AN: After a month long wait, Chapter 11 is written! I hit a serious case of writer's block for the beginning of the chapter, but after everything I think this chapter actually turned out alright. Hope you enjoy! The timeline in this chapter got a little confusing, so I threw in a few timestamps to keep it all straight.

Shadow quickly fell into his new routine of classes. It wasn't anything much different from his training aboard the Ark, besides the obvious fact they were dealing with magic. However, as he discovered on Thursday, that small fact had major consequences.

Shadow entered Moody's Defense Against the Dark Arts with little enthusiasm. Although he would reluctantly admit he liked (or was at least moderately interested in) the subjects taught at Hogwarts, he had little to no idea what to expect for this class. In every other classroom, he had borrowed the standard textbook corresponding to the subject for fourth year since it seemed Dumbledore had no plans to buy him any, but because the Professor hadn't arrived yet to tell him where it was he was left with an empty desk while the rest of the Slytherins were eagerly paging through their own books, trying to predict what in the world the subject for today's class could be, especially considering their… eccentric teacher.. There had been rumors flying around at breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past three days that this class was supposed to be incredible.

The sound of wood knocking the floor echoed in the classroom and the students fell quiet as Moody made his entrance. His odd electric-blue eye roved the students suspiciously, and he narrowed his eyes when his gaze finally landed on Shadow. Shadow stared back solemnly, unaffected by the glare that would probably be intimidating to anyone else. Moody (with much effort, it seemed) tore his eye away from Shadow and stomped to the front of the class, gnarled hands clenched by his sides. He turned around, hunched, and began searching through the contents of a trunk behind the desk Shadow hadn't noticed before. The class was quiet for a moment, before the whispered gossip began. Moody didn't like that.

He slammed his hands on the desk so hard the legs buckled. Nearly all the students were scared out of their seats. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He barked.

Shadow forced his quills to lie flat and pulled on a mask of indifference. I already don't like him. Moody narrowed his good eye at the students, the magical one spinning wildly within its socket, before returning to his search. Now the class was dead quiet, either still recovering from being scared out of their wits or, most likely, simply dumbfounded. Moody finally found what he was searching for, and on the table he plopped a jar of spiders. Shadow's brow rose involuntarily. "Put the books away," Moody said in his low growl, "You won't be needing them for this class."

"Are you serious?!" Malfoy questioned disbelievingly.

Moody glared at him. "I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut, boy, so I can continue the class."

Malfoy, cowed, shrunk into his seat. Moody cleared his throat. "Now then…" He took out a register, "Anna, Mary?" Attendance continued in much the same fashion. Shadow nearly groaned. Is this seriously what I have to do to investigate?

Moody paused. "T. Hedgehog, Shadow?" Snickers were heard throughout the classroom, but one fiery glare from Shadow silenced them. "Present." He finally replied.

After calling Zabini, Moody rolled up the registers and magicked it to whoever was in charge of such menial things. Then, he placed his hands behind his back and began pacing the room, peg leg thumping loudly on the stone floor and resonating throughout the tension-filled silence of the classroom. Finally, Moody spoke.

"Who can tell me about the Unforgivable Curses?"

Not many students know. Surprisingly, Malfoy's hand was up, but that was it. Moody, obviously surprised, narrowed his eyes and stomped over to Malfoy, towering over him. Malfoy kept his composure, though Shadow was 80% sure there was a jumpy tick by his eye.

"Yes?" Moody growled.

"The Imperious Curse." Malfoy said proudly. "You use it to control people."

Moody snorted. "You would know, wouldn't you? Your father was awfully involved in that mess." Malfoy, for the briefest of moments, appeared upset at the slight, but regained his composure and tried to remain stone faced. Shadow tilted his head. Interesting. He remembered Lucius Malfoy from the World Cup. Perhaps he's involved in nastier business than House-Elf abuse and elitism?

Moody resumed his slow pacing at the front of the class. "But yes, the Imperius Curse is one of the Unforgivable Curses. Malfoy correctly explained its purpose. Now, a demonstration."

Moody unscrewed the top of the jar, pointing his wand inside and casting, "Engorgio." One of the spiders swelled to nearly triple its size in less than a second. Shadow grimaced.

