs appeared, and they caught them all and put them in the pot, and covered it with a wooden cover and matting. Then they ran off and told Wu-Hsien, who was very pleased.

Before long Wu-Hsien received a message to go urgently to a certain palace, where the Emperor met him and said, "The Head of the Astronomical Bureau has just informed me that the Great Bear has disappeared. What can it mean?" Wu-Hsien replied, "This sort of thing has happened before. In the Later Wei dynasty they even lost the planet Mars. But there are no previous records of the disappearance of the Great Bear. Heaven must be giving you an important warning, perhaps of frost or drought. But your Majesty, with your great virtue, can influence the stars. What would most affect them would be a decision on your part in favour of life rather than death." The Emperor agreed, and issued a general amnesty.

Later the seven stars of the Great Bear reappeared in their places in the heavens. And when the pot into which the pigs had been put was opened, it was found to be empty.

Ron finished reading first, and looked up.

"Wang Lao's name is on the bronze vessel, isn't it?" he said. "So this means he and Wu-Hsien knew each other."

Shan nodded.

"There's more," she said. "Wang Lao was later poisoned by one of his enemies. He took refuge in Wu-Hsien's house, where he repented of his misdeeds, and as he was dying he left whatever possessions he had to Wu-Hsien, including a collection of old bronze vessels. We're guessing that this bronze vessel was one of those."

Harry looked at the vessel. "What do the inscriptions on it say?"

Robert turned the vessel around.

"There's still a lot of dispute as to how these inscriptions are to be interpreted," he said. "I can only make a guess. It seems to say, 'I, Wang Lao, was present at the Great Event on - ' and then a date is given. I'm estimating that the year is around 1000 B.C., and the month is Hsiao Han - the time of lesser cold, which is the first fortnight of January. The day I haven't been able to figure out yet, because it's given by a time-recording term."

Seeing the others looking blank, he continued.

"There are several time-recording inscriptions which appear on bronze vessels during the Western Chou period," he explained. "They refer to a day based on the observation of a particular lunar phase, such as a crescent or a full moon. They were used together with the month and year, to record historical events. But so far no one knows which lunar phase these time-recording terms refer to."

Ron looked confused.

"That means, Wang Lao was the one who carved the inscriptions on the vessel," said Hermione.

Robert nodded.

"But, I thought this was a Western Chou bronze!" said Hermione.

"It is," said Shan, smiling.

"But it can't be," protested Hermione.

Harry and Ron turned to look at her. "Why not?"

"Robert said Wu-Hsien lived during the Tang Dynasty," said Hermione. "If Wang Lao lived during the Western Chou Dynasty, he would have been more than a thousand years old when he met Wu-Hsien!"

Robert was smiling now. He took another sheet of parchment out, and passed it to them.

"Here's what the scroll itself says," he said. "Maybe you'll understand after you read it."

Harry and Ron looked blank after reading it. Hermione was frowning.

"Khun-Lun," she said. "I've heard of that somewhere…"

"Er, I don't get it," said Ron. "What's all that Sui-Hsing and Tai-Yin stuff?"

"Sui-Hsing is Jupiter," said Robert, "Tai-Bai is Venus. Tai-Yin is the moon; Fang and Wei are two of the Lunar Mansions."

Harry was trying to collect his thoughts together.

"So, you're saying, the scroll is giving us the position of the planets in the sky when the Great Occurrence will take place."

Shan nodded. Hermione's eyes suddenly widened.

"Khun-Lun!" she said. "I remember now … the western paradise!" Her eyes grew larger. "So … that's what Professor Snufflegint is after!"

Shan and Robert grinned, and nodded at her. Harry and Ron were beginning to feel very cross.

"If you don't tell us what's happening soon, I'm going to get violent," said Ron, glaring at them. "What? What is Snufflegint after?"

Shan looked solemnly at him.

"Immortality, Ron," she said. "That's what Li-Kai is after. Immortality."

Hermione, seeing that he and Harry still looked blank, continued.

"There's a legend that in Mount Khun-Lun, there grows a peach tree which fruits every three thousand years," she said. "Its fruit, when eaten, can give eternal life."

Harry looked at the bronze vessel again.

"You said Wang Lao carved the date 1000 B.C. on the vessel," he said. "That was three thousand years ago. Wang Lao must have been present the last time the tree fruited, and managed to eat one of the peaches. That's why he was able to live until Wu-Hsien's time, when he was poisoned."

Robert nodded.

"So you're saying he told his secret to Wu-Hsien, and Wu-Hsien recorded it in the scroll, and passed it down to his sons," said Harry. "He probably figured if his descendants could become immortal, they'd have a chance to start a dynasty that would last forever."

Ron's eyes were rather large.

"So, the Tree's going to fruit again?" he said. "When?"

"It's not easy to estimate," said Robert, "We can't tell the exact date the Tree last fruited from the vessel because no one knows which lunar phase those time-recording terms refer to. We only know that it'll be this year and sometime in early January. However, Wang Lao might have given the exact date and time to Wu-Hsien, so that Wu-Hsien was able to calculate the time the Tree was going to fruit next. That's what the star-map and the text on the scroll is all about."

"Well, that solves it, then," said Ron, looking at the scroll, "You can calculate, can't you, when the planets will be in that position?"

Robert took out his sheaf of calculations.

"Not directly from Wu-Hsien," he said. "The methods of prediction during the Tang Dynasty weren't very accurate. I've had to calculate backward from the answer he arrived at, using his methods, and then calculate forward again to get the correct answer."

Hermione looked excited. "So when is it going to take place?"

"Tonight," said Robert, "anytime between eight and midnight."

Harry's heart sank. There wasn't enough time; they would never be able to figure out how to get to Khun-Lun, wherever it was, in time.

"Snufflegint probably knows," he said. "That's why he's gone back to China. He must have reached this Khun-Lun place by now, wherever it is."

"What's the use of knowing," said Ron, grumpily. "We can't go to China anyway. Unless, someone here can fix up a Portkey to bring us there."

"We don't need to Portkey," said Shan. "And Master Li-Kai isn't as far away as you think. He's probably camping out on the Plateau, right now."

They stared at her.

"Are you saying," said Harry, "that one of the trees in the peach orchard is the Tree?"

Shan nodded.

"It seems likely," she said. "The Khun-Lun mountains lie between Sinkiang and Tibet, which is exactly where the Plateau seems to be located. And we can even guess which tree it is - one of the trees there seems to be dying. It has lost all its flowers, and even the leaves are beginning to wilt now, while all the other trees are still in full bloom."

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

"It's a good guess," said Hermione, "But I still don't understand what all this has to do with Professor Dumbledore. How did that tunnel leading to the Plateau get into the wooden chest?"

No one could answer her. Harry, looking around, could see that one thing was for certain, anyway : all of them intended to go to the Plateau that night.

"Of course we must go," said Shan, speaking this thought aloud. "But are we just going to be bystanders? Or are we going to stop Li-Kai?"

"Yes," said Harry and Ron, at the same time.

Robert spoke up.

"Despite his background, I don't believe Li-Kai is evil."

Hermione hesitated, and looked at Ron and Harry.

"I agree with Robert," she said. "I don't believe Professor Snufflegint is evil. Desiring to be immortal is not a crime. I don't think we have any right to stop him from taking the Peaches."

Shan said something in Chinese to Robert, a hopeful look in her eyes. Robert just gave her a small smile, and shook his head firmly. Ron scowled, evidently thinking that Hermione just wanted to side with Robert.

"Well, I guess we can't decide anything now," said Harry quickly. "Let's just see what happens when we get there."

So, that evening, they swallowed their dinner and left the table as soon as they could. Four of them just managed to squeeze under the Invisibility Cloak, because Robert was so small. He was carrying Shan, who had transformed herself into a little green snake, in his pocket. Ron and Hermione were led to believe that Robert had transfigured Shan into a snake. Hermione looked slightly disapproving, because such an act was against the rules, but since she had a soft spot for Robert, she said nothing.

Holding the Cloak tightly about them, they made their way over to the storeroom, and down through the wooden chest to the Plateau.

They stopped at the foot of the dying tree, and Harry found himself looking nervously up at the owl.

"D'you think it's Snufflegint?" hissed Ron.

"Possible," whispered Harry. "Or Dumbledore."

"It must be this Tree, then," whispered Hermione. "Maybe it has to wither before it can fruit, and then be reborn again."

The owl suddenly directed its gaze at them, and they fell silent. Harry felt sure the owl had heard them. Jeanne had told him, once, how acute an owl's hearing could be. Harry glanced down. Perhaps the owl could see the slight depressions their feet were making in the grass.

They waited for a few minutes, and then Hermione said very softly, "Do you hear something else?"

They listened. Harry thought he could hear a soft, gnawing sound coming from inside the dying tree.

"The tree's alive!" hissed Ron.

"But, it's dying," whispered Hermione.

"Shh," whispered Harry. Two figures were coming toward them, from the direction of the tunnel. Harry recognised Dumbledore, and, to his surprise, Lady Wen-Li.

The screech owl shifted its position on its branch, and turned its fierce gaze onto Dumbledore.

Harry and the others quietly edged to one side. Dumbledore came up to the dying tree, and looked up at the owl, which was still staring at him. He seemed about to say something, when the gnawing sound suddenly became louder than ever. Harry turned to look for its source. Something was gnawing on wood, trying to burrow its way out of the dying tree.

Ron gave a muffled exclamation of surprise, as a small black creature emerged from the tree.

"Chester!" he whispered. "It's Chester!"

"No, it's just another cricket," whispered Hermione. "Chester's up in his usual peach tree, remember?"

Dumbledore and Lady Wen-Li were looking at the cricket in surprise. The cricket gave an angry chirp, and with a flutter of wings, flew over to the peach tree on which Chester was perched. With a fierce chirp, it launched itself at Chester, who appeared to have dozed off, and knocked him right out of the tree and onto the grass.

Chester got to his feet with an indignant chirp. The second cricket launched itself at him again, and the two began fighting, each biting the other viciously and giving off loud and angry chirps. After a while Harry couldn't tell which cricket was which, because the two looked identical.

"We should stop them," whispered Hermione, sounding rather distressed. "What if Chester gets hurt?"

Harry found himself watching, transfixed. "It's Chester's fight, Hermione. We should let him have his chance."

"Chester doesn't like fighting!" hissed Hermione. "That other cricket attacked him. It must have eaten up the interior of the peach tree - that's why the tree was dying!"

Dumbledore and Lady Wen-Li were watching the two crickets in the grass, looking baffled. The screech owl, too, was gazing intently at them, though it turned to look in Harry's direction when it heard them whispering.

One of the crickets seemed to be getting the worst of the fight. The other was biting it viciously and relentlessly, but stopped all of a sudden, and let go.

The weaker cricket crawled slowly away, and then came to a halt and lay still. The victor crawled after it, and then gently nudged at it with its antennae, but it didn't move.

"Oh," said Hermione softly, "It's dead."

Dumbledore suddenly gave an exclamation, and he and Lady Wen-Li hurried over to the dead cricket. The victorious cricket managed to look guilty, and crawled to one side with a subdued chirp. The screech owl, too, gave a cry, and spreading its wings, flew over and landed on the grass a few feet from Dumbledore.

Ron gave a small gasp, and Harry felt Hermione grab his shoulder. He looked at the dead cricket, and saw that it was swelling in size. Larger and larger it grew, and its form was changing. An old wizard in white silk robes lay there, his eyes open and unseeing; it was Professor Snufflegint.

The owl gave another cry, and began transforming as well. It swelled upward, and disappeared. Jeanne was standing there instead, looking down at Snufflegint's body, a distressed expression on her face.

Harry and the others began edging forward, holding the Cloak tightly around them. When they were several feet from Dumbledore, Harry thought he saw Snufflegint stir - no, something else was rising out of Snufflegint's body - his ghost. It rose up, straight and tall, and then stepped away from the body, and stood next to it, looking down at it.

Jeanne looked sadly at the ghost.

"I'm sorry, Septimus," she said.

The ghost glanced at her, then turned and looked at Dumbledore and Lady Wen-Li.

"Brother Li-Kai," said Lady Wen-Li, looking rather startled, "What are you doing here?"

Snufflegint's ghost fixed his fierce and intense stare on her, but said nothing.

Dumbledore was also looking bemused.

"Enlighten us, Septimus," he said. "How did you find out about this place?"

The ghost let his gaze fall on the remaining cricket on the ground.

"It began with my assistant's cricket," he said. "I noticed one day that it wasn't around, so I asked him where it was, and he let slip that this place existed."

"Ah," said Dumbledore, glancing around. "That probably means that Harry Potter and his friends know about this place, as well."

Harry and the others retreated a few paces. Jeanne, however, was looking in their direction.

"Take the Cloak off, Harry," she said, rather impatiently. "We know you're there."

Harry felt his face going red. He pulled the Cloak off, and glancing back, saw Robert apparently transfiguring Shan back to human form.

Lady Wen-Li raised her eyebrows when she saw Shan and Robert there, but Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling.

"I believe we should let them stay for the moment, Wen-Li," he said, "since they have been ingenious enough to find this place."

He turned, and looked at Jeanne.

"Septimus told me," she said, in answer to the unasked question.

Snufflegint was still looking at the cricket in the grass.

"I suppose I should have found an alternative way to disguise myself," he said. "But the cricket was convenient. There aren't many other creatures living on this mountain, and my calculations indicated the Tree could have fruited any time between Christmas Eve till the end of January. It was the easiest disguise, considering how often the young adventurers kept coming to the mountain."

Harry and the others looked rather guilty, as Dumbledore turned to look at them.

"Maybe I should have killed it," added Snufflegint, still looking at Chester, "But it has been my policy never to take a life unnecessarily. I didn't expect him to eat his way out so soon, though."

"Perhaps it is better this way, Brother Li," said Lady Wen-Li gently. "The Peaches do not always bring blessing."

Dumbledore had now turned to look at him.

"How did you know the time of the Fruiting?" he asked.

"It started with the Potions Master, Liu Pei," answered Snufflegint. "He used to be in the Tomb Sect, together with me. He boasted that he had found the key to immortality, and that it lay in the stars. It was not hard to guess what he meant; I heard that several important articles had been stolen from the Imperial Archives. Chinese astronomers have long known that Wu-Hsien created a star-map containing information as to when the Tree would fruit again. The story was dismissed as a myth, for the scroll was lost over the years and people ceased to believe it existed. I do not know how Liu Pei discovered it was in the Archives, especially as it was in such poor condition that no one knew what it contained; but I suspected that he must have stolen it, together with the bronze vessel from which it originated.

"He must have been eavesdropping around the palace as well, for he knew that the Tree was in your keeping, Wen-Li, and I believe he must have boasted about his knowledge to others, which is why word eventually spread and all the Pugilists and Imperial Envoys came bearing down upon Tian-Long."

"Ah," said Lady Wen-Li, "but how would they have known that the Tree was about to fruit?"

Snufflegint shrugged.

"Astrologers all around the country have been foretelling that some Great Event is going to occur," he said. "When the scroll was stolen, the Court Astronomers probably realised that the scroll was Wu-Hsien's. They must have put two and two together."

"Ah," said Lady Wen-Li again. "And I observe, Brother Li, that you did not bother to inform me of all this."

Snufflegint fixed his cold stare on her.

"I thought it unnecessary," he said. "I saw you had removed the peach orchard, and that the Tree was safe."

"And you did not think that you would come to Britain and find that Albus had agreed to hide it in his storeroom for me," said Lady Wen-Li. "And I am assuming, since you appear to have calculated the time of the Fruiting, that you managed to take possession of the scroll?"

Snufflegint nodded.

"I knew Liu Pei well enough, from our days in the Tomb Sect," he said. "I had no intention of allowing him to achieve immortality. I kept my eyes open for an opportunity. When one night I was woken up by the sounds of fighting, I had only to see a Silverwing fleeing from the window below mine to know that the chance had come."

So he was the one, thought Harry. And I thought it was a Dementor.

There was a slight pause, and then Dumbledore turned to Snufflegint. 

"What will you do now, Septimus?" he asked. "You know you are welcome to stay at Hogwarts, for as long as you wish."

Snufflegint did not reply at once. He looked at Dumbledore, then shifted his gaze to the mountains in the distance, a faraway expression in his eyes.

"I will stay here in China," he said at last, "because my heart is here, and always will be."

Lady Wen-Li said swiftly, "Brother Li, I will be hard put to find another Western Magic Master as capable. You know you are always welcome at Tian-Long, whether you wish to continue teaching, or not."

Snufflegint looked at her, then shook his head slightly, as if undecided.

A strong wind suddenly blew, and peach blossoms began falling to the ground. The singing from the distant voices became louder, then suddenly fell to a murmur, and ceased altogether.

"The time is approaching," said Lady Wen-Li, "We should step back a bit; they will be coming soon."

"Who?" whispered Shan, as all of them started retreating some distance from the peach trees. Chester came hopping after them, and took refuge on Hermione's shoulder.

"Who's coming, Jeanne?" asked Ron, as Jeanne came over to stand with them. She did not reply, but lifted a hand, and pointed at something up in the sky.

Harry turned to look. Eight shooting stars seemed to be falling out of the heavens. After a few moments, he saw that they were not stars, but people. As they came down to earth, he saw that they were tall, as tall as Hagrid, and glowed with an unearthly light.

Shan gave a soft cry, and turned to look at Robert.

"Pa-Hsien!" she said, tugging at his sleeve.

"What?" said Ron, looking blank.

"Pa-Hsien!" said Shan again, and then remembered that Ron and the others didn't understand Chinese. "The Eight Immortals!"

Harry, who had suspected he would hear a lot of Chinese being spoken that night, took the Translator out of his pocket and put it on. He found himself watching the eight heavenly beings in fascination. Each had his or her own distinctive appearance. As far as he could see, there was only one woman. Another looked like a young boy, with a flower-basket tied at his waist. A third carried a crutch, with a gourd attached to his belt. Still another was shorter and stouter than the rest, and was holding a fan. The fifth carried a flute, the sixth a bamboo tube-drum, and the seventh some castanets. The eighth, slightly taller than the rest, had a shining sword in a scabbard at his belt; he reminded Harry vaguely of Chen-Kang.

"Who are they, Jeanne?" asked Hermione, looking slightly awed.

Lady Wen-Li heard her, and turned to look in their direction, smiling slightly.

"These are the Eight Immortals," she said, "who live in Peng-Lai, east of our country. They have come to receive the Peaches of the Tree of Immortality, which used to grow in my mother's garden, until the Celestial War broke out and my mother entrusted the Tree to me. You would not have been able to partake of the fruit, anyway, Brother Li," - turning to look at Snufflegint's ghost, who was standing next to her, watching - "The Pa-Hsien will destroy them, the minute they appear."

