The hubbub died down. Harry raised his hands. “So we’re going to conduct an experiment. Hagrid, take the Fire back in the room, and wait for me to call.”

  This accomplished, Harry said, “Specs back on. Luna, hold back on participating. Does anybody see anything?”

  People were looking around the hall. Morag raised her hand. “There’s, like, a quiver in the air, over...”

  “Don’t point!” Harry said sharply. “Does anyone else see something like she describes?” About a fourth of the people raised their hands.

  “Okay,” Harry said. “All together... Point!”

  The hands moved as one, pointing up into one corner of the ceiling. Morag spoke again, “It’s moving!”

  “Follow it!” snapped Harry. The hands pointed out a looping path around the ceiling of the great Hall. Hermione had produced a parchment and quill, frantically taking notes on which people were participating.

  “That’s enough,” Harry said. “Thank you, Peeves. You can show yourself now.”

  With a Pop and a cackle, Peeves appeared. Turning slowly around his center of gravity, head up, then down, Peeves seemed in excellent spirits.

  “Wee Potty Potter is welcome. School without students is BOR-ing!”

  “Well, we do appreciate your cooperation. Can I ask the house elves to bring you a treat?”

  The poltergeist seemed wary for some reason. “Well... Peeves would like some cream puffs, if that is all right with Miss Winky.”

  Harry was baffled. “Why, I..., well, we can ask...”

  Just then, a large tray piled with cream puffs came scurrying across the floor, courtesy of the house elves who were carrying it above their heads. Peeves cackled, and was about to swoop down, when a voice squeaked, “Peeves!”

  Peeves stopped in the air, upside down. “Yes, Miss Winky?”

  The small elf was standing just outside the Kitchen doors, looking severe.

  “Not in Winky’s nice, clean Hall.”

  “No, Miss Winky,” Peeves said obsequiously.

  “Peeves makes mess, Peeves cleans mess.”

  “Yes, Miss Winky.”

  “And if Winky catches Peeves throwing...”

  Peeves turned bolt upright, an expression of horror on his face. “Throw Miss Winky’s cream puffs? Never! Never-Never!”

  Winky eyed him narrowly, said, “Hmmph,” and went back through the doors. They closed behind her and the elves that had delivered the tray.

  Peeves swooped down and gathered up the tray with his magic. He noticed almost everyone starting at him with open mouths. He almost looked embarrassed.

  “Miss Winky’s magic is strong,” he mumbled. “She sealed Peeves in a bubble on the ceiling, once. Peeves was in there three days. Until he learned that all he had to do was shut his mouth.”

  His familiar evil grin reappeared. “Miss Winky is a bad-ass!” He sped out of the hall, cackling again. The tray followed him precisely, not losing a single cream puff, even when doing barrel rolls all the way out of sight. Laughter rose from the crowd again.

  Harry heard Ron say, “Winky’s magic must be strong. That’s how he used to speak to Dumbledore. And only Dumbledore.”

  “Moving along,” Harry said loudly. “Does anyone notice anything else? Don’t be shy, there are no wrong answers. Shadows, movement, colour, feelings...?”

  Riya Patel waved from the left-most table. “I didn’t notice it at first, but when I look from person to person, like I just was, following the conversation, there’s a...” She paused, frowning. “You know, when you’re using a telescope, like we did in Astronomy class? The focus is never perfect on the first try. You have to zoom in or out to get it right. That’s what it feels like when I look from one person to another. Sometimes they look too close, and my vision zooms them out and steadies, sometimes too far and zooms them in.”

  ‘Huh.” Harry looked back at Luna, who shrugged. “No idea what that’s about.”

  Riya pushed the Specs up on her forehead, and rubbed her temples. “Are we going to be done soon? I’m getting a little nauseous.”

  “Just one more test,” Harry said soothingly. “Leave the Specs up, and take a quick peek if anyone else reacts to this.” He raised his voice, “Hagrid, come back out, please.”

  As Hagrid came from behind he arras with the Gubraithian Fire, there was a mass intake of breath. Several people snatched their SpectreSpecs off. They covered their eyes, as if they had been flash-blinded. A babble of sound broke out.

  Everyone and everything in the room was glowing, at one level or another, all in the non-colour that Harry and Hagrid recognized immediately. Static items, like the walls and floor and tables gave off only a subdued glow, barely noticeable at all. The magical ceiling was lit so brightly that the view of the sky was washed out. But, bright as it was, there was nothing casting shadows.

  The people, though, were the most amazing. Everyone glowed, but no two in the same way. Some just shone at one level, more or less intensely. Or they shone mildly all over, except for one very bright area, head or heart or hands, among other places. Others cycled from bright to dim. Still yet others were strobing, rings of light and dark running over their bodies in every conceivable angle, direction, and speed.