Moody scooped out the spider and dropped it onto his desk, where it began flailing wildly to right itself, skittering fearfully around the large empty desk once it did. Shadow felt the smallest bit bad for it. Moody turned his head and met the eyes of the students. "Watch closely. Imperio! "

The spider stopped. It trembled in place, but did not move. Shadow thought it hardly seemed to be alive. Moody jerked his wand to the right, and the spider followed immediately. He jerked it to the left, and the spider mimicked that as well. Moody continued waving his wand this way and that while the spider desperately tried to keep up, but he turned his face to the class to continue teaching. "What I'm doing now is called 'direct control'. Unfortunately, most wizards who use the Imperius Curse choose not to use this method, because it's easily traceable. Using the 'indirect control' method, the Imperius Curse allows the caster to implant commands into the victims head. It could be a sleeper or trigger command, or they could be using it to search for information. Watch closely."

Moody pointed at the spider. "Spiders are not capable of higher thought, but this one will do its best to fulfill my commands, even if it means death. The last part applies to wizards as well." Many students in the room gulped, though Shadow was watching with rapt attention. Attending these classes wasn't a terrible idea after all.

"Cartwheel after three seconds." Moody commanded. The spider paused for three seconds (Shadow counted carefully), and complied. "That was a sleeper command, which are all timed commands. This next one is a trigger command. That means that when the spider, or in the real world, the wizard, encounters a trigger, be it a word, phrase, or person, the Imperius command will activate."

Moody once again pointed at the spider. "When I say 'Foxtrot'," he growled to it, "Jump off the desk."

Moody retreated his wand, and almost like nothing had happened, the spider began to skitter around once again. Shadow narrowed his eyes. "FOXTROT!" Moody barked.

The spider stopped what it was doing and ran full speed off the side of the desk, landing in front of a rather shocked Crabbe. Moody scooped up the spider, muttered a spell, and reduced it to its previous size before placing it back in the jar.

Moody began his stomping once again. "The Imperius Curse allows for the caster to maintain ABSOLUTE control over the wizard they have cast it on. There are other commands, and ways you can identify those affected, but that's for another lesson. I will be teaching you how to defend yourself against it at a later time. Does anybody know the other two Unforgivable Curses?"

Shadow raised his hand. Moody seemed surprised. "Hedgehog?"

Shadow crossed his arms. "I don't know the other two, but I have a question. When inflicted with the Imperius Curse, does the victim have knowledge of it? And, if they do not, can I presume they go on with their daily lives without knowing?"

Moody nodded. "Correct. The victims are not aware they have been inflicted with the Imperius Curse, and will continue with their normal lives until a command kicks in. That's part of the reason the Ministry has had so much trouble with it. Back to my question, then. Anybody?"

No more hands raised. Shadow was still processing the overload of information, but he would admit he was far from bored. Moody nodded at the lack of response. "Thought not, you're only fourth years after all. First, we have the Cruciatus Curse, or the torture curse. The Cruciatus Curse causes blinding pain and can lead to insanity." He pulled out another spider, enlarged it, and demonstrated with a, " Crucio! " The spider squealed, legs twisting upon itself and writhing in agony. Shadow winced and closed his eyes, struggling to keep up his mask. He didn't enjoy seeing torture, not even against the most awful of criminals. Quick deaths were better.

Moody once again reduced the spider and replaced it with the last one in the jar. The last spider stood completely still, as though it knew what was coming next. "The last Curse," Moody said gravely, "Is the Killing Curse."

" Avada Kedavra! " The spider went still, and blip appeared on Shadow's chaos radar. What?

Moody took a swig of his hip-flask. "The Killing Curse kills silently and is always fatal. Nobody is quite sure what it does, exactly, but we know that it is the most commonly used method of homicide in Great Britain, within wizarding communities at least. The Unforgivable Curses are just that: unforgivable. Anybody who performs one on a fellow human, even a Muggle, is given life in Azkaban. If you're lucky. There are no counter curses."

Zabini raised his hand. "If there's no counter curses, why are we learning them?"

Moody stomped over to him, looming. "Because you've got to know. This is what you will be up against. These are the kinds of moves your enemies will perform. What I'm trying to teach you is constant, never-ending, VIGILANCE !" The last word boomed throughout the silent classroom. Zabini swallowed. Shadow, for one, was immensely glad to know that these existed and could be used against him. He was probably fast enough to avoid them, but devising a good counter strategy would be essential for survival in this world. I also have to look into just what happened with the Killing Curse. Magic and chaos energy… I'll speak to Sonic about it.