Harry and the others turned to look at Lady Wen-Li in surprise. She was looking at the Eight Immortals, who had arranged themselves in a semicircle around one of the peach trees, and seemed to be waiting for something.

"There is a war raging in another Realm, between the Celestials, even now," said Lady Wen-Li. "It has been raging for centuries, for many of those who ate the Peaches lived long enough to discover the secret of making themselves invincible. Because of that, the war may never end, for the combatants cannot be killed. When my mother learned of this, she realised that the gift of Immortality can sometimes be a curse, and she wanted to destroy the Tree, but it cannot be destroyed, only hidden. And so I brought it to Tian-Long, and there it will stay, unless I see fit to move it to another place, and every three thousand years, when it bears its Peaches, the Pa-Hsien will come, and destroy the fruit."

It had become darker now, and Harry, looking up at the sky, saw that the moon and the stars appeared to have dimmed. The only source of light came from the Immortals, who were glowing brightly, and the Tree they were surrounding, which had now shed all its blooms, and was beginning to glow as well.

An exclamation from Hermione made him turn, and he saw another figure striding toward them, from the direction of the tunnel : it was the Monkey King. But he looked different now; he was dressed in blue robes, and seemed more human in behaviour. He was holding a long, wooden staff.

Lady Wen-Li's eyes twinkled as the monkey came up to them.

"Master S'un, are you here as well?" she said. "Have you not had enough of the Peaches?"

The Monkey King made no reply, but merely smiled in response, and stood quietly, watching the Eight Immortals. Ron and Hermione were looking blank; Lady Wen-Li must have been speaking Chinese. Shan, noticing this, began to translate for them.

They stood, watching the Eight Immortals and the Tree, which was growing brighter and brighter. After a while, it began to fruit before their eyes. Out came the Peaches, small at first, then growing to become round, plump delectable-looking fruit, golden in colour.

The Eight Immortals waited till the fruit had ceased to appear, and the tree was covered with luscious-looking Peaches. They then lifted their arms, and pointed at the Tree. Bright beams of light shot out from their fingers, hitting the fruit and vapourising them immediately.

"Oh," said Shan, rather sadly, and glanced at Robert, who just shook his head slightly and said softly, "You can't imagine what it means, Shan."

The Eight Immortals lowered their hands; the Peaches had all been destroyed. One of the Immortals, the woman, turned and looked at them, and then began making her way over to them.

"That is H'e Hsien-Ku," whispered Shan, to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

H'e Hsien-Ku stopped in front of them, towering over them, ghostly and beautiful; Harry saw that she wore a lotus blossom in her hair. She was looking at Professor Snufflegint.

"I have come to have words with you, Brother Li," she said. "You sought the Peaches, but your motives were not untrue. You may still have what you desire. Come to Peng-Lai Shan, and abide there for a while, and you will realise that you do not need to be immortal to find your goal."

Snufflegint was silent for a moment, returning the witch's gaze, then gave a small nod of assent.

H'e Hsien-Ku reached a hand out, and pointed at his physical body, which they had brought with them and was lying several feet away. The body shimmered, and then vanished. She then passed a hand through his ghostly form, and it glowed, and seemed to transform slightly, so that he looked younger, as he might have appeared about a hundred years ago.

H'e Hsien-Ku now turned to Lady Wen-Li.

"It is done," she said, "I will bring Li-Kai back to Peng-Lai now, and my brothers will bring your orchard back to Long-Shan."

Lady Wen-Li smiled and gave a slight nod. H'e Hsien-Ku looked at the Monkey King. "Are you coming too?"

S'un Wu-Kung smiled, and bowed slightly to her.

"Come, then," she said, looking at him, and then at Snufflegint, and turned and made her way to the edge of the mountain.

Lady Wen-Li said, "It is time for me to return to Tian-Long." She bowed to Dumbledore, and smiled at the rest of them, and then turned and made her way over to where the other Immortals were waiting.

Professor Snufflegint's ghost turned and looked at Jeanne.

"Good luck, Jeanne," he said quietly.

Jeanne looked soberly at him, and her eyes were sad.

"And to you, Septimus," she replied.

Snufflegint stood there, gazing at her for a moment, then turned and followed H'e Hsien-Ku. The Monkey King, too, made to follow, but then turned and smiled at Hermione.

"Farewell, Hermione," he said, winking at her, and then he turned and joined the other two at the cliff's edge. H'e Hsien-Ku raised her arms, and began rising up into the sky, together with Snufflegint and S'un Wu-Kung. Higher and higher they flew, until they were but small specks in the sky, and then they shimmered, and vanished.

Harry turned to look at the orchard. Lady Wen-Li was standing next to the Tree. The remaining Immortals raised their arms, and the orchard began to shimmer. For a brief moment, Harry thought he saw an image of the lake in Tian-Long superimposed on the orchard. The Emperor's envoys, together with the Pugilists, were visible as well, camping by the lakeside; some of them looked quite disgruntled. Then the orchard glowed more brightly, and pulsated a bit, and then faded, and disappeared.

"We have to go," said Dumbledore swiftly, "The Immortals are going to remove the Enchantment from this place, and seal up the tunnel; it's time we went back to Hogwarts."

He began leading the way back. Hermione was still looking at the spot where the Monkey King had vanished.

"I didn't know he could talk," she said.

Jeanne smiled at her. "Master Wu-Kung is always full of surprises."

"What did the witch mean, Jeanne," said Ron, "about Snufflegint's motives being true?"

Jeanne gave a small sigh.

"He didn't desire power or anything," she said. "He just wasn't tired of living yet. He wanted to see more of China; of late he had become too old to travel, so his time was spent in Tian-Long, teaching, but his yearning to roam far and wide still remained. He thought that he could borrow some time, till he'd had his fill, and then find a place where he could rest."

"How come the Immortals seem to know him?" asked Harry curiously.

"I don't know, but it doesn't surprise me," said Jeanne, smiling slightly. "He has been around, has Septimus. I hope he can achieve what he desires - he can still travel as much as he wants, in his present form, and see all those places that he hasn't seen."

She looked at Harry, and saw what he was thinking.

"Yes, Harry," she said, putting an arm around him, even while looking reprovingly at him, "I know Septimus quite well. And now, since he's gone, please stop spying on me."

Harry went red. Jeanne smiled, and removed her arm from his shoulders.

They had reached the edge of the cliff leading down to the tunnel, and turned back to look. The Immortals had removed the Enchantment from the Plateau, and the feeling of timelessness had disappeared. It was now no more than an ordinary mountaintop. Winter was setting in rapidly; snow was starting to fall, covering the meadow and the forest of conifers.

Shan looked rather sad as they climbed down to the tunnel. Dumbledore was looking at Harry in amusement.

"I won't ask you how you managed to discover this place, Harry," he said. "I presume you are wondering if you are going to be punished. As far as I know, there is no rule in Hogwarts that says you can't come to Mount Khun-Lun on the night the Tree of the Peaches of Immortality is going to fruit, so it seems I am going to have to let you off."

Harry found himself grinning in relief.

"So that's why the Envoys and the Pugilists were hanging around Tian-Long," said Ron. "They were looking for the Tree."

Dumbledore chuckled.

"Yes, and they refused to stay in the palace, even though Lady Wen-Li invited them to do so," he said. "I imagine she must have informed them that the Peaches are gone, by now … there is going to be a crowd of very disappointed people, over at Tian-Long."

They climbed back into the storeroom, and then Dumbledore took his wand out and pointed it at the wooden chest. There was a flash of light, and then the ladder was gone. The chest reverted to what it must have originally looked like, with a normal bottom, and filled with various odds and ends, pieces of old parchment, an old cauldron, and a bale of cloth.

Dumbledore closed the lid of the chest, and they left the room.

Hermione was looking thoughtful.

"So, Lady Wen-Li's mother is the Queen Mother of the West," she said. "She must be one of the Immortals, herself … no wonder she looks the way she does - ageless."

Shan nodded, still looking rather sad that the Plateau was gone. Robert, noticing, slipped his hand into hers, and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Over the next few days, although he knew it was pointless, Harry found himself coming back to the storeroom every now and then, and checking the chest in the hope that he might find the ladder extending downward into pitch blackness again; but of course, he didn't. The chest remained as it was, an ordinary chest. The gateway to the Plateau had been sealed up forever, and the Timeless Land had become a thing of the past, remaining alive only in their memories.

Ron was still feeling worried about Pixie, who continued to visit Snape's office, doing whatever chores he gave her. Snape had also begun to bully her mercilessly in class. All the most cutting remarks were reserved for her, and she found herself being ordered to stay back after class, not a few times, to repeat the lesson because her potion had been unsatisfactory.

Pixie, who could occasionally be hot-tempered, took all the bullying quietly. She generally appeared to be her usual carefree self, but was now spending less time with Parvati and Lavendar, and more with Ron, doing her beloved carving while he did his homework. She had started work on a block of crystal, and seemed to be shaping it into the form of a bird with her wand. She had also begun carving a lump of fine, pale green jade, which Harry suspected was to be a gift for Ron, for she only worked on it when he wasn't around.

Malfoy and some of the other students were still making annoying remarks about Shan and Harry. Shan generally ignored them, but Harry couldn't help feeling uncomfortable. It was hard to tell what Robert was thinking; Harry was tempted to have a talk with him, and let him know that all the silly remarks and teasing were baseless, but he still wasn't sure if Sang Nila had been correct. Perhaps Robert really only cared for Shan as a cousin, and might laugh at Harry if he were to suggest otherwise.

Pixie had been having a bad fifteen minutes of it. She had been spending those minutes grinding dried earthworms to powder, and every time she looked up, Snape was staring at her with that awful glitter in his eyes.

Finally, he came over to where she was sitting, and stood there, looking down at her.

"Miss Pei," he said, "You have been coming here, three times a week, one to two hours a day, for the past two weeks. I find it difficult to comprehend why a student totally inept at the art of potion-making should display such diligence. Perhaps it is time that you enlightened me."

Pixie looked down at the powdered earthworms on the table.

"I don't know why I'm here," she muttered, rather resentfully. "I know you don't like me, and I don't like you either."

She stopped, unsure of what she wanted to say. She glanced at Snape, and saw that he was staring at her with a faint sneer on his face. She lowered her eyes to the table again.

"I don't know why I keep coming here," she repeated, sulkily. "I just feel that there's something I'm supposed to learn here. Something that you're supposed to teach me."

Snape's eyes narrowed, and a sardonic expression came over his face.

"Indeed," he said coldly. He glanced at a table by the wall, on which a box of new potions ingredients was sitting. "I shall make use of your presence here, then. Your esteemed Potions teacher has sent me a fresh supply of ingredients for her project. I expect you to spend no less than two hours a day in here, helping me prepare the ingredients, after which you will assist me in the testing."

He gestured at her to go over to the table, and her heart sank when she looked into the box: a large proportion of the ingredients were dragon bones.

She began going to the office every day from then on, and besides grinding the bones, Snape generally managed to find other unpleasant tasks for her to perform. She had to slice dead bats open, extract their intestines and brains, and then add preservatives to them and store them away. She had to remove the eyes of river crabs and place them in a jar, remove the stones from the gizzards of birds, extract the poison from centipedes, and cut up hyenas' galls. Ron and Harry became used to seeing her come back from Snape's office with her robes stained with bat blood, and she sometimes looked tired in the morning because she had woken up in the middle of the night after dreaming that she was surrounded by jars of eyes, all staring at her.

Still, she gritted her teeth and persevered. Snape would watch her as she worked doggedly, his eyes narrowing. Finally, he snapped at her one day, asking her about her family background.

Talking about her family wasn't Pixie's favourite topic.

"My father is a craftsman," she said shortly. "My mother doesn't work; she's always sick. My sisters are all married."

She stopped. Snape, who didn't look very interested, although he had initiated the conversation, looked up.

"Keep talking," he said, coldly.

Pixie stared at him, privately thinking he was mad. Snape was glaring sourly at her, his hand fingering his wand. She decided she'd rather not find out what he would do to her if she refused. So she talked about her father, about all the crafts he made, and how she had picked it up from him, and how much she liked it. She talked about her mother, who was always ill and never had time for her. And her sisters, who were all cleverer and more gifted than she and yet ended up being matchmade to their husbands and leading dull and mundane lives. Pixie herself vowed this would never happen to her. After a while, she stopped talking, because Snape didn't really seem to be listening, but the minute she did, he snapped at her to continue.

She soon ran out of things to say, so she began to talk about anything that came into her head, why she disliked being at home, and that she often felt lonely there. She doubted that Snape was really listening, anyway. He was doing it just to wear her down.

Finally, he curtly told her to get out, because he had other work to do and her presence in the room bothered him. She left, wishing he would tell her that he didn't want her to come back. Why didn't he? She knew she could stop coming if she chose to, that she had no obligation to continue helping him, and yet, for some perverse reason she felt that unless he told her to stop, she had to keep coming.

After that day, Snape was even more unkind to her in the office, giving her the most unsavoury tasks, and often driving her to tears. However, for some reason, he ceased bullying her in class. Gone were the times she had to stay back and perfect her solutions. Not that he was any kinder to her, but he generally ignored her presence in the class, a form of treatment she received with relief and which many of the other students, especially Chee Chong, would have been happy to have received.

"Robert, have you got a few minutes?"

Divination was due to begin in a quarter of an hour. Harry felt that should give him ample time to talk to Robert.

Harry had been unable to forget the incident with the Boggart, and the uncharacteristic anger Robert had shown when Shan had left the room, weeping. The teasing and comments about Harry and Shan had continued, now often in front of Robert, for Malfoy knew Robert would not retaliate unless something derogatory was said about Shan. Harry wondered whether Malfoy suspected that Robert cared for Shan. He wondered if Hermione had been right. Robert persisted in looking as deadpan as ever, but Harry found himself feeling increasingly uncomfortable. Finally, he decided to talk things out with Robert, and clear everything up.

Shan looked rather surprised at Harry's request, but gave them both a smile and then went off toward Professor Trelawney's classroom first. Harry found himself looking at Robert, and wondering how to begin.

Robert looked questioningly at him. He didn't take his glasses off, as Harry hoped he would.

"Er," he said, suddenly finding himself at a loss for words.

Robert waited patiently for a while, then said kindly, "Is something bothering you, Harry?"

Just say anything, thought Harry, you'll get there after a while.

"It's about Shan," he said. "All the teasing and stupid comments, from Malfoy and the others…"

Robert stood and waited.

"It's just … there's nothing between me and Shan, we're just friends," said Harry, and then had a sudden inspiration, "and I don't know how to tell her - I'm afraid she'll get the wrong idea. I thought maybe you could let her know, for me."

Robert looked at him for a moment, and then asked curiously, "Why don't you like Shan?"

Harry had a feeling he was treading on dangerous ground.

"It's not that I don't like her," he said quickly, "Only … she reminds me of someone else I used to like. And that didn't turn out well. After that episode, I don't feel ready to consider any sort of relationship again, for a long time."

Robert seemed to be thinking.

"I know what you're trying to say, Harry," he said at last. "But you don't need to worry. As for the teasing, I don't think Shan really minds. She was saying - "

He stopped, because Professor McGonagall was now coming swiftly up to them.

"Potter, did I not tell you to see me as soon as possible about your essay?" she said sharply. She glanced at Robert. "This will take a while, Mo; you'll have to continue your conversation with Potter later."

Robert promptly nodded, and went off to the Divination classroom. Harry watched him leave, feeling frustrated. Why, oh why must Professor McGonagall turn up now?

Professor McGonagall kept Harry there for ten minutes, and by the time he made it up to the classroom, the lesson had started.

They had begun crystal-gazing, and Harry found himself sitting near the back of the class, looking at swirling white mist inside his crystal ball. Robert was sitting a few tables away. He didn't seem to be listening to what Professor Trelawney was saying; he was staring into space, and his mind appeared to be elsewhere. Harry wondered if he was thinking about the conversation they'd just had.

After a while, Professor Trelawney began to move around the class, and Robert, seeing her approaching, pretended to gaze intently into his crystal ball.

Professor Trelawney glided past, her bangles clinking. Robert waited till she had moved over to the other end of the room, and then began to idly tap his crystal ball with his wand. Harry watched, feeling curious. An image of Sang Nila appeared; it looked as though he was communicating with some of the merpeople in the lake.

Robert watched him for a while, then tapped the ball again. Professor Flitwick appeared, conducting one of his Charms classes. Robert placed his fingers on one side of the ball, and seemed to be listening to Flitwick's lesson. Then, seeing Professor Trelawney coming in his direction again, he tapped the ball so that swirling mist appeared again, but continued to place his fingers on the ball, as if still listening to the lesson.

Harry, seeing Professor Trelawney coming over to him, quickly fixed his attention on his own crystal ball. When she had left, he glanced at Robert again. Robert looked quite absorbed; his fingers were still on his crystal ball, and whatever he was listening to, it must have been very interesting, for he didn't notice Professor Trelawney coming up to him. He continued staring at his crystal ball, even when she was standing right in front of his table, looking down at him.

"You appear to have achieved an intimate union with your Orb, my dear," said Professor Trelawney. "Pray tell us, what you have Seen within its depths."

Robert didn't seem to hear her. He was still listening, and Harry thought he looked rather pale.

Professor Trelawney, perceiving that she was being ignored, frowned.

"My dear - " she began huffily, but all of a sudden, Robert drew his fingers back with a jerk, and the crystal ball flared brightly, and exploded into fragments.

Professor Trelawney screamed, and jumped backward with remarkable agility. Shan gave a cry of dismay, and hurried over to Robert. Blood was streaming from his left hand, where several of the glass shards had cut him.

"I'm all right, Shan," he said, using his robes to staunch the flow.

Professor Trelawney was sitting in a chair, gasping.

"An ill omen, my dears," she whispered. "Never have I known an Orb to shatter … " She fixed her enormous eyes on Robert, and then said faintly, "I think that we shall leave the lesson here for today."

Shan was still making a fuss over Robert's hand. Robert repeated firmly, "I'm fine, Shan. I'll go see Madam Pomfrey, and let her fix it."

He made a gesture at the shards of broken glass on the floor with his other hand, and they flew back up onto the table into a crystal ball again. He then picked his bag up. Shan said, "I'll meet you in the library after that."

Robert hesitated, and glanced at Harry.

"I can't," he said. "Professor Lupin said he wanted to see me about something. Harry can help you out - he's already finished his essay."