  “ATTENTION, PLEASE!” yelled Harry. The babbling ceased. "Just two more tests, and we can put these away for now.”

  Harry turned to Hagrid, who was staring around as if stunned. “Hagrid, does Direfang have any other tricks or talents, maybe something a little less intimidating than a Wuff?” To everyone else he added, “Watch Direfang closely.”

  Hagrid shook off the mazement, “Yeh, sure.” He turned to the hound, and said, “Direfang, UP!” Direfang popped to all fours, looking at Hagrid as if he was the greatest thing in the world.

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  Hagrid bent over and put his hands on his knees. “Who’s a Good Boy? Gi’e us a Happy Bark!”

  Direfang’s massive head seemed to split and he gave a tongue-lolling smile. The Colour of Magic flared inside his head, flashed back to the center of his chest. As he put his head between his front paws, with his hindquarters still raised, a flare burst from his jaws as he gave a happy, “YIP!”

  The light spread like a wavefront throughout the room. It wasn’t physical this time. But every single person in the room smiled and said some variation of, “Good Boy!”

  Before they could shake that off, Harry said quickly. “Last test. Hagrid, take the Fire out!” Hagrid’s big feet boomed across the dais. As soon as the unseen door closed behind him, the bright glare of the Colour faded. But, it didn’t go completely away. The walls, floor, and furniture went mostly back towards normal. The magical ceiling showed the storm again, but with a special sheen, and bursts of the Colour when lightning flashed.

  The glow of people was only about ten percent of what it had been. Direfang was brighter than that, though.

  Greatly daring, Harry put his hands on his knees, and said, “Direfang? Happy Bark?”

  Direfang gladly repeated the YIP! While the light show was much subdued, the urge to say, “Good Boy!” was just as strong.

  Harry straightened and nodded. “I thought so.” He took his SpectreSpecs off, most of the assembly following his example. Hagrid came back without the fire.

  Harry whispered to Hermione, “Please check with the Specs every few minutes. I need to know if this eventually fades, and if so, how long it takes.” Hermione nodded understanding.

  “Picking up where I left off,” Harry said to the rest. “After I stepped out of and back into the protective circle, Sweetfang alerted us to something coming.” Sweetfang sat up and wagged her tail. “Fang, Jr. and Direfang kept patrolling their sectors, keeping anything else from coming up on us unaware.” Junior sat up and joined the others. “Once it got close enough, Hagrid identified it a a Niffler. He also deduced that it was searching, not for treasure, but for anything that had a trace of magic.”

  Harry indicated on the chalkboard where the Niffler had approached from. “Hagrid’s quick thinking let us bait the Niffler closer, using a windfall pear, ah, imbued with some of Direfang’s magic.” Harry reasoned that these folks had just eaten, and might not be ready to discuss dog drool.

  “That’s when we witnessed the phenomena we described. The Niffler examined the pear closely, and used some kind of spell on it, repeatedly.”

  Mordecai Berrycloth put his hand up. “An animal casting a spell? Is that even possible?”

  “You tell me, Mordecai. You just witnessed Direfang using his magic to induce reactions, three times, as a matter of fact.” Harry waited as this sank in. He continued, “Now I don’t know if it actually can be defined as a spell, but he wanted something, and used magic to get it. I don’t know what else to call it.”

  “The Niffler then, apparently, called for... backup? Something responded, an... entity, of a sort I have never seen, or even heard of. It drained the magic from the pear, and evaporated it and the vegetation it was touching. Then it created, somehow, non-magical plants to patch over the spot where the pear had been. The entity returned to the grove, which we know because Sweetie was able to track it through the air. The Niffler followed at a distance.”

  Harry blew out a lungful of air, puffing out his cheeks. “We waited until we were sure we were alone. Then we hot-footed it back to the school, and I put out the ‘All Hands On Deck’ signal. And now you know as much as I do.”

  “Not quite.” Hermione rose and joined him at the front of the dais. “I have a question about Luna and Rolf’s, ah, reaction to your mention of a Jet Black Niffler. Luna, isn’t black one of the most common colors of Niffler fur?”

  Luna stood as well, but stayed in her place. “Well, yes, Hermione, but there are usually other colors mixed in. But...” she hesitated, obviously wondering how to explain. “Okay, wait. Harry?”

  Harry raised an eyebrow. Luna continued.

  “I am going to make a series of statements about the Niffler I believe you saw. Let me know if any of them are incorrect.”

  Harry said, “Go for it.”

  “This Niffler’s fur was a glossy black all over, with no hints of any other color. No paler belly fur, no white tufts in the armpits or between the toes. The black of the fur was so deep, it gave the impression of glowing black.”