A bell tolled, echoing loudly. Moody crossed his arms. "Dismissed."

Shadow rolled over the information in his head. There's still so much I need to know... This world is perhaps more dangerous than I thought.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice the exchanged glances behind him.

Shadow limped into the Great Hall, hopefully not noticeably injured from his run-in last night. A bright blue coat caught his eyes and he crossed his arms as a hyperactive hedgehog rushed over, leaving a streak of blue in the sea of students. Most of them blinked and moved on, but a couple dropped their breakfast trays in shock, still unused to the two odd visitors.

"What's up, Shads?" Sonic greeted cheerfully. After what had transpired last night, Shadow was actually somewhat grateful for his optimism. Today was Friday, two days after Moody's lesson and approximately six hours after Crabbe and Goyle had tried to jump him. Shadow noticed Sonic watching him, eyes somewhat narrowed. "Is that a bruise?"

Shadow grunted. "Nothing to worry about. Malfoy's minions jumped me, but… well, the hospital wing is a little fuller." He chuckled darkly, running a hand distractedly through his quills. "I'm half waiting to get expelled."

Sonic tucked his arms behind his head. "Aw, c'mon Shads. They're totally not gonna expel you for that! Nobody likes Malfoy!" The Slytherin table heard his too-loud remark and glared.

Shadow observed his human 'housemates', before turning to Sonic and raising a brow. "Really? You think so? Our position here is already precarious enough, and I just happen to give a black eye to the friend of the son of one of the most influential families of the wizarding world, and you're saying I have nothing to worry about?"

Sonic grinned. "Pre-cisely."

Shadow felt the urge for a small smile to creep onto his face despite his looming despair. "Sonic, I don't think I will ever understand you."

Sonic shrugged. "Not much to understand. Malfoy's goons were being jerks and you showed 'em who's in charge. Just explain it to Dumbles, and I'm sure everything will be fine."

Shadow sighed softly, shaking his head. "We'll see." I may have just lost us our best chance at going home.

They arrived at the Great Hall, which was positively packed with chattering students tearing open mail or stuffing their faces. Surprisingly, rather than go sit with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Sonic stuck with Shadow to the Slytherin table. Shadow studied him curiously out of the corner of his eye. "You a stalker now, faker?"

Sonic laughed. "Nah, that's Amy's job. I already ran down to kitchens to make my breakfast, plus Harry and the others seem like they have stuff to discuss… without me."

Shadow noticed the pause but didn't comment. "Fine by me. Just stay away from my food, faker." He knew that probably wasn't all of Sonic's reasoning, but Shadow wasn't going to admit he was feeling shitty today and Sonic probably knew he needed something familiar right about now. "You've been to Moody's class, correct?"

Sonic nodded, lounging with his legs crossed. A wicked grin suddenly spread across his face, and he ran down to a bowl of grapes on the end of the table, grabbing it and beginning a game of flick-the-grape at Malfoy. Sonic was quickly distracted and didn't appear to hear his question, so Shadow took the liberty of working off some frustration and kicking him under the table. Hard.

Sonic winced and Shadow smirked. "Ouch," he hissed, shaking his now bruised leg out. "What was that for?!" He whispered angrily. The Slytherins were letting them sit in peace for now, but who knew how long that would last?

Rather than answering, Shadow said, "I asked if you've been to Moody's class, faker."

Sonic was once again easily distracted, and forgot his annoyance quickly. "Oh yeah, him! His class was… kind of intense, honestly." He chuckled nervously, "It's a little freaky how wizards can just… kill something like that. Or torture it. Or control it." He shifted uncomfortably. "Makes me kind of grateful we don't have magic on Mobius, y'know?"

Shadow nodded. "I've been going to the library to try and figure out ways to counter the Curses, but as Moody said, there weren't any. I've considered pure chaos energy as a method, but I'll need to look further into it." Shadow shook his head. "But that's not what I want to talk about. Did you notice anything strange about the killing curse?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, it was like a weird little spike in chaos energy. I can't really control it like you, but I can sense it pretty well."

"Yes, that happened with me as well," Shadow explained, "So I want to try and figure it out."