He turned, and quickly left the room. Shan looked slightly surprised, but gathered her things and turned to look at Harry.

Harry felt rather nonplussed. Was he imagining it, or was Robert avoiding Shan? Had Harry given him the wrong idea? It looked as if he was trying to make himself scarce, so that Harry could be with Shan.

Hermione joined them as they made their way to the library.

"Is Robert all right?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Oh, it's just a small cut," said Shan cheerfully. "He probably did it to frighten Professor Trelawney. We finished twenty minutes early."

Harry, however, wasn't feeling as cheerful. Robert hadn't gone to see Madam Pomfrey, or Professor Lupin. Harry had glanced out the window a few minutes earlier, and had seen him making his way down to the lake. He had deliberately lied to Shan. Why?

"I'll come soon," said Pixie, "I need to talk to Professor Lupin for a few minutes."

Ron glanced at the parchment she was holding.

"Is that the essay on vampires that we're supposed to do?" he asked, surprised. "But we don't need to pass it up till next week!"

Pixie snatched the parchment away, her face slightly pink.

"Just go," she said, "I'll join you in a while."

"But you've never handed anything in early before!" said Ron, looking shocked.

"Go, Ron," she said impatiently, giving him a small push. She turned her back on him, picked up her bag, and made her way to the front of the class, where Lupin was keeping his books away.

Ron stood goggling after her for a few moments, then gathered his own things and headed for the door.

Pixie waited till the last of the students, including Ron, had left the class, then went up to Lupin's desk. Lupin, looking up, seemed rather surprised to see her.

"What is it, Pixie?"

Pixie placed the parchment on the desk.

"My vampire essay," she said, looking her most innocent. "I've finished it."

Lupin raised his eyebrows. He took the sheets of parchment, and looked through them. Pixie stood by, holding her breath, and still looking innocent.

Lupin put the parchment down, and looked shrewdly at her.

"You want something from me, don't you?"

Pixie returned his gaze, and suddenly found it wasn't so easy to look innocent after all. She went red, and looked down at the desk.

"Yes," she said, in a small voice. She peeked at him through her eyelashes. "Professor Lupin - Ron tells me you and Professor Snape used to go to school together."

Lupin looked speculatively at her. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Well," said Pixie, letting her eyes fall to the desk again, "I was wondering - if you could tell me what he was like, when he was a student."

Lupin looked at Pixie for a few moments, his expression unreadable.

"Jeanne tells me you have been visiting Severus almost every day, helping him with his project."

Pixie nodded.

"Also, that Severus has been giving you the most unpleasant tasks to do, and that you have been performing all of them most admirably, without a word of complaint."

Pixie remained silent. She looked at Lupin, hoping he would answer her question.

"I don't suppose you would care to tell me why you need this information," remarked Lupin.

Pixie flushed, and looked down at the desk. She flicked another glance at Lupin, and saw that his expression, though rather stern, was not hostile. She suddenly felt an urge to tell someone about what she had been going through, the past few weeks. She hadn't been able to tell anyone; she knew Ron wouldn't understand, although he was worried about her, and neither would Parvati, or Lavendar.

"I don't know why I keep going there," she said, rather sullenly. "I hate Snape. And I know he despises me. A lot of people despise me. They think I'm a silly featherhead."

She stopped, and glanced at Lupin, and saw that he was looking slightly less stern.

"Snape doesn't seem human," she said. "Everyone in the school hates him. He treats us as if we're slugs. He treats me like I'm less than nothing. During my detention, I was dying to get out of the room. Only, Chien-Mei came in after a while…"

She paused, unsure how to explain what she meant.

"Snape doesn't seem human," she repeated, "but he almost was, while talking to Chien-Mei. As if, he needed to tell his feelings and ideas to someone else. And Chien-Mei seemed to know it. She just stood there and took everything, even remarks that were insulting to her."

She paused again, and saw that Lupin was listening intently.

"I know it sounds silly," she said. "but that time during the detention … I just felt I was supposed to be there, for a reason … that Snape was supposed to teach me something. But I didn't know what it was. I still don't. I keep going back, and I still haven't found out. I thought, maybe it's about human nature. Maybe Snape used to be different, and something happened that made him what he is today. So I thought, maybe you could tell me …"

She stopped, and looked at Lupin.

Lupin looked at her for a few moments, as if thinking about what she'd just said.

"So, all this started because you heard Severus talking to Jeanne."

"Yes," said Pixie hesitantly, and then added, "It wasn't so much what they said - what he said…" she trailed off, wondering whether anything she had said so far made any sense.

Lupin sat there quietly, waiting for her to finish.

"Not so much what he said," said Pixie, looking down at the desk, "… as what he didn't say."

There was a silence for about a minute, as she stared down at the desk, thinking about the past few weeks and wondering why she was letting all this happen to her. Then she looked up, and saw that Lupin was still looking at her, and that he was smiling kindly.

"Why don't you draw a chair up, Pixie," he said, "and I'll see what I can tell you."

Harry hadn't been imagining it. Robert was really avoiding Shan. He was spending an inordinately large amount of time with Sang Nila, and he seemed troubled and preoccupied, as if he was trying to sort something out within himself.

Shan, of course, noticed it after a while, and began to look upset and confused. Finally, one day after class, Harry heard her asking Robert if she could borrow one of his essays.

Robert hesitated, then said something in Chinese.

Shan looked surprised, then replied, rather heatedly, also in Chinese.

Harry felt around in his pocket for the Translator. He had begun to carry it around again, for he had the feeling that Shan and Robert were going to talk things out sooner or later, and although it was eavesdropping, Harry really wanted to know whether he had given Robert the wrong message the other day. If so, he was going to step in and clear everything up once and for all.

" - you can't always rely on me, Shan. What happens when I'm not around?"

"I don't always rely on you. It's only homework, for goodness sake!"

"It isn't only homework. I see it now … I shouldn't have stuck next to you all this time. That took away all the chances you had of making other really close friends - "

"Don't change the subject, Robert. I'm only asking you for an essay. What's happening? Are you angry with me? Don't deny it - you've been avoiding me!"

"I'm giving you a chance to mix around more," said Robert. "This exchange programme has opened my eyes."

"I don't want to mix around more!" said Shan angrily. "I'm the one who'll decide who I want to spend time with, not you!"

Robert was silent for a moment. Harry had the impression he was fighting with something within himself. Finally, he spoke, almost as if he had to force the words out.

"I've been doing some thinking," he said. "I've decided - I'm going to Shao-Lin."

Shan turned very pale. "What?"

Robert wasn't looking at her.

"I'm going to apply for Shao-Lin," he repeated.

Shan looked slightly distraught. "Why?"

Robert hesitated, and glanced at Harry.

"I don't know," he said. "I just have to."

"You're pulling my leg, aren't you?" said Shan. "You're angry about something I've done, aren't you? What is it?"

"Nothing," said Robert. His voice was shaking slightly. "I'm not angry with you, Shan. And I'm not joking; I've made up my mind."

Shan's face was white.

"I don't believe it," she said flatly. "Something else has happened; tell me the truth, Robert."

She reached a hand out to grasp his arm, but Robert suddenly drew back, as if he was afraid of her touch.

"This is as hard for me as it is for you," he said tightly. "Just trust me, Shan. I've made the right decision."

He abruptly turned, and went off. Shan stood there, staring after him, till he disappeared round a corner, and then sat down on a nearby chair, looking stunned.

Harry hesitated, then sat down next to her.

She seemed close to tears. A tear did trickle down her cheek, but she angrily dashed it away, and shook her head, as if she wanted to clear her mind.

Harry looked uncertainly at her. "Are you all right?"

"No," said Shan, shortly. Then she seemed to pull herself together somewhat, and looked at Harry.

"Sorry, Harry," she said. "I still can't believe what I just heard." She fell silent, staring moodily at the floor.

Harry didn't care whether they knew he had the Translator on or not. He wanted to find out what was wrong.

"I don't understand, Shan," he said. "Why don't you want Robert to go to Shao-Lin? It's a famous school - from what I've heard, a lot of students would literally cut their arms off, to have a chance to go there."

Shan gave a small sigh.

"You don't know, Harry," she said, sounding bitter, "The training at Shao-Lin lasts ten years. He can't come back home, during that time. We can't go there to visit him. No letters, no communication with the outside world. Ten years!"

So that's the reason, thought Harry.

"But - it's Robert's choice, isn't it?" he said cautiously. "It's his future."

"There's no future for him in Shao-Lin!" said Shan, unreasonably. "I don't want him to go!"

Harry was quiet for a moment, then decided to mention something that had been in his thoughts for some time.

"But you knew it would happen, didn't you?"

Shan turned her head, and looked at him.

"It's obvious - to me, anyway - that the two of you care a lot for each other," said Harry. "But both of you keep holding back. And I've been wondering why. It's because of this, isn't it? You guessed that something like this would happen, one day."

Shan was silent for a few minutes, thinking.

"You're right, Harry," she said at last, softly, "It has always been in my mind, that he'd leave, one day." Her voice shook slightly. "It's just - I didn't expect it to happen so soon."

"Ten years will pass before you know it," said Harry, although he didn't believe this, himself. To a teenager, ten years seemed a very long time indeed. "You'll see him again after that."

Shan refused to be comforted.

"Ten years is forever," she said disconsolately, a hopeless expression in her eyes.

The next few days proved to be rather uncomfortable ones. Shan was very depressed, and she and Robert were not speaking to each other. Harry felt rather upset, himself. Why should Robert suddenly decide to apply for Shao-Lin Academy? Of course, it was a prestigious school; but Harry couldn't help wondering if his conversation with Robert hadn't triggered it off. His attempt to bring Robert and Shan together had backfired. He suspected that Robert thought that Harry actually did like Shan, and was making himself scarce so that Harry would have a chance to be with her.

Hermione, noticing that Robert was always alone now, sat next to him in class whenever she could. The only times Robert sat with Shan was during Potions, for Snape was still being nasty to the Chinese students, and Robert would never allow anyone to bully Shan. Fortunately, Snape was concentrating most of his efforts onto Chee Chong. Harry found himself wondering what Robert would do to Snape if the latter ever did try to intimidate Shan.

Even so, Robert and Shan hardly spoke to each other during Potions, except when Robert was giving instructions on how to prepare the solution. Shan remained silent, but couldn't help looking hurt and bewildered, and Robert generally avoided her eyes. Because Snape insisted Robert wear normal glasses during the class, Harry couldn't help noticing that he looked as unhappy as Shan.

Fortunately, this sorry state of affairs was slightly alleviated by Parvati and Lavendar's suggestion that they have an informal concert on the last night of the exchange programme. Pixie volunteered to play the er-hu, a Chinese musical instrument, and also persuaded Shan to perform a Chinese dance with her.

"I don't know how to dance," said Shan flatly, when Pixie brought the subject up.

"I'll teach you," said Pixie. "You have to do something. There are only five of us now, and you know Yuan-Ming won't agree to perform any item."

Shan flushed slightly at the mention of Robert's name. Seeing there was no help for it, she agreed, and Harry was pleased to see her practising the dance together with Pixie; at least, it was keeping her too busy to feel depressed.

Fatty and Chee Chong, after some discussion, decided to perform some Chinese opera.

"There's one with a King and a Concubine," said Fatty. "I can get the costumes. I'll be the King, and you be the Concubine."

Chee Chong looked indignant. "Why must I be the Concubine?"

"Because I say so," said Fatty. "We'll have to prepare a potion that can make us sing. Chien-Mei said she'd help us with it."

Parvati had decided to do a northern Indian dance. After much cajoling and bribing, Lavendar managed to persuade Seamus to do an Irish step dance. Dean, who was good at art, volunteered to do the props, and roped Robert in, because he could conjure up practically any article that Dean required.

Pixie had finished polishing her block of crystal, which had now been moulded into the form of a swallow in flight. She tucked it carefully into her robes. This would be her last session with Snape, and she intended to leave it behind on the table, as a farewell gift.

Snape had not been so nasty to her lately. She had finished preparing the ingredients for the project, and Snape had used them to create a variety of complex solutions. They had then commenced on testing. Pixie sat in her usual corner in the main office, doing the preliminary testing on the solutions. This consisted of all sorts of tedious routines, including dropping charmed strips of paper into small vessels of solution, and noting what colour they changed into, or adding small amounts of other potions which Snape provided, and seeing how the solution reacted, and recording it down. These sometimes resulted in ghastly-smelling and potentially dangerous-looking fumes being given off, and Pixie, alarmed, had bolted out of the room not a few times.

Snape closeted himself in another side office, and did the final testing there. Pixie wasn't sure what he was doing, and decided she didn't want to know, especially as the stream of live mice, rats and other animals which Argus Filch kept bringing into the side office often came out dead, a few days later.

Pixie drew a small breath before knocking on the door of the office. After today, she would be free of Snape forever. He still unnerved her, and she still disliked him, but for some reason he had won her grudging respect.

That day's session was a short one, for the testing had been completed and the project was over. She spent most of the one hour there tidying up the office and disposing of the remains of dead rats. Finally, it was time to leave.

Pixie waited till Snape wasn't looking, then took the crystal swallow out and hid it behind a pile of books on the table. She then made her way over to Snape, who was near the door.

"This is my last day here, so I'll say good-bye," she said, when Snape turned to look at her.

Snape regarded her for a moment, his eyes glittering coldly, then nodded briefly and turned away. Pixie headed for the door and quit the room, feeling rather ruffled. Instead of the relief she had expected to feel, there was a strange feeling of dissatisfaction inside her, as if she had left something undone, or some task remained that had yet to be completed.

The rest of the afternoon was spent rehearsing for the concert, which was to be held in the common room, where a makeshift stage had been set up. Shan kept dropping her dance ribbon, and couldn't seem to understand why Pixie insisted she take her glasses off during the performance. Seamus, finding that he still kept tripping over his own feet, finally asked Robert if there was any anti-tripping spell that he knew of.

Pixie, for some reason, found that her eyes kept straying to the portrait hole, as if she expected someone to come in. However, the anticipated visitor finally came in not through the portrait hole, but through the window, in the form of a tawny owl. A bundle was hanging from its beak, and it was scanning the room, as if looking for someone.

Pixie's heart leapt when she saw the bundle. She felt positive it was from Snape. The owl spied her near the stage, and flew over. Then, it began swelling and transforming, and Jeanne was there instead. She gestured at Pixie to go over to a quiet corner of the room.

"Xiao-Yan, Severus has asked me to give something to you," she said in Chinese, looking solemnly at her. "It is not what you think it is; take a good look at it."

Pixie took hold of the bundle, her heart beating slightly faster. She unwrapped it, and then felt her heart drop like a stone. It was the crystal swallow; Snape had returned her gift.

She found herself winking back tears of keenly felt disappointment. Jeanne looked at her, and her eyes were kind.

"Look closer at the carving, Xiao-Yan," she said. "Do you see anything?"

Pixie peered at the swallow. Something inside shifted slightly; the swallow was now hollow, and it was filled with a clear, transparent solution.

She looked at it, puzzled, and still feeling rather hurt.

"What is it?"

"The fruit of your labour, these past few weeks," said Jeanne. "The end-result of the project. Without your help, I don't think Severus could have completed it so early."

Pixie frowned.

"What would I do with it?" she said sulkily. "I don't even know what it's for!"

Jeanne, seeing how disappointed she looked, put an arm around her.

"Hopefully, you won't need to find out," she said. "Xiao-Yan, I found Severus holding the swallow in his hands and looking at it when I came into the room. When he saw me, he filled it with the solution, and told me to return it to you."

Pixie looked at her.

"Before I left, I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to tell you," said Jeanne. "He was silent for a while, and then he said, 'Tell her I don't need the swallow to remember her'."

Pixie looked at the swallow again. For some reason, she felt slightly better.

"Thanks," she said.

Jeanne smiled, and removed her arm from Pixie's shoulders.

"Go upstairs and keep it safely away, now," she said. "And then you'd best get back to your rehearsal."

Shan watched as Jeanne transformed into an owl again, and flew out the window. Harry, seeing that she was taking a break, since she couldn't practise the dance without Pixie anyway, came over.

"How's it coming along?"

"All right," said Shan, still looking at the window. She was silent for a few moments, then said hesitantly, "Harry, you know Chien-Mei's story, don't you?"

Harry was rather surprised. "What?"

"Chien-Mei," said Shan. "How she left Russia and came to Hogwarts; how she met Professor Lupin."

Harry looked cautiously at her. "Yeah, I do."

Shan glanced at Robert, who was helping Dean with the props, then quickly averted her eyes as Robert, feeling her gaze on him, turned to look at her.

"I know I've been treating her badly," she admitted. "Robert has been telling me for weeks to stop it."

She paused. Harry looked at her, feeling hopeful.

"I know he's right," she said slowly. "I'm getting there. I know there's some story behind her coming here; Robert knows, but he won't tell me. He said I should ask you, because you were there."

Harry looked at her. At last, she was going to make up with Jeanne. He knew he was the one who could give the fairest account of Jeanne's story, besides Lupin and Dumbledore. Pixie and the dance rehearsal could wait; this was more important.

"It'll take a while," he said, looking around. "Why don't we find a quiet corner somewhere, and I'll tell you all about it."

"I'll polish your boots for you, Fatt," said Pixie, taking a jar and a small brush out.

"What on earth for?" said Fatty. "They can't be seen anyway; they'll be hidden by my robes."

Pixie just dimpled at him, and proceeded to apply the contents of the jar to the boots. Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting by, watching as Shan helped Fatty and Chee Chong into their elaborate costumes. She had already applied their makeup on for them, and they looked extremely strange and painted-up. Shan herself was wearing her dance costume, and had removed her glasses and put on her makeup. She looked very pretty indeed, and Harry had been speechless for a few minutes, when he first saw her.

Parvati came rustling up, resplendent in her Kathak costume. She was clutching a set of tabla drums, the bells about her ankles jingling.

"Hermione, let's practise those Special Effects Charms again," she said, looking flustered. "I want the lights to match my costume … orange, not yellow, and they have to come bursting out more brightly at the end."

Hermione got up and followed her to the stage, feeling around in her robes for her wand.

Dean came hurrying up.

"Where's Robert?" he said. "I need help putting up the supports for the Chinese palace."

"Actually, we don't need such an elaborate palace, Dean," said Fatty, adjusting his robes, "You've totally overdone it. Props in Chinese opera are usually very simple and few in number."

Dean just shrugged, and hurried off to look for Robert. Fatty looked impatiently at Pixie.

"Xiao-Yan, hurry up with those boots," he said. "I tell you, no one will be able to see them; you're wasting your time and shoe polish."