  "Up-check on all of the above,” said Harry.

  "In addition, the Niffler's eyes were black, totally black. No visible sclera showing, no ‘whites of their eyes’ effect. And, finally, the duck-like bill and the claws were black and glossy as well.”

  Harry nodded, “Again, yes. The overall appearance was unnatural, to say the least.”

  Luna sighed. “The bill is the real give-away. On ducks and platypi and regular Nifflers, the bill is made of horn. While it may have shades of color, it is never jet-black.”

  “And what...,” Hermione started, but Luna shook her head firmly.

  “That is not a conversation for now. It would take too long, and it needs to be close-held. The moon will rise soon. I do not think it a coincidence that this is happening while the moon is not in the sky.”

  Harry snatched his battered old watch out of his fob pocket, and checked it. “Too right. Hermione, has there been any fading?”

  Hermione nodded. “Yes, but it’s slow. It should be about two hours before it gets to being half as bright as it is now. That's if it is dwindling at a consistent rate.”

  Harry turned. “Hagrid, pencil!” Hagrid came to the chalkboard, which turned out to be at a perfect height for him. Oliver’s old pointer zipped through the air, Harry talking quickly the whole time. Luna ran up, jumped on the dais, and began whispering in his ear. Harry listened, nodded, and went back to directing Hagrid, whose pencil, somehow writing in chalk, dashed back and forth. Harry finished, asked Hagrid a quick question, and got a nod in reply.

  Harry turned to the crowd. “I NEED YOUR ATTENTION!” he yelled, and, for a wonder, he got it.

  In a voice only slightly louder than his normal one, he went on. “Headquarters Group will consist of myself, Hagrid, Hermione, Hannah, and the Scamanders. If any of them give you a suggestion, it is not a suggestion. Get me?”

  “Look at the chalkboard. If your name is on there, that is your station. You will Apparate outside the perimeter of the Magic Desert, as close to your station as possible. Make your way to just outside the grove, as near as you can to your final position. You will then have fifteen minutes to get to that position.”

  “If your name is not up here, you are Perimeter Guard. Report to Ron Weasley, and he will separate you into three Sections, under himself, Cerberus Langarm and Mordecai Berrycloth. Section Arrival Points are as marked. Your Section will be responsible for 60o of the perimeter on each side of your arrival point. Each Sector Leader will be accompanied by one of Hagrid’s pups; Weasley, Sweetfang; Langarm, Direfang; and Berrycloth, Fang, Jr. Remember to watch Out as well as In. Once the operation kicks off, the Perimeter Guard will close in to just outside the grove.”

  The three men had already clustered, and the pups were trotting over, as well.

  “Sector Leaders,” Harry said loudly. They all looked up, including the pups. “Trust the dogs. Their senses are better, their knowledge of the ground is better. Frankly, they are harder, faster and tougher than any of you. If it comes down to your hunches or theirs, Trust The Dog’s Instincts!” He met each of their gazes in turn, and saw no problems.

  “Everyone else! Is there anyone who does NOT know Protego Maxima and/or Fianto Duri?” No hands were raised. “Good! If anyone had made it through training without learning those, I’d bounce you right now. Cast those two on yourself just before you cross the perimeter. They will protect you from the smothering effect of the Desert, and, in conjunction, the lingering glow from the Gubratihian Fire will shield you from detection. That is also when you will don your SpectreSpecs.”

  “Synchronizing Timepieces. It is 03:42 in..., Three! Two! One! MARK!”

  “Weasley’s Section will be the last to arrive, at 04:00 am on the dot, and the assault will begin.”

  Ron turned red. “Why do we have to come last? My Section should lead!”

  Harry turned redder. “You know damn well why you’re last. The GO signal will be the sound of a bloody whip cracking!”

  Ron’s mouth shaped a soundless, “Ooohhh.” He gave a sheepish thumbs up.

  “LAST WORDS!” Harry shouted. “We don’t know what is in there, or what is going on. It may just be Nifflers, may be Nifflers and other Magical Creatures. It may be Nifflers, Magical Creatures and People. Don’t know, don’t care. We can handle it. But, over everything else, remember this. We are going for CAPTURE ONLY.” A few mutters were silenced by Harry’s glare. “If it comes down to harming anyone or anything, or letting them escape... Let. Them. Escape.” Another glare. “Am I clear?!”

  There was a weak chorus of, “Yeah,” “Clear,” “Got it.”

  Harry turned purple. “The ONLY acceptable response is ‘CLEAR, SIR!’ I will repeat myself. AM. I. CLEAR?”

  “CLEAR, SIR!”

  “It will be 03:45 in..., Three! Two! One! DEPLOY!”