Despite himself, Sonic appeared to be eyeing the bacon. "Well, let's think about it. Instead of there being free chaos energy here, it's basically embedded in the wizards, right? Wizards kind of use chaos control, don't they? At least when doing a spell. So…" Sonic flicked yet another grape at Malfoy, who jumped and glared around the table, "The Killing Curse is aiming to kill. Well, obviously." Sonic's leg started tapping the floor rapidly while he worked it out. "And to kill someone, you've gotta get rid of all of their Chaos Energy. But, when you get rid of it, where does it go? It's not gonna disappear. So maybe... the expulsed Chaos Energy showed up on our 'radars' because it became part of the environment?"

Shadow blinked. "I cannot believe you actually said something intelligent."

Sonic pouted, glaring. "Hey! I say smart stuff all the time!" Shadow raised an eyebrow, but considered Sonic's proposition.

The Killing Curse, or the complete expulsion of Chaos Energy from the body. It made sense. Mobians had much more inner Chaos Energy than wizards, and even then, many drew energy they lacked from the abundant supply in the world around them (courtesy of the emeralds, of course). In this world, their inner Chaos Energy was all the wizards had. If they lost it, they would be done for. This world had none to spare, and so the expulsion of chaos energy was seeped into the environment, or perhaps found a home in a wizard or two.

Shadow shook his head in disbelief. "I still can't believe you figured that out before I did."

Sonic shrugged, though a pleased smile was on his face. "What can I say? I am the Hero of Mobius." The bell chimed, signalling their first classes to start. Shadow shook his head. "I can vow intelligence had nothing to do with that."

Sonic sat upright, offended. "Hey!"

Sometime, Someplace
The sapphire gemstone glittered in the weak morning light filtering through the trees. Waves of blue seemed to give the gem endless beauty, or maybe it was waves of something else. Power. It undulated through the woods, washing through trees, bushes, and finally, near the end of its journey, an old, dilapidated house.

Wormtail, slimy and sniveling though he was, still noticed. He stole a glance to the chair in the middle of the dark, unilluminated sitting room. A terrible noise was coming from the chair, and the dying embers of the fire weren't bright enough to spark his bravery. The noise continued, weak at first, but slowly growing in its volume and awfulness.

"Wormtail…" The voice wheezed, like a sick, cold, baby, "Find it."

I felt it too. The energy in the air, free and dangerous and intoxicating. I slithered to the foot of Master's chair and rose, carefully placing my head to his lap. A cold, white finger traced a dark, intricate pattern on the top of my scaled head. Wormtail had long since scampered off to search, leaving the Master and I in each other's company.

"How curious," he finally continued, "I don't remember inviting you."

Thursday Night

Harry woke from his nightmare in a cold sweat. That was the second time this month he had a dream of such things. He unconsciously raised a hand to his damp forehead, tracing his burning scar. He winced as his fingers brushed a particularly sensitive spot, and he limply lowered his hand back to the bed cover. Breathe. In, out, in, out. It was just a dream… or was it?

Harry shifted and rolled over, simultaneously exhausted and craving sleep yet afraid and fearful of what would happen if he let his consciousness slip. Should I tell Sirius? He wondered. He had already written to Sirius about the first dream, but the response he received earlier in the evening from Sirius' about flying back to him had Harry worried for his godfather's already precarious safety. He was afraid that alerting him to this new dream would simply cause his godfather to throw caution to wind and barge into Hogwarts to come see him. More than anything, he loathed the idea of Sirius getting captured and thrown back into Azkaban, especially since he had only just escaped. Already the fear and anxiety of the dream was leaving Harry, and he had already forgotten what it was about. There was Voldemort, and Wormtail, and… Harry shook his head. I don't remember.

His worries slowly leaving him, he felt his confidence trickle back in and put him at ease. Truly, there was no need to alert Sirius. Nothing much had happened, except for a few strange dreams and… he glanced over to Sonic's bed, the small shape and jutting quills illuminating his outline in the moonlight. He had told Sirius in his first letter, of course, about the two beings from a strange world, but had only been as specific as ' an odd spiky little visitor', seeing as he had only just met the first member of the strange duo. Harry sighed. This year was simply weird .