"Just a few more layers," said Pixie, with a mulish expression on her face. She had almost used up the entire jar of polish.

Shan gave Fatty and Chee Chong their Voice Potion, and they sounded extremely queer after drinking it, their voices having become exceedingly high-pitched.

"The reverse potion is in this flask," said Shan, placing it on a side table. "You can take it after your performance."

Fatty nodded, pulled his boots away from Pixie and put them on, and then disappeared off toward the stage with Chee Chong.

Shan came and sat next to Harry, who was watching Parvati and Hermione rehearse the Kathak dance. Parvati's tabla drums were busily playing themselves at one end of the stage. After a while Ron went over to Pixie to help her with something. Several Gryffindors went past, and giggled when they saw Shan and Harry together, but Shan didn't seem to notice them. She glanced around from time to time, and Harry knew that she was looking for Robert.

After a while, everyone got into position, and the lights dimmed. Seamus went up and did his hornpipe. He tripped once, but nobody seemed to mind. After that, Pixie mounted the stage, and began to play her er-hu.

Shan was twining her long dance ribbon around in her hands, and was beginning to look more and more agitated.

"Robert's not around," she whispered to Harry. "I'm afraid something's happened to him."

Harry glanced around. There was no sign of Robert.

"We can check the Marauder's Map," he whispered, seeing how anxious she looked.

Shan looked relieved. They quietly left their seats, and went up the spiral staircase to the dormitory.

Harry scanned through the Map; Robert was in the Astronomy Tower, near the top floor.

"What's he doing there!" said Shan, looking alarmed. She evidently thought he was going to jump. "I'm going to look for him."

Harry laid a hand on her arm.

"Your dance is up next," he said. "I'll go."

He led the way down the staircase, having stuffed the Map inside his robes, and watched her make her way to the stage before going over to the portrait hole, and climbing out.

Harry checked the Map and saw that Robert was still in the same location. He went up the last flight of stairs, rounded the bend, and then stopped, expecting to see Robert in front of him.

The corridor was not lit, and there was no moon that night, but a faint, diffuse light was shining in through a window set rather high in the north-facing wall. Someone was standing at the window, just where the Map showed Robert to be, looking out.

Harry went a bit closer. It should be Robert, looking out of the window. It should be. But it wasn't. It couldn't be. The person standing there was tall, taller than Harry. And yet, as he turned and looked at Harry, Harry saw that the boy was Chinese, and that he wore glasses, as Robert did, only these glasses were normal ones…

Harry stood there in amazement, staring at the tall boy, who looked gravely back at him for a moment, then smiled.

"There are meteor showers tonight," he said casually, as if it was perfectly natural for Harry to have come popping up out of the darkness. He turned back to the window and looked out again. "Chee Chong and I planned some time ago to come up here and have a look, but then the concert came up."

Harry went over to where the boy was, and looked out of the window. The night sky was alive with shooting stars. They were arriving in great numbers, pouring like waves of shining rain through the sky.

Harry watched them for a few moments, but the person standing next to him intrigued him more, and he soon turned back to look at him instead.

It was Robert; it had to be - he had the same voice, and it looked like him - that is, the way he should have looked, if he had been of normal height.

Robert, seeing his expression, smiled again, and then started shrinking. Smaller and smaller he became, until he had reached his usual height. He stood there, now too short to see out the window, looking up at Harry, a faintly amused look on his face.

Harry found his voice.

"How…how did you do that?"

Robert gave a small shrug.

"I don't know," he said. "I just can."

Harry was silent for a moment. Were all the Chinese people he met going to turn out to be shape-shifters?

"Are you a shape-shifter?" he asked. "I mean, can you change your appearance, as well as your size?"

Robert looked thoughtfully at him, then shrugged again.

"I don't know," he said, "I never had to try. I know I can change my height, because there have always been occasions, like now, where it would have been more convenient to be tall; but I've never encountered any occasion where I needed to transform into another animal."

It was on the tip of Harry's tongue to suggest he try now, but somehow, it didn't seem quite the thing one could ask Robert.

Robert, turning back to the window, grew himself to a height where he could look out of it again.

Harry looked at him. Although he had known for some time that Robert was several years older than all of them, he had not been able to believe it till now. Robert had always seemed twelve or thirteen to him, some sort of child prodigy, able to perform practically any spell. But now, looking at him, he suddenly realised that Robert was in fact, nineteen. He looked so much nicer now too, and with his glasses like normal ones, that Harry wondered why he didn't just permanently stay this way.

"Why - " he began, and then broke off, not sure exactly how to ask the question.

Robert, however, seemed to read his mind.

"Shan prefers me the other way," he said, as if this was the most important consideration. "She says that's the way I was born, the way I really am." He paused, then added, "And she's right."

"You mean, she's seen you like this before?" said Harry.

Robert nodded.

Harry couldn't think of anything further to say, so, seeing Robert looking out of the window again, turned and looked out at the meteors once more.

The darkness around them felt comforting, and Harry guessed that Robert had allowed his glasses to revert back to normal because there was no one up here to hide his emotions from. After several minutes of silence, he turned and looked at Robert again.

"It seems as if there's nothing you can't do," he said. "Have you thought about what you plan to do, once you finish at Shao-Lin?"

Robert continued to look out of the window, and didn't reply at once.

"It's true," he said, after a while. "Sometimes I feel as if I could do almost anything, if I only wanted to try. But… " he paused, as if considering how to phrase what he wanted to say.

Harry, feeling there was more coming, stood and waited.

"The only things worth doing in life are those that you do for other people," said Robert, at length. "Not for oneself. I've never done anything worthwhile for anyone, all my life, because I'm a loner. Besides Shan and my parents, there isn't anyone else I care about, and I don't think there will be. My parents won't always be with me, and Shan and I will one day go our separate ways. What will happen then, I have no clear idea."

He fell silent, still looking out of the window.

"You can join forces with us, and help fight Voldemort," suggested Harry. "You've got so much talent, you might be able to defeat him, one day."

Robert didn't flinch at the mention of Voldemort's name. He turned, and the look that he gave Harry was very direct.

"It's not in my destiny to face Lord Voldemort, Harry," he said, quietly. "It's in yours. You know it, as well as I do. It is your destiny to face him, and has always been."

Harry looked numbly back at him, then let his gaze fall to the floor. He felt as if someone has just thrown a bucket of icy water onto him. Yes, he knew it. The thought of it chilled him, but he realised he had known it, all along…ever since that day, when Hagrid had first told him how his parents had died…

He looked at Robert again.

"You see inside people, don't you," he said. "You know what frightens each of us most, like Yu-Lin. You're the only one who understands Shan."

Robert looked at him, and seemed to hesitate; then he reached a hand out, and gently placed it on Harry's shoulder.

Harry felt a faint surge, as if something was being pulled out of him, from the depths of his being. It flowed out of him, and took shape beside him, a few feet from the window : the images of his mother and father were standing there, next to him, looking at him.

Robert lowered his hand.

"I can see someone and know what's inside," he agreed, looking at the images, which were beginning to dim. "I know what you desire most."

He was quiet for a moment, watching as the images faded away, then turned to Harry.

"I wish I could bring them back for you," he said, "but I can't. I can give you something else, though."

He reached out, and took Harry's left hand, and held it palm up, near the window. Harry felt a surging force again, fainter this time, and then a misty light also started pouring in the window. Robert was collecting the starlight from the meteors. It poured in onto Harry's hand, and concentrated itself there, forming silvery images of James and Lily Potter on his palm, looking up at him. The expressions of love on their faces was very evident.

Robert let go of Harry's hand, and Harry brought it near himself and looked at his palm.

"You'll be able to look at them at night, when it's dark," said Robert. "Our hands are not made of a substance that retains starlight well, so they'll fade in a week or two, once the starlight diffuses out. You'll always remember the looks on their faces though, especially when things in your life are difficult. It will help you through those times."

Harry didn't trust himself to speak, at that moment. He looked at his parents' faces, smiling up at him in the darkness.

Robert was silent for a minute or so, looking at the images he had just created. Then he said, "It's my parting gift to you, I guess; after tonight, the exchange will be over, and we may not meet again."

Harry looked at Robert. It seemed that after four months in the exchange programme, he still didn't know Robert at all. The question came into his mind, "Who is he, really?"

But it wasn't quite the sort of thing to ask, or that had an answer, so what he said in the end was,

"What about you? What do you desire most?"

Something seemed to flicker in Robert's eyes, and Harry held his breath, hoping his glasses wouldn't change back to their usual state. Robert glanced at him, then turned and looked out at the star-filled sky.

"What do I want most?" he said. He looked out at the meteors, and then Harry saw that the starlight was collecting again. In it poured, onto a spot near the window in front of them, and formed into a life-size image of Shan : a different Shan, with head held high, and a serene smile on her face. The expression in her eyes was confident and happy, with none of the hopelessness and despair that so often clouded it.

"That's what I would like," said Robert, looking at the image with satisfaction. "That's how she should look, if life hadn't treated her the way it has. I can do almost any spell, or conjure up anything I want, but I can't give her that."

They stood looking at the silvery image, which was already beginning to fade, but which was still smiling at them. Harry, glancing at Robert, was startled by the expression in his eyes.

He does care for her, thought Harry. Hermione had been right.

"Maybe you can - " he began, but then a noise from behind made him stop, and he saw that Robert was now looking at someone behind him.

Harry turned around. Shan was standing there, in her traditional dance costume and with makeup still on her face. Her dance must have ended, and she had come up to find out where they were. She appeared rather pale, in the dim light, and was looking at Robert.

"We have to talk," she said, not looking at all surprised that he was taller than her, or that his glasses were normal.

"All right," said Robert quietly.

Harry turned to look at the starlight image. It was rapidly disappearing, the starlight diffusing away in all directions and fading.

He turned back, and saw that Robert was looking at Shan's outfit with approval.

"You look nice," he said, smiling at her.

Shan looked at him for a moment, and her lips trembled. She suddenly came forward, and put her arms around him, and buried her face in his shoulder.

Robert said nothing, but simply held her quietly and let her cry everything out. Harry, watching, suspected that he must have comforted her in a similar way, many times in the past.

He knew he shouldn't be there, so he turned and made his way down the Tower, looking at the images of his parents on his palm, which became invisible once he reached the brightly lit lower floors.

The concert still hadn't ended when Harry got back, and he saw that Fatty and Chee Chong were just starting their act. Dean's props looked magnificent; he had copied the Tian-Long palace, using the photographs Hermione had taken in China as a guide, and he had created several pagodas as well, which reached almost to the ceiling. They looked rather unstable, though, and Harry kept his fingers crossed, hoping they wouldn't topple over before the performance ended.

Fatty and Chee Chong were making the strangest cat-like sounds, accompanied by the occasional beating of a drum. They were half way through when, to Harry's astonishment, two furry black-and-white balls suddenly rolled onto the stage, over to Fatty, and disappeared under his voluminous robes.

Fatty, feeling the Pandas attaching themselves to his boots, took a step back, and then kicked one leg forward, then the other, in an attempt to dislodge them. Pixie, sitting nearby with Ron, began to giggle. Ron looked suspiciously at her, and then whispered, "What did you put on those boots?"

Fatty kicked violently with one foot, and one of the Pandas flew out from under his robes and over to Chee Chong, who promptly jumped aside and knocked over one of the pagodas. Fatty took a few steps backward, and then lost his balance, and fell onto one of the palace walls.

The pagoda toppled over, onto the next pagoda, which promptly fell on the next as well, in a kind of domino effect, the last one falling straight off the stage and into the audience. The palace walls gave way, and the entire structure collapsed on top of Fatty, at the same time knocking the stage lights over and plunging the entire common room into darkness.

Several of the girls screamed, and those in the audience in front of the falling pagoda leapt up in an effort to get out of the way. There was confusion for a while as people began running up and down in the dark, knocking into each other, and taking their wands out and lighting them. Fatty and Chee Chong appeared to be unscathed, for they were shouting angrily at Pixie in their high-pitched voices. Pixie, as far as Harry could tell, was still sitting in her seat, crying with laughter.

Hermione set off her Special Effects Charms, which illuminated the room to some extent. Fatty and Chee Chong came off the stage, and went over to the Restoring Potion and swallowed it, so that they could get their normal voices back. They then came grimly after Pixie, who, still overcome with mirth, darted toward the portrait hole and disappeared through it.

Order had been restored, the mess on the stage cleared away, and the food and drink brought out, when Shan and Robert finally came down from the Astronomy Tower. Shan's eyes were slightly red, but she looked fairly calm. She had washed her makeup off, and changed back into her normal robes. Robert had shrunk back to his usual small self, and his glasses were reflecting the surroundings again.

They sat down at the end of a long table, where Harry was sitting with Ron and Pixie. The latter had returned earlier, still giggling, together with Chee Chong and Fatty, who were still scowling and looking extremely disgruntled.

Pixie was in high spirits, laughing and chattering away, when a silver postal dragon suddenly flew in the window, and over to her.

Pixie cheerfully took the letter and dismissed the dragon. She looked at the handwriting, and pulling a face, said, "It's from my father."

The dragon, however, did not fly away. It circled once around the room, then came back and perched itself on Shan's shoulder, staring at Pixie, as if waiting for something.

Shan, who was looking slightly subdued, reached a hand out and stroked the dragon. Pixie, noticing, gave an impatient little toss of the head. She didn't bother to read the letter yet, but slipped it inside her robes for later.

The dragon gave a displeased chirp. It spread its wings and flew over to her, and gave a disapproving hiss. Pixie, afraid it would set fire to her hair, shooed it away.

"Xiao-Yan, I think you should read the letter now," said Shan, quietly. "It might be something important."

"What's so urgent!" said Pixie crossly, raising a partial Shield so that the dragon, which was still trying to land on her shoulder, couldn't get near her. "I'll be home in a few days, anyway."

"That's an Express dragon," said Shan. "Your father might want a reply straight away."

Harry looked surprised. "Express dragon?"

"New breed," explained Shan. "They've been crossing this species with the Silverwing. It's still small, but it can Apparate, meaning you can send a letter anywhere within a few minutes. But it's horribly expensive."

Pixie, tired of fending the dragon off, finally brought the letter out and opened it. She stared at it for a few moments, then went pale, and stood up.

"What's the matter?" said Ron quickly.

But Pixie had already gone off to the other end of the table, where Fatty and Chee Chong were sitting with Seamus and Dean, drinking rice wine. The four of them had been at it for a while, and were beginning to look slightly tipsy.

"Fatt, I need to borrow your globe," said Pixie, tapping him on the shoulder.

Fatty looked up at her, his face red.

"Forget it," he said thickly, turning away, "You think I'm lending you anything after what you did?"

"Fatt!" said Pixie, becoming angry, "I need to call home, urgently!" She gave him a small kick on the ankle.

"No," said Fatty sulkily. "Go 'way. You ruined our performance."

"Fatt!" said Pixie again, looking rather desperate. She tugged at his sleeve, "Pei-Pei is dead!"

Fatty suddenly became completely sober.

"What?" he said, looking at her; his face had gone white. "What - what about your mother?"

Pixie's eyes widened, and she went as pale as Fatty.

"Give me the globe," she said, in a dangerously quiet voice. "You knew all along, didn't you?"

Fatty didn't reply; he took the globe out, and gave it to her.

Pixie turned around, and saw that Ron and all the others had followed her, and had been listening.

"Ron, come with me," she said, looking sick. Clasping the globe, she hurried out of the room, a frightened look on her face.

"What's happening, Fatt?" asked Shan quickly, as Ron and the postal dragon also started heading toward the portrait hole.

Fatty waited until they had disappeared, then said, "Someone has tried to poison her mother."

"What?" All of them stared at him. Harry noticed that Hermione had come over as well.

"I read the letter that Yu-Lin's father wrote, which Draco Malfoy destroyed," said Fatty. "In it, he said that he had taken care of my family, and Chee Chong's. He also mentioned that Singapore was too far away to bother doing anything to Shan or Robert, but he had enough connections in Taiwan to do something to Xiao-Yan's family."

"Who's Pei-Pei?" asked Hermione worriedly.

"The house-elf I recommended to her family," said Fatty. "Yu-Lin's father said that the easiest thing would be to poison Xiao-Yan's mother, because she was already sick anyway, and always trying all kinds of remedies. Yu-Lin's father mentioned a poison he had access to, for which no antidote existed.

"Most of our house-elves are quite money-minded, but Pei-Pei was the worst. When she heard about the situation, she volunteered to go work for Xiao-Yan's family, and test all the mother's medication before allowing her to consume it. Lady Wen-Li also read the letter; but she didn't tell Xiao-Yan or her family about its contents, because it might alarm them unnecessarily … after all, it seemed doubtful Yu-Lin's father would go ahead with the plan, now that the letter had been discovered. Still, Lady Wen-Li wanted to take precautions, and she was willing to pay a handsome sum to any house-elf who would volunteer for the job."

"But, that's cruel!" protested Hermione.

Fatty shrugged.

"Pei-Pei knew the danger," he said. "She was given a full set of the existing antidotes. She didn't believe Yu-Lin's father would go ahead with his plan, anyway, because the letter had already been discovered."

Ron came back a few minutes later, looking rather shaken, and handed the globe back to Fatty.

"Pixie's mother has been poisoned," he said. "The poison was a slow-acting one - the house-elf didn't feel its effects till an hour after drinking it. Her mother's got twenty-four hours to live. Her last wish is to see all her daughters married before she leaves this world, and Pixie's father has arranged a match for her. She's to be married the minute she gets home."

He sank down in one of the chairs, looking stunned.

"Where is she now?" asked Shan quickly.

"Packing," said Ron, pouring himself a goblet of rice wine, which Hermione, frowning, took away almost immediately.

Shan got up, obviously intending to go and help Pixie. She hesitated, then tugged at Robert's sleeve, indicating she wanted him to go with her. Harry, watching as they both went up to the dormitory, knew that Shan was now treasuring every minute she had left with Robert.

"Hermione, give it back!" said Ron crossly, trying to retrieve his goblet.

"Don't be silly, Ron," said Hermione worriedly. "You can't drown yourself in drink. You should be giving her moral support now, while she's still around."

Ron covered his face with his hands and groaned. Then he nodded, and gloomily got up and made his way over to the spiral staircase.

An hour later, they all gathered in the Entrance Hall to see Pixie off. Her eldest sister had Portkeyed over, and was waiting for her at the foot of the marble staircase.

Pixie looked too depressed to hug anyone, or shake hands, as she normally would have. She nodded at all of them, then turned to Ron, who had been following her, carrying her bag.

"Thanks," she muttered, taking it from him. She looked as if she wanted to say something, then changed her mind. Reaching inside her robes, she took out a small bundle, wrapped in silk. She looked at it for a moment, then held it out to Ron.

"Goodbye, Ron," she said quietly.

Ron's face went very red, and he reached out and took the bundle. His hands were shaking slightly, and he seemed unable to say anything.

Pixie looked at him for a moment, then suddenly went up on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. She then picked her bag up, and went over to where her sister was waiting.

Lavendar sniffed, and wiped a few tears away from her cheeks. The rest all watched silently as Pixie's sister took the bag from her, and they took their positions next to the Portkey. Pixie turned and faced all of them, her face pale. Then she and her sister reached their hands out and touched the Portkey, and were gone.

Ron stood there, staring numbly at the spot where Pixie had been standing. Hermione, next to him, put a sympathetic hand on his arm.

"What's in the bundle?" she said softly.

Ron looked down at the bundle in his hands, as if he had forgotten it was there. He unwrapped the layers of silk, and eventually a delicate carving of two birds, side by side, in pale green jade, was revealed.

"Oh," said Shan softly, "Mandarin ducks. She carved it for you, Ron."

Ron's face went even redder. He looked afraid to speak, in case he broke down. Harry, seeing this, said, "C'mon," and taking him by the arm, pulled him away from the group and started leading him back up to Gryffindor Tower.

The common room still had people in it, though it was getting late, so the two of them started going up to the dormitory. They were halfway up the spiral staircase when Ron suddenly turned to Harry.

"Think I need to be alone for a while, Harry," he muttered, "All happened so fast … need to sort things out in my head. I feel all fogged up inside."

"OK," said Harry, looking rather worriedly at him. Ron looked gloomily at the jade carving in his hands again, then turned and went on up the staircase.

Harry descended the staircase, to find that the others had come up as well. Fatty, seeing him, took him by the arm and led him to one side.

"Harry," he said, looking at him very seriously, "I must tell you this before I leave. Mui Sing and I have completed a project which has been a huge success. I have made enough money to let my father start over again."

"That's great, Fatty," said Harry.

Fatty looked even more serious.

"So I must thank you, Harry," he said earnestly, "You see, Madam Tang was right after all - you brought me good luck!"

"But - " began Harry.

"So, I must give you a share of the profit," said Fatty, not letting him finish. He was looking rather guilty and embarrassed now. To Harry's alarm, he took a cloth bag out, which clinked and jingled, and obviously contained a lot of money.

"Fatty, I can't take that!" protested Harry. "I didn't do a thing. You earned it; you keep it!"

"You must!" said Fatty, worriedly. "I could not have succeeded without you. It will be on my conscience, if I do not reward you!"

"No," said Harry flatly, "Out of the question. I'm not taking a single coin. If you really want to give that money away, give it to Chee Chong. It'll help his parents get the farm going again."

Fatty pleaded and cajoled, but Harry remained unmoved. Finally, Fatty relented.

"Chong needs this money," he agreed. "But I must consider how to give it to him … he won't accept it, either…"

He stood there, frowning, and Harry left him at it after a while.

Ten minutes later, Harry saw Fatty taking his lacquer box out; he tapped it with his wand, so that it swelled and became three times as large. He then started going from student to student, offering the box to each, and letting them draw a gift from it.

"My way of saying good-bye," he said, winking at Harry, as he offered the box to Shan.

"Oh, do we get something too?" said Shan, putting her hand in and taking out a small box of pineapple tarts.

Fatty left Chee Chong right to the last. He managed to lead him to a quiet corner, then held the box out to him.

Chee Chong put his hand in, and took the cloth bag out. He held it up for a moment, looked absent-mindedly at it, as if wondering why it was so heavy, then opened it and looked inside.

Fatty stood there, watching him, and holding his breath. Chee Chong was staring at the contents of the bag as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes, then looked again. Then, as Harry had feared, he began to turn the bag upside down, to tip its contents onto the floor.

"No, don't," hissed Fatty, putting a restraining hand on Chee Chong's arm, and darting a worried look at the students in the room who had still not gone up to bed. "You've got the grand prize. The box only yields one such prize on each occasion; we mustn't let the others see, or they will become jealous."

Chee Chong was still staring at the bag, his eyes bulging.

"It is money!" he pointed out, in case Fatty hadn't noticed.

"Yes, yes, I know," whispered Fatty hurriedly. "I told you, you've managed to draw the grand prize. I tell you what, why don't we bring it up to the dormitory and show it to Chester."

He took Chee Chong by the arm, and began firmly leading him up to the dormitory. As they were both disappearing inside, Fatty turned around and winked again at Harry, who was still standing below, watching the two of them with a grin.

Harry had a slightly hollow feeling inside, as they went down the following morning to see the Tian-Long students off. It had been an eventful and pleasant exchange programme, and it was almost a pity it had to end.

Chen-Kang had already arrived, and Hagrid was there, petting the Silverwing. Shan was talking to Dumbledore, while Professor McGonagall was shaking hands and saying a few words to each of the other Chinese students.

After a few minutes, Robert and Chen-Kang mounted the dragon, and flew over to the lake where Sang Nila was waiting. While Robert was securing the Merlion to the Silverwing's tail, Shan came over to Harry.

"I've asked Professor Dumbledore if Robert and I can come back on the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, Harry," she said. "The next few weeks will be the Lunar New Year holidays, you know, and although the fifteenth day is the last day of the New Year, school will not begin until three days later."

"Oh," said Harry, and suddenly felt better. At least, he would see Shan and Robert again. Then he asked the next obvious question. "Why?"

Shan glanced at Jeanne, who was saying goodbye to Fatty and Chee Chong. Jeanne was looking subdued, and Harry knew she was worried because she had still not given Shan the message from Mrs Chen.

"I need to apologise to Chien-Mei," said Shan quietly. "I know it was wrong, the way I've been treating her, and she did so much for my mother." She saw Harry's expression, and quickly explained, "I don't feel ready to talk to her right now - I still need some time to sort my thoughts out ... I need to talk to Robert - I can't get used to the idea of his going to Shao-Lin. I don't think I'll feel ready to speak to her till I've settled all this within myself, and I hope I'll have done that by the time the holidays are ending."

She stopped then, because Chen-Kang and Robert had returned, and Robert was coming over.

"I guess Shan had told you that we're coming back," he said, taking Harry's hand and giving it a quick shake, "so I won't say goodbye, but see you soon."

Fatty and Chee Chong were now coming over as well. Robert released Harry's hand and gave him a smile, then turned and made his way over to Jeanne.

"Good-bye, Harry," said Fatty, crushing Harry's hand in his, "Come and visit me in Hong Kong one day."

"And visit me at my palent's farm too," added Chee Chong. Harry grinned at them.

"I will," he said.

Robert, who had finished talking to Jeanne, went over to the Silverwing and was about to mount it, when Hermione went up to him with a small packet in her hand.

"This is for you," she said, her cheeks rather pink. "A small farewell gift."

Robert seemed astonished. He hesitated, then took the packet, and looked at her.

"I don't have anything for you," he said.

Hermione smiled, and gave a small shrug.

"It's nothing much, anyway; it's a bookmark, in the form of a Merlion. It pokes its head out of the book and growls at you when you're looking for your page."

Everyone gathered around as the Chinese students mounted the Silverwing. Ron was clutching the Chinese Chess set, which Chee Chong had given him as a farewell present. Jeanne was looking relieved; Robert must have told her that Shan would be coming back.

Shan, seated behind Chen-Kang, was carrying the Pandas inside her bag. Their heads were poking out of the bag, and Ping's sad little face was turned toward Harry. Harry suddenly heard her furry voice in his head. He didn't have the Translator on, but he knew that she was saying goodbye.

As the Silverwing turned and faced away from the castle, Harry saw Ting-Ting suddenly materialising on Shan's shoulder. Seamus and the other Gryffindors were waving, and shouting that they were going to come to China one day. The Tian-Long students just grinned and waved in reply, and then the Silverwing launched itself into the air, and flew rapidly away.

"Well, that's it," said Hermione, as the dragon disappeared into the horizon. "It was good while it lasted, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Harry, looking at Ron, who was looking depressed and obviously thinking of Pixie.

They turned, and made their way back into the castle, because classes were going to start. In a few minutes, the open field in front of the Entrance Hall steps was empty of people. The exchange programme was over, at last.

Shan and Robert appeared in the Gryffindor common room shortly after breakfast on the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year. Something seemed different about them, but Harry couldn't figure out what. They looked the same as usual, Shan cheerful, and Robert placid. Shan, after greeting Harry, spent a while smiling and saying hello to the others. Robert, spotting Hermione in a corner doing her homework, took a rather battered book out from his robes, looked at it for a few moments, and then went over to her.

"This is for you," he said, holding the book out.

Hermione looked surprised.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get a new one," said Robert, as she took the book from him, "But it's a good book. One of my favourites."

Hermione was examining the book, an odd expression on her face.

"Are you sure you want me to have it?" she asked slowly.

Robert nodded.

"I've read it so often, I practically know all of it by heart, anyway."

Hermione turned the book around in her hands, looking thoughtful. Then, she took her quill out and handed it to him.

"Will you write something inside? Something I can remember you by."

Robert looked surprised, but took the book and quill. He thought for a few moments, then began writing. Hermione stood by, looking over his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll write the English translation out, as well," he said, when he saw her expression.

Shan, seeing that Robert was busy, came over to Harry.

"Come and see Chien-Mei with me, Harry," she said, "and you can watch an old Chinese custom … who knows, you might come away slightly richer, as well."

She grinned mischievously at him, then turned and climbed out of the portrait hole. Harry followed, feeling curious, but pleased that she was going to see Jeanne at last.

The minute Jeanne opened the door, Harry knew she wasn't well. She looked pale and tired, and appeared to have lost some weight. However, she was very pleased to see Shan.

Shan greeted her prettily in Chinese, and then reached inside her robes and took two large Mandarin oranges out, and offered them to Jeanne.

Jeanne looked surprised, but smiled and accepted the oranges. She then took several small envelopes made of bright red paper out of her pocket.

"Here you are, and you might as well take Robert's for him, too," she said, handing the envelopes to Shan. She smiled at Harry. "And there's one for you too, sir."

Harry took the red envelope and looked at it; a picture of a dragon was embossed on it, in gold. Opening it, he saw a bright gold Galleon inside.

"Thanks," he said, rather surprised.

Jeanne smiled in response, but then suddenly held one hand up to her mouth, and retched. She turned, and ran into the bathroom, and was violently sick.

Harry watched as she disappeared inside the bathroom, startled. Shan gave a small squeak of excitement, and grabbed his arm.

"You know what this means, don't you?"

Harry didn't; he looked at her, confused. "What?"

Shan was looking at the partly open bathroom door, an excited expression on her face.

"She's throwing up!" she hissed. "Surely you know what that means!"

Harry was rather nonplussed.

"She's eaten the wrong thing?"

Shan stared at him for a moment, as if to see whether he was joking, and then began to laugh.

"Oh, Harry," she said, chuckling, "You don't know anything, do you?"

Harry looked at her, bewildered. Shan pushed her glasses up her nose, still shaking with laughter, then controlled herself with an effort.

"She's pregnant, silly."

"What?" Harry was even more startled. Then he said quickly, "But that's not possible."

Shan raised an eyebrow.

"Jeanne can't have children, Shan," he said in an undertone. "She told me so, ages ago; Madam Pomfrey checked her when she first came here."

"Then why - " began Shan, but Jeanne was now coming out of the bathroom, her face white.

"Are you all right?" asked Harry awkwardly.

She nodded, and then sat down. Seeing Shan's expression, she shook her head.

"It's not what you think, Shan."

"You should at least go see Madam Pomfrey again, and check," said Shan. "I heard about the Stardust - maybe it cured you!"

There was a slight flicker in Jeanne's eyes.

"I'd hoped that, myself," she said, slowly, and then hesitated, "But right now, I don't want to know. And please, don't tell Remus." She looked anxiously at both of them.

Harry and Shan looked at her, puzzled. Jeanne shifted uneasily, her eyes on the floor.

"Deorg is coming back," she said quietly. "Somehow, I just feel it in my bones. That's why I'm not feeling well. I think the throwing up is due to bulimia. I feel under stress, all the time now. It's always on my mind. I have dreams about it, at night … that he's coming, to kill me."

She glanced at them, then continued.

"If he does kill me, then believe me, if I am expecting a child, it would be better if Remus never knew."

Shan was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Even if you don't see Madam Pomfrey, you would know, wouldn't you? If you missed … you know…"

Jeanne shot a glance at Harry, then shook her head and said, "Mine is very irregular, Shan; sometimes, I don't have it for a few months."

Shan sat down next to her, pleased at the prospect of a woman-to-woman talk.

"That happens to some people," she agreed. "Mine is very regular, though. I'd know, straight away."

Harry didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about.

Jeanne smiled, then looked at the clock.

"I have to get to work," she said. "Shan-Shan, you'll be here for the next three days, won't you?"

Shan nodded.

"You and I must have a talk," said Jeanne. "I'm busy now, and Remus won't be well, tonight and tomorrow, because it's full moon tonight. But tomorrow night, Parvati and Lavendar want me to prepare a steamboat buffet … they are using your presence here as an excuse to have one, and Professor Dumbledore has agreed. After that, we must talk."

Shan nodded again. Jeanne put an arm around her, and gave her shoulders a quick squeeze, then saw them to the door.

Shan was quiet all the way back to the Gryffindor common room. Harry was still wondering what she and Jeanne had been talking about, but he assumed it was some woman's thing.

"What's a steamboat buffet?"

Shan, who had been lost in thought, came back with a jerk.

"It's not really what it sounds like," she said, laughing a bit, "It's something like a barbecue, only you cook the food in boiling stock; it's quite fun."

She fell silent again, thinking, and then suddenly said,

"You know, Harry, I think we should ask Madam Pomfrey to check Chien-Mei."

Harry looked at her, surprised.

"If Chien-Mei is really expecting a child, then she must be hidden away somewhere, where this Deorg can't find her, till she gives birth," said Shan.

"I doubt if Jeanne is pregnant, Shan," said Harry. "Madam Pomfrey has checked her before."

Shan didn't seem convinced.

"The Stardust could have cured her," she said obstinately. "She should at least find out. Don't you see - if she's expecting, she must have the child. If Deorg does kill her one day, then what about Professor Lupin? He won't have anyone left. If they have a child, at least he'll still have that, to remember her by."

She fell silent for a few moments, and then said softly, as if talking to herself,

"If you're going to lose someone you love, that's one way … to keep a part of him that will always stay with you, even when he's gone."

Harry knew she was talking about something else now, but he wasn't sure what she meant. He was going to ask, but they had reached the portrait hole. Shan, on entering the common room, went over to Robert and gave him his red packet. Harry had to go for Transfiguration; when he came back to the common room after the class, he saw Shan and Robert still there, quietly talking in Chinese.

Harry felt certain that Shan must have told Robert about Jeanne's condition. He hesitated, then took the Translator out of his pocket.

"Leave it be, Shan … it's between Professor Lupin and Chien-Mei."

"But Chien-Mei won't do anything … what if Deorg kills her, and she really is expecting? Isn't it unfair to Professor Lupin?"

"It's none of our business. She doesn't want him to know, anyway. What if she really is pregnant, and Madam Pomfrey tells Professor Lupin … then if Deorg kills Chien-Mei before she gives birth, Lupin will never get over it."

"That's precisely it … if she's expecting, we should double the protection around her."

"She's already as safe here as she can possibly be. How much can the protection around her be increased?"

Harry took the Translator off, feeling slightly relieved. Shan tended to be impulsive, and he wouldn't put it past her to take it upon herself to tell Madam Pomfrey about Jeanne's condition. At least, Robert was talking some sense into her.

After a while, they seemed to have resolved the issue, and seeing Harry, Ron and Hermione doing their homework in a corner of the common room, came over to join them.

Robert had brought his usual collection of books to read. Shan had brought some of her Tian-Long assignments, which she had yet to finish, but ended up spending most of the time listening to Harry and Ron talking about Quidditch. Just before they were due to go for lunch, a postal dragon flew into the Gryffindor common room, and over to Ron.

Ron, guessing at once that the dragon had been sent by Pixie, took the letter from it with shaking hands. He spent a few minutes reading it, then lowered the letter, looking stunned.

The others, who had been watching, looked expectantly at him.

"It's all right," he said, now looking relieved, "Pixie's mother, that is. That project Lady Han-Yin was working on - it was to develop an antidote for the poison. Snape gave some to Pixie in a crystal swallow before she left. She said that the minute she got home, the swallow containing the antidote flew out of her bag and over to her mother, and tipped its contents down the mother's throat. She says her mother is well on the road to recovery, right now."

"That's great, Ron," said Harry.

"What about the wedding?" asked Shan cautiously.

"Pixie says that she's managed to get it postponed until she graduates from Tian-Long," said Ron. "She says she's going to figure out a way to get it cancelled altogether."

They went for lunch after that, Ron looking much more cheerful than he had for days. On the way to the Great Hall, Shan turned to Harry.

"Harry," she said hesitantly, "Do you think I can borrow your Invisibility Cloak tonight?"

Harry looked at her in surprise. "Why?"

She hesitated.

"It's full moon," she said, flushing slightly, "and I know Professor Lupin is going to transform. I know it sounds silly, but I would really like to see him as a wolf again, one last time."

Harry was amused.

"OK," he said. "But I'm coming along, too."

So, around eleven that night, which was about half an hour before the moon was due to rise, they checked the Marauder's Map and saw that Jeanne and Lupin were in their room. Taking the Cloak, they made their way there, and then Harry checked the Map again. Both Jeanne and Lupin were still visible, so he figured they were not doing anything private at the moment. Then Shan took her wand out and tapped the wall just next to the door. A spyhole appeared, wide enough for both of them to look in.

"Are you sure they can't see us?" hissed Harry.

"Yes," whispered Shan. "I learned this spell from Xiao-Yan. She's spied on countless people with it."

This didn't really enhance Harry's opinion of Pixie, but he supposed he couldn't judge, since he wasn't behaving any better himself, at the moment.

He and Shan peered through the spyhole into the room. A postal dragon had just delivered a letter and was flying over to the window and out. Curiously enough, the letter appeared to be for Lupin, and not Jeanne. Jeanne was sitting in a corner, keeping away some herbs; she had evidently just finished preparing the usual tonic for Lupin.

Lupin was standing some distance from the window, opening the letter with a surprised look on his face. Jeanne, for some reason, was watching him rather tensely.

Lupin's expression became even more surprised as he continued to read the letter, and then hardened, and became rather angry. Jeanne began to look even more tense.

"Who is the letter from?" she asked, quietly.

Lupin was still reading.

"Master Kung," he said, with a slight edge in his voice.

Jeanne went pale. She automatically lowered her hand to her pocket, as if to feel if something was in there, and then sat, watching Lupin anxiously.

Lupin had finished reading. He slowly lowered the letter, and looked at Jeanne. Then, he took his wand out, and pointed it at her pocket.

"Accio!" he said.

Something black shot out of the pocket, but before it could reach Lupin, Jeanne had cried out in dismay, and raised her hand and pointed at it. The black object suddenly seemed to hit something like an invisible wall, and fell to the ground with a clatter, midway between Jeanne and Lupin. Harry heard Shan give a small gasp, even as he recognised the object on the floor : it was the onyx tiger.

There was a dead silence in the room. Lupin was looking angrier than ever, while Jeanne was looking even paler.

Lupin looked at her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said quietly.

Jeanne hung her head.

"I knew you wouldn't let me go ahead with it."

Lupin eyed the tiger on the floor for a moment.

"So … all the while, I thought you were Portkeying to Tian-Long for lessons. But instead, you were with Snufflegint, practising in the grounds!"

Jeanne looked upset, because he was so angry.

"Remus, you don't understand," she said. "I had to do it. There's no other way."

"No other way?" said Lupin. "What about the Shielding? Isn't that enough to prevent Deorg from possessing you?"

"Yes, I can protect myself from him," said Jeanne. "But I can't attack and defeat him!"

"You're not supposed to!" said Lupin, angrily. "That task belongs to Dumbledore, or Bubcek and his people!"

"I thought so too, last time," said Jeanne quietly, "but not any more. You should know why - I told you, everything that she told me."

Lupin looked slightly exasperated.

"How reliable is she?" he said. "And Snufflegint? How can you trust him? You know his background!"

"Who are they talking about?" whispered Shan.

"Don't know," Harry whispered back.

"I trust him," said Jeanne. "You don't know his story. He joined the Tomb Sect because he wanted to learn their secrets and who their members were. Why do you think the Sect was overthrown so quickly after he left it?"

"How do you know he's telling the truth?" said Lupin. "He did his share of killing, while he was still in the Sect!"

"There's no proof of that," said Jeanne, sounding distressed.

"Deorg was his Sect Leader," Lupin reminded her grimly. "How do you know he isn't trying to help Deorg regain control of you again?"

"He isn't," said Jeanne stubbornly. "He came here to make amends. He told me, it was through him that Deorg first learned that shape-shifters existed, and conceived the idea of capturing one for his own purposes. When Septimus discovered who I was, he persuaded Master Kung to give him the onyx tiger, and came to Hogwarts to look for me."

"That onyx tiger is sucking the life out of you, Jeanne!" said Lupin, angrily. "I've been wondering why you've been looking so run-down for weeks. I thought Master Kung was working you too hard. And all the time, you've been hiding this from me!"

"It's the only way!" said Jeanne. "Septimus knows Deorg's weaknesses. One either has the gift to wield the Devil's Curse, or hasn't. Deorg does not have the gift. Neither did Liu Pei; that was why he couldn't use the tiger on Yang-Kang. The Devil's Curse is the only way I can defeat Deorg."

She suddenly noticed the time, and automatically picked up the goblet on the table.

"We can talk later," she said, going over to Lupin, "It's almost time; you'd better take this."

Lupin, however, ignored the goblet.

"We'll talk now, Jeanne," he said firmly. "You have to stop using that thing. It's draining the life out of you. Even Master Kung is worried; he said in the letter that he was shocked at how run-down you looked, when you started taking lessons from him again last month. He said he told you to stop using the tiger, but you seem to have ignored him - which is why he wrote to me."

Jeanne was looking rather desperate.

"Remus, you're going to transform any minute," she said, "for goodness' sake, take the tonic, and then we'll talk."

"The tonic isn't vital," said Lupin, "but this talk is."

Harry suddenly saw the clouds shift through the window, and the moon came out. Bright moonlight shone in; Lupin began to shake. Jeanne was watching, looking dismayed. She made a quick movement forward with the goblet, but it was too late; Lupin had already transformed into a wolf.

Jeanne stared at the wolf for a second, and then something seemed to snap inside her. She cried out in frustration, and taking the goblet, went over to the window and flung it out in a fury. Raising her arms, she transformed into an owl. Swooping over to where the onyx tiger was lying, she caught it in her talons, and headed back toward the window.

The wolf leapt at the owl, as if to prevent it from leaving, but the owl swerved aside, darted over to the window and out, and was gone.

The wolf bounded over to the window and stood there, resting its front paws on the sill, watching as the owl disappeared. Then it raised its muzzle to the sky and let off a long, anguished howl.

Shan abruptly tapped the spyhole with her wand, and it disappeared. She and Harry turned, and began quickly making their way back to the common room.

"We shouldn't have seen that, we shouldn't have seen that," Shan kept muttering, as they stumbled along in the dark. "Oh, my poor wolf!"

"That explains everything," said Harry, his mind still in a whirl from everything he had just heard. "What she and Snufflegint were doing in the grounds - he was teaching her how to use the onyx tiger!"

"And he didn't take the tonic," said Shan, still thinking about the wolf.

"Looks like Jeanne really intends to have her revenge on Deorg," said Harry.

"Oh, she mustn't, Harry," said Shan, softly. "From what we heard, I don't think she has mastered the Devil's Curse well enough yet."

"Well, I guess we don't need to worry," said Harry, "Lupin will be keeping an even sharper eye on her, now that he knows."

Shan seemed rather preoccupied the next morning. When Harry came back to the common room after his Charms class, she told him that she'd gone back to Jeanne and Lupin's room, and seen through the spyhole that Jeanne was back.

"I knocked on the door, and spoke to her," said Shan. "I told her to cancel the steamboat buffet, since she's not feeling well; but she refused to."

"How is Professor Lupin?" asked Harry.

"Chien-Mei said he was resting," said Shan. "I guess he feels worse, because he has not taken the tonic."

Hermione and Ron came up then; Hermione was holding a letter.

"Chee Chong just sent this, Harry," she said.

Harry, turning his attention to them, didn't notice Shan still looking preoccupied. She slipped out of the room, after a while.

Hermione was reading the letter. Ron was reading a newspaper cutting that had come together with the letter.

"He says the farm is all right," said Hermione, and then her eyes widened slightly. "He says he's received news that Yu-Lin's father has disappeared. It seems he got into trouble with some triads."

"Serves him right," said Harry.

"No one knows if he's still alive, but Chee Chong says that it's unlikely, knowing what the triads are like," said Hermione, and then lowered the letter. "He says he's enclosed a month-old newspaper article that we might be interested in reading." She looked at Ron, who was still reading the cutting. "What's the matter?"

Ron was reading with wide eyes. After a while, he lowered it, and looked at Harry.

"Blimey, Harry," he said, and hesitated, then held the cutting out to him, "Guess you'd better read it, yourself."

English boy wizard Harry Potter has been creating a storm among the Hong Kong wizarding elite without ever having been to the Fragrant Harbour. The latest fad among Hong Kong's rich and famous has been the "Harry Potter autograph", strips of parchment signed by the boy wizard during his recent trip to China.

It appears that the Potter autographs became popular when several businessmen who had obtained copies brought them to Fook Man Look, the posh and exclusive club in Tsimshatsui frequented by the Hong Kong wizarding elite. The businessmen apparently first heard of the autographs from their children, many of whom attend Tian-Long Academy in Long-Shan, which Potter attended for two months during an exchange programme last year. Subsequent autographs were released in limited numbers, resulting in auctions being eventually held for those impatient and desperate to obtain a copy for themselves. It is not known how much each autograph came up to, but sources speculate that the bidding could have gone as high as five figures.

"It is de rigueur, at the moment," enthused Cantopop star Benita Mui, wife of the tycoon Wee Ka-Shing, "Anyone who is anybody here must have one of the autographs."

But surely, one might ask, it would be more economical to take a holiday in Britain and personally obtain an autograph from Potter himself.

"No, indeed," says Macau casino king Stanley Po, "These autographs mark Harry Potter's trip to China. They are unique."

The elite will not divulge where the autographs came from, but insiders say the supplier is Mui-Fatt Enterprises, a small upstart company which garnered huge profits this year. It is believed that a member of the company attends Tian-Long Academy, and managed to obtain the autographs there. How the company member managed to obtain such a large number of autographs is not known, but it is rumoured that the member knows Potter personally, and that the latter must have obliged him. The autographs' popularity has since spread to several other countries as well. So far, all the autographs have passed the Authenticity Charm tests carried out on them, and Douglas Dimbleby, the representative of the British Ministry of Magic in Hong Kong, has himself testified that the autographs are genuine, having been to Long-Shan and heard it from Mr Potter himself. 

Harry closed his mouth, which had begun to hang open. Robert, who had initially been reading a book nearby, but had come over to have a look, now appeared extremely amused. Hermione was looking amazed.

"That Fatty," she said.

Harry was fuming.

"He must have employed those first-years," he said indignantly. "No wonder they knew our timetable inside out!"

"Calm down, Harry," said Ron, looking serious, although he was trying not to laugh, "After all, you've helped Fatty's father start his business over again."

Harry looked grumpily at Robert.

"All of you knew, didn't you?" he said crossly.

Robert shook his head, still looking amused. "We didn't; but it doesn't surprise me. Fatt has always been able to come up with ingenious ideas for making money."

At this moment, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, and Lavendar came in.

"Is Shan sick, Robert?" she said, seeing them there. "I saw her going to see Madam Pomfrey."

Robert suddenly looked rather tense. "What?"

"Shan," repeated Lavendar, "I saw her going into the hospital wing."

Robert had gone pale. He stared at Lavendar for a moment, then suddenly bolted over to the portrait hole, and out of the common room.

The others watched him as he disappeared, startled.

"What's with him?" said Lavendar, astonished.

"Guess he's worried about Shan," said Hermione, looking sympathetic.

Harry said nothing; he couldn't believe Shan could be so interfering. She must have gone to see Madam Pomfrey about giving Jeanne a checkup. Hopefully, Robert would be able to stop her in time.

They had classes after that, and Harry didn't see Shan and Robert again until lunchtime. They came in late, and there weren't any empty seats near Harry and the others, so they sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table, some distance from them. It was hard to tell Robert's expression, but Shan was looking annoyingly pleased with herself. In fact, she seemed to be positively glowing.

"What's the matter, Harry?" said Hermione, seeing Harry glowering at the two of them.

Harry hesitated, then, in a low voice, told her and Ron about Jeanne's condition.

"Oh, how nice if she really is expecting," was the first thing Hermione said.

"Don't think you need to worry, Harry," remarked Ron, "Madam Pomfrey's close to Jeanne. It's unlikely she'd tell Lupin anything if Jeanne didn't want her to."

Harry, however, couldn't help feeling a bit worried. Maybe he was imagining it, but Robert seemed to be looking rather subdued. Perhaps Madam Pomfrey had discovered that Jeanne really was expecting, and Shan had persuaded her to tell Lupin about it.

They came over to Harry and the others after lunch, and Shan was looking so happy that Harry didn't have the heart to be cross with her. After all, this was her last day at Hogwarts, and he probably wouldn't see her again for a very long time.

Harry had classes throughout the afternoon; Shan and Robert spent most of that time in the Gryffindor common room, quietly talking. Surprisingly, Robert seemed to be doing most of the talking. Harry hoped he was telling Shan off for being a busybody. When evening came, Shan said that she was going to help Jeanne prepare the steamboat buffet, and she and Robert disappeared out the portrait hole.

The buffet was to be held in another room near to Jeanne's, which Dumbledore had said they could use. When Harry arrived, he found Jeanne, Shan and Robert already eating.

"The table's not that large, and there might not be enough room for everyone," said Jeanne, "so we figured we'd eat first."

The buffet had already been arranged on the table. Several large dishes of noodles had been placed at one side, and there were plates and plates of uncooked dumplings of all types, and meat and prawns, and vegetables. A large tureen of steaming fish porridge sat at one end of the table. The steamboat consisted of several pots of boiling stock, into which the food was to be placed until it was cooked.

Ron was looking at the chopsticks.

"I've forgotten how to use those," he said.

Jeanne handed some bowls of noodles to them, and then pointed her wand at several small, slim, long-handled wire nets, which were lying on the table. The nets jumped up in the air, and flew over to her, making a dipping motion as if bowing in attendance to her.

"Just put whatever food you want cooked in these," she said. She placed three fishballs in one of the nets, and it immediately flew over to one of the pots and immersed the fishballs in the boiling stock until they were cooked. It then rose up in the air and flew back to Jeanne, and tipped the cooked fishballs into her bowl.

Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at the table, dropping the uncooked dumplings into their nets and watching them fly over to the pots of stock. Ron was having so much fun cooking the dumplings that there was soon a small hill of cooked dumplings sitting in the bowl next to him.

"You can't possibly eat all that, Ron," said Jeanne, looking amused. "I suppose you might as well put some of it aside for the others."

Parvati, Lavendar and a crowd of other Gryffindors came in after a while. Harry, Ron and Hermione promptly brought their food over to a corner of the room to eat, so that there would be more room at the table. Jeanne was sitting just nearby, with Shan and Robert. Harry, noticing that Jeanne was looking slightly worried, glanced around, and then whispered to Shan, "Where's Professor Lupin?"

"At a staff meeting," she whispered back. "Chien-Mei says he still isn't feeling well, but he insisted on going. She says he'll be joining us later."

After a while, Seamus, seeing that they had finished eating, came over and asked Ron if he could borrow the Chinese Chess set. Hermione took a book out from inside her robes, and went to another corner to read.

Ron came back with his Chinese Chess set, and proceeded to teach the others how to play the game. Shan was quietly talking to Jeanne, while Robert simply sat next to her, listening. Harry was watching them, pleased that Jeanne and Shan were talking at last. They were speaking in Chinese, and he wondered if Shan had been given Mrs Chen's message yet.

Half an hour later, Seamus came over and handed the Translator, which he had borrowed for the chess game, back to Harry, saying that he was familiar enough with the chess pieces to get along without it. Harry sat looking at the Translator in his hands for a while, then couldn't resist the temptation, and put it on. This would probably be the last chance he'd have of using it, anyway. Shan didn't look as if she was saying anything personal; her manner looked more as if she was telling some amusing story.

As far as Harry could tell, Shan was talking about her childhood and what it had been like, growing up in China. Jeanne was listening with a rather wistful expression on her face, and Harry guessed that she was thinking about her own childhood and what she had missed out on.

Hermione was still seated in one corner, reading. The book she was reading was obviously very touching, for she was indulging in a good cry. Harry saw Jeanne's eyes sometimes straying to the clock, after which she would glance anxiously at a goblet which had been placed on a table nearby. Lupin obviously still hadn't taken his tonic.

As it grew later, the Gryffindors started leaving. Ron came over to join Harry. A shout from outside distracted Shan, who was sitting near the window, and she stopped talking and went over and peered out.

Harry went over to have a look, as well. The moon was out, and Hagrid's large figure could be seen standing below the window, holding an exhausted-looking postal dragon in one hand. The dragon was lying sprawled on its back, its wings drooping, and its eyes bleary and half-open. Hagrid's other hand was holding a large parcel, which looked too big for one small postal dragon to carry.

"Parcel fer Jeanie," called Hagrid, and then shook his shaggy head, looking at the dragon, whose tongue was hanging slightly out of its mouth, "People've no sense, sendin' one small dragon wi' a large parcel li' that. Goin' ter take me half th' night ter revive him."

Harry could see that the prospect of having a dragon in his cabin, small and tame though it was, for half a night, appealed to Hagrid.

Shan opened the window, and got ready to climb down the ash tree outside, which was practically touching the castle walls, in order to get the parcel.

"Shan, what are you doing?" said Jeanne. She was seated at a table, absently running her finger over the goblet that held Lupin's tonic.

"I'll get it," said Shan, already descending the tree, "We're quite near the ground floor, anyway."

"You can just Summon it up," said Jeanne. Robert, however, looked amused.

"She wants to have a look at the dragon," he explained.

Jeanne watched as Shan disappeared out the window, then laughed softly and shook her head. Harry swung the window back so that it was almost shut, to prevent too much of the cold from getting in. He then went back in and sat down next to Robert. At this moment, the door opened, and Professor Lupin came in.

Harry could immediately tell from Lupin's face that something was wrong. He guessed that Jeanne and Lupin probably hadn't completely made up, yet.

Lupin placed his briefcase on a chair near the door, glanced around the room, and then looked at Jeanne.

"Where is Shan?" he asked, quietly.

Jeanne was looking slightly tense, and automatically placed one hand near her pocket, where Harry guessed the onyx tiger was still hidden.

"She went to get something from Hagrid," she said, indicating the partly open window. Even as she spoke, the window swung open again, and Shan hoisted herself in, clutching the parcel.

Lupin waited till Shan had climbed in and closed the window, before speaking.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he said, glancing at Shan, and then at Jeanne. "I was held up by Madam Pomfrey, for a while."

Both Shan and Jeanne went pale. Shan's eyes went wide, and she stood where she was, holding the parcel tightly, as if she couldn't move.

Jeanne's eyes strayed to Shan and then to Harry, and then back to Lupin.

"What - what was it about?" she asked.

Lupin glanced at Shan again, and then Robert, and then looked at Jeanne, and said something in Russian.

Harry was startled. He'd forgotten that Lupin must have picked up some Russian, during his stay in Kamchatka.

Jeanne's eyes widened, looking at Lupin. She said something, also in Russian, and Lupin replied. Jeanne then turned to look at Shan, an angry expression in her eyes.

"Shan, why have you done this?" she said.

Shan was looking nervous. She glanced at Robert, then let her gaze fall to the floor.

Hermione had finished her book, and had come over to sit next to Harry and Ron. Except for the three of them, all the other Gryffindors had already left the room.

"What's happening?" she whispered.

"I think Jeanne really is pregnant," muttered Harry, "and Madam Pomfrey has told Lupin about it. Jeanne's now furious with Shan for telling on her."

Jeanne turned to Robert, a reproachful expression in her eyes. Robert was looking subdued. He glanced at Shan, and then looked at Jeanne. Harry felt sure he was going to say something in Shan's defence.

Robert and Jeanne sat where they were, looking at each other for several long moments. Then, Robert finally spoke.

"You don't understand," he said, very quietly, so that Shan, who was still by the window, wouldn't be able to hear, "I initially thought, too, that she should be left free, to find someone else, when the time came. But you don't know what the crystal showed me. She'll never have a happy life. It's the only thing I can leave them … the only thing I can give her, that will make her live."

Harry didn't understand. He glanced at Ron and Hermione, and saw that they were looking blank as well.

Jeanne was also looking perplexed. Shan now came over, holding the parcel.

"I don't regret doing it," she said, softly and rather defiantly, placing the parcel on the table in front of Jeanne. Harry recognised the Tian-Long seal on it.

Hermione saw the Translator around Harry's neck, and frowned because she knew he had been eavesdropping. Harry, feeling guilty, took it off and put it in his pocket.

Jeanne's eyes widened when she saw the parcel. She had evidently been expecting it. She began unwrapping it, but refused to allow her attention to be totally diverted from Shan.

"You and I are going to have a talk after this, Shan," she said firmly, glancing at Shan, even as she tore off the last of the wrapper and revealed a cardboard box inside.

Lupin had also come over, and placed one hand on Jeanne's shoulder. "What is it?"

Jeanne's face went slightly pink when she felt the hand on her shoulder.

"It's the jade cups," she said. "Master Kung said he'd keep an eye out for them for me, and send them over if he managed to find them."

She opened the box, and Shan gave a small gasp.

"Those belonged to my mother," she said softly.

Ten beautiful little jade cups lay in the box, pale green in colour, delicate and polished. Jeanne smiled when she saw them.

"Yes, she left them to me," she said. She reached out and took hold of one - and immediately vanished!

Harry and the others were startled. Lupin, whose hand had been on Jeanne's shoulder, had disappeared as well.

Shan was also reaching out to touch the cups. Robert suddenly darted forward.

"Shan, don't touch them!" he said sharply, pulling her away. But it was too late; her finger had touched one of the cups, and both she and Robert vanished.

Harry, Ron and Hermione jumped to their feet.

"They're Portkeys!" shouted Harry. "We've got to go after them!"

The three of them didn't stop to think. As one, they each reached out and took hold of a jade cup. Harry felt the familiar jerking feeling behind his navel, and then he and the others were speeding forward, to where they knew not, in a howl of wind and swirling colour.

Harry looked around. They were standing in a clearing. It was night, and the dark sky was studded with stars. The air was bitterly cold, and the landscape looked all too familiar: bleak, wild-looking forest surrounded them, and towering over them was a mountain, smoke issuing from its peak. Further away, more volcanoes could be seen, stretching in a chain into the distance. He was back in Kamchatka.

Jeanne looked very pale, and she and Lupin had taken their wands out. Seeing this, the rest of them took theirs out, as well.

Lupin came swiftly up to them, Jeanne following.

"Deorg sent those jade cups," he said quietly, his eyes wary. "He must be around here, somewhere. It's best if all of us go back at once, especially you." He looked at Jeanne.

She was about to reply, but all at once a voice rent the air, shattering the stillness.

"Expelliarmus!"

Their wands all jumped into the air, curving in an arc high in the sky, and landed at the feet of a tall, hooded figure, which had just stepped out from behind a tree some twenty feet away, at the edge of the clearing. The figure pointed its wand at the jade cups, and they also shot away from the ground toward him, landing near the pile of wands.

Harry felt that familiar, surging force in his mind. Jeanne cried out in fear, even as Lupin conjured up a ball of white fire and hurled it at Deorg.

"Fight him, Jeanne," he said urgently, "As we practiced!"

He quickly turned to Robert and said, "Shield the others, and keep your distance. Try to get near the Portkeys if you can."

Jeanne was clutching her head, as if in pain. Deorg pointed his wand at Lupin and muttered something. A jet of brilliant red light shot out from the wand, but Lupin dodged it, and threw another ball of fire at him.

Deorg hurled a stream of red fire at Harry and the others, who had retreated some distance away, but Robert had erected a bright Shield around them. The fire smashed into the Shield, and it dissolved. Robert swiftly raised a second Shield.

"He's quite powerful," he said tensely, as another stream of fire smashed into the Shield, which trembled at the impact.

Jeanne was twisting around, as if in agony. Lupin was still hurling fire at Deorg, trying to throw him off-balance; but Deorg merely deflected it with a wave of his wand. Jeanne suddenly took a step forward, and stumbled. Her resistance was beginning to crumble. She turned to look at Lupin, an expression of terror on her face. Then, she slowly began to transform.

"No!" said Lupin urgently. "Fight him off, Jeanne! Raise a Shield!"

Deorg laughed coldly, and began pelting both Lupin and the group huddled under Robert's Shield with jets of bright, red light.

Lupin quickly dodged, or hurled handfuls of flame to deflect them; but he looked as if he was tiring quickly.

"How's Lupin doing that?" asked Ron, glancing at the pile of wands near Deorg's feet.

"It's the volcanoes," said Harry. "They contain some kind of magic. Lupin learned how to use it when he was doing research here, ages ago."

"He still hasn't taken the tonic," said Hermione, watching anxiously. "He may not be able to hold Deorg off for long. Robert, can't you do something?"

But Robert already had his hands full trying to maintain the Shield, which shook with the impact of each jet of light.

"I can't do anything significant inside the Shield," he said. Seeing that Deorg was looking at Lupin, he pushed his hand out of the Shield for a moment, and pointed it at Deorg. Deorg's wand suddenly shot out of his hand, and toward Lupin.

Deorg gave a roar of rage, and drawing on the volcanoes' power, quickly hurled a ball of flame at the wand, destroying it in mid-air.

Jeanne had transformed into the huge beast that Harry remembered all too well, from three years ago. It raised its head, and snarled viciously at Lupin.

Deorg seemed incensed. He reached out toward the pile of wands lying nearby. Robert, seeing that he was distracted, poked his hand out of the Shield again and pointed at the wands. They flew into the air, toward him. But he still had to maintain the Shield, and the spell was not strong enough; the wands fell to the ground before they could reach Harry and the others.

Lupin, to prevent Deorg from Summoning the wands back, began hurling balls of fire at him. Deorg was now also angrily pelting all of them with balls of fire. Harry felt the surge in his mind again, and the beast screamed in fury. Deorg pointed a finger at Lupin, who was still deflecting the balls of fire.

"Kill him!" he shouted.

"No," whispered Shan, watching in agony.

The beast snarled, but as it turned to look at Lupin, it seemed to falter, and retreated a few paces. Harry saw Lupin looking at it, unafraid. He was quietly speaking to it.

Deorg shouted in anger, and the surging force came once more. The beast shrieked again, and went toward Lupin, a mad light in its eyes.

"Robert, do something!" moaned Shan, tugging at Robert's sleeve.

Deorg, however, was blasting them with fireballs again, and it was all Robert could do, to maintain the Shield. Lupin spoke to the beast again, and again it stopped in its tracks.

Deorg snarled in anger, and hurled a fireball at Lupin with terrifying fury. Lupin tried dodging it, but not quite, and it hit him in the shoulder. He fell to the ground, stunned.

This had an unexpected effect on the beast. It screamed in anger, then began shrinking. It changed shape, and Jeanne was there again. Her eyes blazing, she ran over to Lupin, and raised a bright Shield around the both of them. She then swiftly took the onyx tiger out of her pocket, and raised it high. A jet of bright, white light shot out of it, and smashed into Deorg.

Deorg cried out in pain, and staggered backward. Raising a hand, he threw a fireball at Jeanne.

The fire hit her Shield, and she faltered for a second, trying to maintain it. The jet of light from the Devil's Curse dimmed. Then, as she focussed her will again, it flared back into life, driving itself into Deorg.

Harry and the others were watching, holding their breath. Deorg was screaming in pain, and it seemed at first that Jeanne was winning. But then, she began to tire. To Harry's dismay, her Shield began to dim, and her shoulders started to sag.

Deorg noticed it too. Even while writhing in pain, he lifted a hand and hurled one last fireball at Jeanne. It smashed into her Shield, dissolving it. She stumbled back, and dropped the onyx tiger. It fell to the ground, a foot or so in front of her.

Jeanne made a move to retrieve the tiger, but Deorg was hurling more balls of fire at her and Lupin. With an effort, she raised a Shield, enclosing both of them.

Deorg gave a cry of triumph. And then, he made a big mistake. Still hurling balls of fire with one hand, alternately at Jeanne, and then at Harry and the others, he pointed the other at the onyx tiger, and concentrating, focussed a beam of light on it, to destroy it.

Shan's eyes gleamed.

"He's trying to destroy the Devil's Curse!" she whispered, excitedly. "If he does, he'll be weakened, and we can finish him off!"

Jeanne couldn't hold her Shield any more. It dissolved, and a ball of fire hit her, so that she fell to the ground, stunned. Deorg stopped pelting them with fireballs. He pointed both hands at the onyx tiger, and focussed all his power on it. It was glowing, brighter and brighter. Finally, it flared brilliantly for a few moments, then exploded in a burst of light.

Deorg stumbled sharply backward, then sank to his knees, looking weary. Shan gave a small gasp, then stepped out of Robert's Shield.

"We can get him, now!" she cried. Moving toward Deorg, she began to transform.

Robert dissolved his Shield, and grabbed at her robes.

"Shan, don't!" he said sharply. "Even when he's like that, you're still no match for him."

But she had already transformed. A large, green dragon had taken her place. With an ear-splitting scream, it rose into the air, and launched itself at Deorg.

Ron and Hermione were watching, startled. Robert drew a quick breath, watching her, then swiftly turned to Harry.

"Harry," he said quietly, "give me the Translator."

Harry wondered if he had heard rightly. "What?"

"The Translator," Robert repeated. "Give it to me."

Ron and Hermione were still watching the dragon, unable to believe that it was Shan.

Harry hesitated. He put his hand in his pocket; he could feel the hard form of the Translator there. But why did Robert want it?

The dragon had reached Deorg. With a loud roar, it lifted its head and let forth a torrent of flame from its jaws.

Harry looked at Robert. "What do you want it for?"

"There's no time to explain!" said Robert. He then did something rather strange; taking his glasses off, he threw them onto the ground, so that they shattered. He looked at Harry, a desperate expression on his face. "Just give it to me!"

Deorg had raised a partial Shield, enough to deflect the flames. He conjured a ball of white fire, and hurled it at the dragon. The dragon dodged, but the fireball hit one of its wings, and it screamed in pain.

Harry hesitated again. He felt slightly unnerved - he had never seen Robert, usually so calm, look like this before. Something told him that if he gave Robert the Translator, he was going to regret it for the rest of his life.

"Tell me what you want it for, first," he said.

Robert looked at him for a moment. Harry didn't see him move, but the next thing he knew, he felt something smash into his head, like a ton of bricks, and he was blinded by pain. He fell to the ground, holding his head in his hands. As if from very far away, he thought he could hear Ron and Hermione's voices, shouting, and the sounds of their fists knocking at something hard.

"Robert! What are you doing?"

"Robert, let us in!"

Harry heard the dragon scream in pain again. He could feel someone next to him, feeling inside his pockets.

"I'm sorry, Harry," he heard Robert's voice saying, "but there's no other choice."

The dragon screamed again. All at once, he sensed that Robert was gone. Instead, Ron and Hermione were now next to him.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Hermione sounded anxious.

Harry slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on his back. Ron and Hermione were worriedly bending over him.

Harry looked up at them, feeling dazed. "What happened?"

"Crazy fellow went starkers!" said Ron, helping him to sit up. "We saw you suddenly sprawling on the floor, and then he raised some kind of invisible barrier around the two of you, we couldn't get in!"

Hermione had turned to look at Deorg. She pulled at Ron's sleeve.

"Look," she whispered, her face pale.

Harry quickly turned to look. Shan had transformed back. She was lying on the ground, a few feet from Deorg, her glasses lying some distance from her, broken. Deorg was standing with hand raised, ready to finish her off with one last, fatal blow.

But Robert was already there. He raised a bright, glowing Shield around himself, and lifted the Translator in his hand. A beam of intense, bright green light swept out of it, and smashed into Deorg.

Deorg screamed. Robert shouted something at Shan, who somehow managed to get on her knees, and crawled away on all fours, her robes torn and muddied.

Deorg was still screaming. He managed to throw a ball of fire at Robert, but it bounced off the Shield.

The others were watching, speechless.

"How…how is he doing that?" said Ron, looking startled.

Harry was staring in disbelief, as the truth finally sank in.

"It's the Translator," he said numbly. "I had it with me all the time, and I didn't know. The jade dragon - it's a Devil's Curse!"

Robert was still concentrating the beam of green light onto Deorg. Harry, glancing to his left, saw that Jeanne and Lupin had recovered; Lupin was helping Jeanne to her feet.

Deorg was still screaming and writhing. Unable to hurt Robert, he managed to fling a ball of fire at Shan instead, who was lying nearby. His aim was a bit off, and the fire was not very strong, but it hit her leg, and she screamed in pain.

Robert faltered, and turned to look at Shan. He lowered the jade dragon for a moment, then suddenly raised it in his hand again. A brilliant beam of green light shot out, and smashed irresistibly into Deorg. Deorg's robes ignited, and he was enveloped in green flame. He lay there, screaming and writhing in agony.

"He's taking a long time to go," muttered Ron, watching. "Remember how the Bronzeback died right away, during the tournament?"

Robert wasn't bothering about his Shield any more. He dissolved it, and then put everything he had into the jade dragon. It flared brilliantly in his hand, too bright to look at, and green light poured out of it, enveloping Deorg. The green flames on his clothing suddenly leapt up, crackling with a vicious intensity. Deorg gave one last wailing cry, and then fell down and lay still, in a smouldering heap of green flame.

Robert's hand, still raised, seemed to be smoking slightly. He lowered it, and stood looking at what was left of Deorg, for a moment. Then, he slowly sank to his knees, and fell to the ground.

Shan, seeing this, gave a cry of anguish, and limped over to him. Harry and the others were also hurrying forward, together with Lupin and Jeanne.

Shan had turned Robert over, so that he was lying on his back, and was bending over him.

Lupin knelt down and felt Robert's pulse, then looked at Shan, and then at Jeanne.

Shan's face was white, and she was trembling slightly.

"What is it?" she said, looking at Lupin, "Is he all right?"

Lupin looked at her, and opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Jeanne was sitting as if she had turned to stone.

Shan gave them one wild look, then bent over Robert and started shaking him.

"Wake up, Robert," she whispered. "Wake up. It's all over."

Jeanne looked at her, and then put a hand on Shan's shoulder.

"Shan, don't," she said, "Stop it."

Shan didn't seem to notice her. She kept shaking Robert.

"Robert, wake up!" she said urgently. "Wake up! Wake up, Robert!"

Lupin leaned forward, and gently pried Shan's hands away from Robert's shoulders.

"Shan," he said quietly, "he's gone. You can't bring him back. He's gone, Shan."

Shan stared at him for several seconds; Harry could hardly bear seeing the stricken look in her eyes. She turned back to look at Robert. Taking his hands into hers, she held them up to her face, and gave out a cry of indescribable pain and loss.

Jeanne stepped over Robert's body and put her arms around Shan, and held the sobbing girl close to her. Shan was crying almost hysterically.

Lupin sat where he was, watching, his face sober. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other, feeling at a loss. They sat down next to Lupin, averting their eyes from Jeanne and Shan, and looked out at the bleak landscape.

Shan was weeping uncontrollably. Jeanne was holding her, her eyes closed, tears trickling down her face. After a while, Shan calmed down. She drew herself away from Jeanne, and sat there, looking miserably at Robert.

Jeanne wiped the tears away from her own face, and looked worriedly at Shan, who was still holding Robert's hands. The jade dragon was gone, having exploded into vapour, unable to withstand all the power that had been poured into it. Robert's right hand was still smoking slightly, and there was a blackened scar on it, where the dragon had burned into it. Shan stroked it gently, and then slowly lowered it. There was a bitter expression on her face. She suddenly made a gesture at the pile of wands, lying some distance away, and her wand came flying through the air toward her. She caught it deftly, and looked at it for several seconds. Then, she slowly turned it around, and pointed it at her own chest.

Harry felt his heart stop. He heard Hermione give a small whimper of terror behind him. Jeanne and Lupin sat where they were, rather tense, watching Shan; but they remained silent, and made no move to stop her, as Harry thought they might.

Shan's eyes were lowered, and she was sitting like a statue, pointing the wand at her chest. After a while Jeanne said softly, "Now I understand. You can't do it now, Shan. Put the wand down."

Shan was looking at Robert again, and the hand that was holding the wand was shaking slightly. Then she slowly raised her eyes, and looked at Jeanne and Lupin. She gave a small, shuddering sigh, and then lowered the wand.

"I thought, for once, I was stronger than him," she said quietly, looking at Robert. "I thought I could make him do what I wanted. I thought it would make him stay. But in the end, he was cleverer than me, after all. He knew, didn't he, that I would kill myself. Why should I live? There's no one left any more … Father, Mother, and now Robert - they've all left me. There's nobody left, any more."

Harry didn't understand. Ron, too, was looking blank. Hermione, however, was looking at Shan with a hint of wonder in her eyes.

Shan was still looking at Robert. Jeanne was silent for a moment, then drew a quick breath, and said in a low voice, "Yes, there is."

Shan slowly turned to look at her. Jeanne was gazing at her with a rather odd expression on her face.

"There is someone left, Shan," she said. "You still have someone; you have a sister."

Shan didn't seem to register what she was saying. She was still holding Robert's hand in hers, and she just sat there, looking at Jeanne.

Jeanne flicked a glance at Lupin. Lupin nodded quietly at her, and she turned to look at Shan again.

"You have a sister, Shan," she repeated, a strange light in her face. "You're not alone; you have a sister. You have me. I am your sister."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, and saw from their stunned faces that they were thinking the same thing as he: that they hadn't heard rightly. Shan was looking at Jeanne in disbelief, her face pale.

Jeanne glanced at Harry and the others, looking rather tired, then turned back to Shan.

"I am your sister, Shan," she said again, "Your father was my father, and Mrs Chen was my mother. You had an elder sister, but you never knew, because I left all of you long before you were born."

She glanced at Lupin, who had seated himself next to her, and was quietly listening.

"That day in the river, when she saw me transform, Mother said she knew at once who I was," said Jeanne. "She told me who she was, the second time I went to visit her. She told me that I had a sister, ten years younger than me, whom I'd already met.

"I spent several hours with her in the hut, that evening. She told me everything that had happened since that day Charles Graham came, and took me away to live with him."

Jeanne was silent for a moment, as if thinking.

"When Charles Graham came and told our parents that Deorg was looking for a shape-shifter, Mother and Father didn't want to let me go. Father said that the family could go instead to Long-Shan, where his old friend Kung Xian-Wen was teaching at Tian-Long. He said Tian-Long was well-protected, because Lady Wen-Li was a powerful witch, and that I would be safe from Deorg there.

"But Lady Wen-Li didn't agree. When Father contacted her, she and Master Kung Apparated over to discuss the matter. Master Kung felt Tian-Long was safe enough; but Lady Wen-Li said Deorg was becoming very powerful, and that she could not guarantee our safety there. She and Charles Graham persuaded Father and Mother to let Charles adopt me, and he brought me to England, and hid me in a remote village there.

"When I was gone, Deorg came to our village, looking for me. He was furious to find me gone, and he would have slaughtered Father and Mother but Master Kung came, and they managed to escape. Lady Wen-Li asked them to stay at Tian-Long, and Father became the Caretaker of the Grounds there.

"As time went by, our parents gradually came to regret adopting me out. They felt that Tian-Long was safe after all, and that they should have brought me there instead. Father tried to contact Charles Graham, but was unsuccessful. Mother soon became distraught with grief. She couldn't forgot how terrible Deorg was, and she felt sure he would eventually find Charles and kill his entire family. Rumours of his awful deeds were spreading through the land, and she became convinced that I was dead.

"Mother swore she would never have any more children. She said she could not bear the pain of having another child, only to risk losing it again. And she hated all animals, because they reminded her of me. She couldn't bear the sight of them.

"But fate intervened, and several years later, she conceived again."

Shan was looking at Jeanne, very pale. Jeanne glanced at Harry and the others, who were all listening intently.

"When Shan was born, Mother vowed she would not have another shape-shifter as a child. She felt she had lost the ability to love. She was afraid to love, because she was afraid of the pain of losing a loved one again. She said many things to Father that she didn't mean, because she was insecure. She told him, if this child also turned out to be a shape-shifter, she would drown it.

"Seven years went by. Deorg was still searching for a shape-shifter, but he couldn't find me. Shan by then had discovered she could transform; she did it on the sly, so that Mother wouldn't know. But some of the villagers must have seen her, because word spread that the Chens' second child was a shape-shifter as well.

"One day a messenger came from Charles Graham. He said that Deorg had heard news that the Chens had another child who was a shape-shifter, and that he was coming to look for her.

"Father had faith in his old friend Kung Xian-Wen, and he said Tian-Long was safe, that Deorg could not penetrate it. But the message thoroughly frightened Mother. She wanted to get Shan out of the country. She had a distant cousin living in Singapore, and Mother felt that a place so far away would surely be safe from Deorg. She and Father spent days arguing about it. She said she tried telling Shan how wonderful it was in Singapore, that she would have a better life there, but Shan didn't want to leave."

Jeanne paused, and looked rather distressed.

"Finally, Mother waited till Father was away, and then smuggled Shan out of the country to Singapore. While she was gone, Deorg came to Tian-Long. He was furious to find that he had been outwitted again. He possessed Father, and destroyed his mind."

Shan gave a small sob, and turned to look at Robert, as if grasping at him for comfort.

Jeanne leaned forward and put an arm around her, and held her for a while until she became calmer.

"When Mother came home, she found that Father couldn't recognise her any more," Jeanne continued quietly. "He began to wander into the mountains at night, calling for his daughter. But - he wasn't calling for his younger daughter."

Shan looked sharply at her. Jeanne did not return the glance; she was staring at the ground, her face sad.

"Mother said Deorg had erased all memory of her and Shan from Father's mind," she said. "Instead, he placed images of me in his head, images of me suffering terribly at the hands of Deorg, of being tortured and eventually killed. Father was obsessed with the idea of rescuing me. He wandered the hills calling for Shan, but it was not Li-Shan he was calling for."

She turned to look at Shan.

"My name is Shan too," she said. "When you were born, you were given a similar name as your elder sister. You were Chen Li-Shan; I was Chen Wen-Shan."

Harry looked at the two of them. So all that time, Shan had thought the voice in the mountains had been calling for her, but it had been Jeanne he was calling for.

Jeanne said softly, "You thought all these years Father went mad because of you, Shan; but it wasn't so. It was Deorg. Deorg did this to all of us. He ruined our family."

Her voice was bitter. She shifted her position slightly, then continued.

"Two months ago, on the morning after the day I had tea with Septimus, Ping-Ping came looking for me. She said that she had come to Britain especially to find me. She brought me to a secluded spot, and told me many things I wished I had known before.

"She said that when Master Liu Pei fled from Tian-Long, he went to Siberia to find Deorg, who was an old acquaintance of his. He was aware that Deorg knew of a potion that could make one immune to the Devil's Curse. In return for this knowledge, he said he would teach Deorg how to prepare a potion that would restore him to his original strength.

"Liu Pei brought Deorg back to Tian-Long, and smuggled him in using the Abdovius Charm. Deorg was still weak from his encounter with Dumbledore, and he hid himself in the surrounding forests. He had come because the potion he wanted required ingredients which Liu Pei said were available in his office at Tian-Long. The potion also required one more ingredient : blood from a dragon, still living.

"Ping-Ping knew all this because she had been roaming the forest where Deorg was hiding out, and had eavesdropped on all their conversations when Liu Pei went to visit him. After that, she said that she and Pong took turns to trail Deorg.

"Deorg was weak, so he couldn't possess any of the healthy dragons. He had to find one that was old and frail. He discovered an old male Bronzeback, which was suitable for his purposes. The blood was to be added to the potion not all at once, but a little bit, every day, and it had to be fresh. So he possessed the Bronzeback every day, destroying its mind a little more every time, and he drew blood out of it and then closed up the wound. The Bronzeback soon began to go mad; it became convinced that any living thing around it was out to attack it. But Deorg managed to subdue it with his mental powers. He might have succeeded in completing the potion, if Yang-Kang had not discovered the Bronzeback, and killed it."

Harry saw Shan glance at him. That was our old Bronzeback, he thought, the one in the cave.

"The blood added to the potion has to come from the same dragon. Now that the Bronzeback was dead, Deorg was unable to complete it. He could still take the potion, but it would only partially restore his strength."

Jeanne's face hardened, and she hesitated, before continuing.

"At the same time, he knew that Mother was living alone in the hut. He bore a grudge against our family, and he decided to take what revenge he could. He was too weak to do anything to me or Shan, but Mother was old and frail, so every day, he drew a bit of her life force out of her, draining the life out of her."

Harry was startled.

"That means Deorg had you and Shan there - right underneath his nose, and he couldn't possess either of you."

Jeanne nodded.

"He didn't want Shan anyway, because she was only a partial shape-shifter, and could not transform into a beast. A dragon would have been difficult for him to control."

Harry was silent. All that time Jeanne had been staying at the hut, Deorg could have just been a short distance away, and none of them had known.

"Deorg must have possessed Mother whenever I left the hut for my lessons with Master Kung," said Jeanne. "He could easily erase her memory after that, and she'd never know that he'd been there. He must have learned from her that she'd told me she wanted me to have the jade cups. He probably removed them from the cupboard one day, when I wasn't around.

"When Mother died, Deorg found it pointless to stay around Tian-Long, since his ally Liu Pei was gone. He consumed the partially completed potion, and left Long-Shan. Ping-Ping said she didn't know where he had gone. He must have come back to Kamchatka, where his old fortress had been, and waited there until he regained his strength."

Jeanne looked around, a bleak expression on her face. For the first time, Harry noticed the ruins of what must have been Deorg's fortress, nearby. Deorg must have enchanted the place, for although it was winter, it was not as cold as it should have been, given the harsh winter conditions that usually prevailed in Kamchatka.

Shan was looking at Jeanne.

"Why didn't you tell me all this before?" she said slowly.

"I wanted to," said Jeanne, "but you weren't ready to hear it yet. You know that, Shan."

She reached out, and took Shan's hands in hers.

"I waited a long time to tell you, and I'm telling you now," she said gently, looking into Shan's face. "On the day Mother died, she was clear-minded. She wanted to see you, Shan. She said she was sorry for the way she had treated you, that if she could live her life over again, she would do everything differently. Just before she died, she said to tell you not to grieve. She said that she loved you, and that she was proud of you. She died at peace, without any bitterness, because life had been good to her in the end - she now knew that both her daughters were alive and well."

Shan looked at Jeanne for one long moment. Then, she slowly stood up. Jeanne got to her feet as well. Shan's face was pale; she opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind. Jeanne held out her arms. Shan hesitated, then came forward; Jeanne took her into her arms, and held her close.

As Harry watched the two of them together, it suddenly hit him : Shan had never reminded him of Cho Chang. That odd, familiar feeling he'd initially had, whenever he saw her … he now realised that it had been Jeanne, not Cho, whom she had reminded him of, all along. He had been fooled by the short hair and the glasses. There it was, the same features, the same manner … Looking at them now, he wondered how he could have missed the similarity.

Lupin had gone over to Jeanne and put his arm around her. Hermione got up, and wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

"Come on," she said softly to Ron and Harry, moving past them, "We ought to leave them alone, for a while."

She turned and made her way toward the ruined fortress, Ron following. Harry looked again at the three of them, standing there, and then something else caught his eye.

The pale, smoky figures of a man and woman were standing nearby, watching them. Harry thought he recognised the woman. Even as he looked at them, a movement nearby made him turn, and he saw a similar smoky figure rising from Robert's body.

The man and woman came over to Robert. Shan's parents, thought Harry. They had come for Robert, because he had avenged them. He looked at Lupin and Jeanne. Both were facing the ghostly figures, but neither seemed to be able to see them.

Robert's shadow stood, looking at Shan for one long moment, then turned and went toward the man and woman. They took his hands, and then turned and began walking away, their figures fading even as they did so. Paler and paler they became, till at last they faded away altogether.

Harry turned to follow Ron and Hermione, intending to tell them what he'd just seen. But even as he started walking, the images began fading from his mind. Like wisps of smoke, they seemed to fly up and out of his memory, so that by the time he caught up with the others, they had vanished from his mind forever, and he was never again able to recall that he had seen them.

Lupin had Disapparated to Singapore to break the news to Robert's parents. Jeanne and Shan were visible in the distance, sitting quietly together around a fire in the clearing, with Robert's body next to them. Shan had laid Robert's head in her lap.

Harry was staring numbly at the ruins in front of him. The cave where Jeanne had been imprisoned must have been buried underneath the rubble, and the mirror probably lay there as well, destroyed. There was no more Stardust to bring Robert back.

Why didn't I guess? He kept asking himself. I had the jade dragon with me all the time, and I didn't know. No wonder Robert had taken such a long time to examine the Translator. He must have realised what it was, right away.

"Harry, don't blame yourself," said Ron, sounding subdued, "There's nothing you could have done, anyway. If Robert hadn't taken the Translator, Deorg would have killed Shan."

Harry didn't feel any better.

"I should have known," he said, staring at the fire in front of him. "Listened to Yang-Kang more in class … how to identify a Devil's Curse … tried to learn how to work one, or something …"

Hermione was sitting next to him, her face rather pale, but she looked more composed than Harry would have thought, considering her friendship with Robert.

"Harry," she said softly, "don't feel bad. I think Robert wanted it to happen this way. There's something else Sang Nila told Jeanne, which I didn't tell you …"

They turned to look at her.

Hermione glanced at Shan and Jeanne in the distance, then turned back to Harry.

"Robert had a genetic defect which magic couldn't cure, Harry," she said. "He knew it all along, and Shan knew it too. He wouldn't have lived beyond the age of twenty-five."

They were looking at her in surprise.

"That's why Shan didn't want him to go to Shao-Lin," said Hermione, staring down at her hands in her lap. "She felt they already had so little time to be together, as it was."

"But then…why did he decide to go?" said Ron, looking bewildered.

Hermione took a book out from inside her robes, and placed it in her lap.

"I think he suspected something like this was going to happen," she said, staring at the book. "He wanted to get Shan used to the idea that she would have to get along without him sooner, so that it wouldn't be too much of a shock to her when it happened."

Harry looked at the book. It was The Snow Goose.

"Is that the book you've been reading all evening?" he asked.

Hermione nodded.

Harry picked the book up. It looked dog-eared and battered, as if it had been read so many times that its owner knew it by heart, and had kept it away in its transparent wrapping, for safekeeping.

Harry opened the book; Chinese characters had been scribbled on the inside of the front cover. Robert had written a classical poem in Chinese there, together with an English translation below. It was by Su Tung-Po, one of the Tang Dynasty poets :

Harry looked at it, then passed the book to Ron, who turned it around in his hands, a thoughtful look on his face. Harry glanced down at his left hand. The images of his parents were becoming more indistinct. The starlight was slowly diffusing out; even as he watched, the faces of his father and mother gradually faded away, and were gone.

They heard a slight noise behind them, and turning around, saw Jeanne standing there.

"Remus has come back with Robert's parents," she said soberly. "They've come to bring him back to Singapore." She looked at Harry. "Shan will be going with them. I think she would like to speak to you, Harry."

Shan was sitting alone in the clearing, staring into the fire. She looked up when Harry came over, and sat down next to her.

He looked rather worriedly at her. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, then glanced at the figures of Jeanne and Lupin in the distance, together with two others, whom Harry guessed were Robert's parents.

"Robert's parents have asked me to go live with them, and be their daughter," she said, "And I've agreed."

"That's good, Shan," said Harry, for want of something better to say.

"And my sister has said that she and Professor Lupin will come down to Singapore and visit me, sometimes."

She turned to look at him, a serious expression on her face.

"Harry, you were a comfort to me many times, these past few months," she said, "Especially when my mother died. You've been a good friend; I want to thank you for that."

Harry thought of Robert. The image of him, lifting the jade dragon high in his hand, the green light shooting out of it, came back to him. He wished, in his heart, that Ping-Ping had never given him the Translator.

"I could have done more," he said, "The Translator - "

But Jeanne had now come up from behind again.

"Shan, it's time to go," she said softly, interrupting them, "Robert's father has brought him back to Singapore already. His mother is waiting for you."

Shan nodded, to show she was coming. Jeanne looked affectionately at her, then turned and made her way back to where the others were.

Shan stood up, as did Harry.

"I want you to have something, Harry," she said, turning to him. She took her jade dragon pendant from around her neck, and holding it in her hands, transfigured it, and then held it out to him.

Harry bent his head to look at it. Instead of a dragon, the jade was now oval in shape. Carved on it were the delicate figures of several plants : a branch of plum blossoms, bamboo, and a pine tree.

"These are the Three Friends of Winter," said Shan. "They represent enduring friendship, because they live and bloom in winter, as true friendship still flourishes in adversity. It's often given by the Chinese, as a token of friendship."

Harry looked at the figurine in his hands.

"Shan, I can't take this," he said. "This was your father's gift to you!"

She shook her head, and her face was sad.

"I can't ever look at a jade dragon again without thinking about what happened tonight, Harry," she said. "My father is in my heart, and he will always be there. I don't need the pendant to remind me of him."

Something about her seemed different. There was a determined look in her eyes. She held her head up, confidently, and the old childishness, the sometimes hopeless expression she had on her face, was gone. Harry, looking at her, was reminded of the starlight image Robert had created in the Astronomy Tower.

"Everything is clear to me now," she said. "Even though I don't know what lies in front of me. During the New Year, Robert and I spent a lot of time, talking. It was incredible; I'd never heard him talk so much before. He kept saying he was worried about me, and he made me promise I would take care of myself, and believe in myself more, when he was gone. After what he's done for me, I won't let him down."

Jeanne was calling to them again, from a distance. Shan turned and looked at her, then began making her way over. Harry followed, still looking at the figurine in his hands.

As they were approaching the group, he suddenly turned to her.

"Shan," he said, "Before you go - I was wondering about Ping and Pong; where did they come from? Have they always lived in the bamboo grove?"

She looked at him, surprised, then shook her head.

"I remember clearly the day they came," she said. "They were gifts to my father, brought by a visitor from abroad. I remember it well, because that was just before my mother decided to bring me to Singapore."

Harry was rather startled. "Who was the visitor?"

She looked thoughtfully at him, then shrugged.

"I don't know, Harry. I was only seven at the time. I only remember what he looked like : he wasn't Chinese; he had snow-white hair, and a hawk-like face, and very penetrating blue eyes."

Harry looked at her, astonished. He was about to say something, but they had now reached the others.

Shan went to say goodbye to Ron and Hermione, shaking Ron's hand and giving Hermione a hug. Then she went over to Lupin, who bent down and kissed her. She then turned to Jeanne, who took her in her arms and held her there, for a long time.

Finally, Jeanne let her go. She said something softly to Shan, who nodded, and then came back to Harry.

"Good-bye, Harry," she said, looking soberly at him.

Harry looked at her, and suddenly words just didn't seem enough to say goodbye. The events of the past few months flashed past him : the first time he'd met her and Robert, the time he'd released Yang-Kang from under the bell with her help, the flight they'd shared on the Silverwing…

There didn't seem to be any words adequate for a time like this, so instead he just leaned forward, and quietly kissed her on the cheek.

She smiled rather sadly at him, then turned and went over to the pleasant-faced woman who must be Robert's mother, who had been standing by, watching, all the while.

Ron and Hermione had come over to Harry, and were now standing next to him. Robert's mother embraced Shan, and the two of them then turned around and faced the rest of them.

Shan called something out in Chinese to Jeanne, who smiled softly and nodded. She then turned to look at Harry.

Harry wasn't sure why he said it.

"You'll write, won't you?"

Shan looked surprised, then gave a small nod, and smiled at him. That was how he later remembered her, smiling, as the woman placed an arm around her and nodded at all of them, before Disapparating the both of them away.

They stood around for a few moments, still looking at the spot where the two had been standing. Then, Lupin turned to the rest of them.

"We should be getting back, as well," he said quietly, looking at each of them in turn, before making his way over to where the jade cups were lying, Jeanne at his side.

Harry and the others followed. As they gathered around the Portkeys, Ron on one side of him and Hermione on the other, he saw Jeanne looking around at the landscape for one last time, her face sad.

He turned around himself, for one last look. This was where everything began, he thought, and it was ending here, as well. He never wanted to come back. The ruins of Deorg's fortress were still visible in the distance, the cave and the mirror lying beneath it, lost forever. All around him, stretching to the horizon, the massive volcanoes lifted themselves high into the night sky, smoke issuing from their peaks. The bleak land lay frozen in the grip of winter, silent and asleep, waiting for the brief spring in the months ahead to awaken them. But that was in the future. At present, all seemed still and quiet; only the sound of the wind could be heard, high up among the cliffs, like the distant echo of a man's voice calling a girl's name, far away.