After another half-hour of tossing and turning, he climbed out of bed and decided to write a new letter to Sirius assuring him everything was alright, and that he had nothing to worry about, and that he should just stay safe where he is and most definitely not come to Hogwarts. A dream is only a dream, after all, and Sonic and Shadow had so far proven themselves to be harmless (not to mention every time they showed up Malfoy, Harry was finding himself more and more unable to keep his guard up).

Wiping the ink from his hand and extinguishing his Lumos, Harry quietly slid the letter into his trunk and climbed back in bed. He was looking forward to the next couple of weeks. He would, of course, tell Ron and Hermione about the dream, or what he remembered of it, but he wasn't sure if he should even reveal the dream to Sonic and Shadow. Despite everything they had done to prove otherwise, Harry was still suspicious, especially after everything with Wormtail last year. Sonic had fought the Death Eaters, but still… Harry felt bad about keeping it from them, but he wasn't going to be swayed easily. Nobody got a free pass when it came to scrutiny from the Golden Trio.

Harry delivered his letter to Hedwig the next morning before sending her off to find Sirius again. She hooted in annoyance at his apparent ingratitude for her long flights, but a couple owl treats, along with the threat to use Pigwedgeon instead, finally swayed her. She nipped him affectionately before flying off. Harry wondered when he would see her again.

At breakfast, he told Ron and Hermione of the strange dream last night. Prior to that, Hermione was staring angrily at the food in front of her, apparently still peeved over the House-Elves in the kitchen.

"Food is food, Hermione," he tried. She huffed, and Ron followed with, "Yeah, 'mione, just eat or you won't be able to focus during classes today."

Hermione violently pushed her plate away, causing Ron and Harry to exchange glances. Girls .

"Anyway," Harry began, "I had another… dream last night. I already wrote to Sirius and told him not to worry, but-"

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, "He should worry! These dreams could be serious!"

Harry shook his head. "Well, I just don't want him to get into any trouble-"

"But Harry, you should really tell someone about this, maybe even Professor Dumbledore-" Hermione interrupted.

Harry sighed. "No, listen, at least let me explain it first."

After he finished his description of Voldemort (Ron winced) and Wormtail, they began thinking it over and trying to interpret it, and what it could possibly mean.

"So," Ron tried, "You-Know-Who sent Scabbers- I mean Wormtail, out to try and fine something?"

Harry shot a glance towards Sonic and Shadow's direction to make sure they weren't eavesdropping. "...Yeah," He finally answered Ron distractedly. He couldn't help but stifle a laugh at Sonic's antics. It appeared he and Shadow were having a serious discussion of their own, but Sonic was hosting a minor food fight with Malfoy on the side, much to Shadow's annoyance.

Harry turned back to his friends. "The only problem is, I don't remember what exactly they were looking for."

"But Harry, if You-Know-Who is looking for it, then it must be important," Hermione replied, confused.

Harry shook his head. "I know. Let me think about it for a minute…" He struggled to recall the events of the dream, digging through his mind to drag up the memories. "I was… something else. I think Vol-" noticing Ron's flinch, Harry corrected himself, " You-Know-Who sensed something. I sort of sensed it too, while I was there. It was like there was this whole other presence besides him, almost like it was sort of sending huge waves crashing against the room we were in. It was… I dunno. Just that powerful."

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, frowning. Harry shook his head again. "That's all I remember." He finished regretfully. Ron patted him on the back. "That's alright mate, I'm sure we'll figure it out-"

Hermione shot up in her seat, clearly having an epiphany. "Harry, did you say powerful?"

Harry nodded, confused. Hermione nodded as well, thinking things over in her quick and logical way. "Well, if You-Know-Who is starting to search for something that powerful, and Shadow and Sonic are also looking for a powerful object that they lost, how likely do you think it is that they're one and the same?"

Ron's eyes widened and he turned to Hermione. "You really are a genius, you know that?" Hermione blushed.

Harry stared at her, dumbfounded. How come I didn't think of that? He wondered sourly. "You're probably right," he finally responded, "Voldemort is looking for that Chaos Emerald."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione disagreed on whether to tell the two hedgehogs.

"What if they're working for Voldemort?" Harry asked, though his heart wasn't in it. He couldn't bring himself to actually distrust them, or at least still be suspicious of Sonic. He had defended Harry against the Dursleys, fought off the Death Eaters at the World Cup, and been nothing but kind (and perhaps a bit cheeky) to everyone he met.

"I don't think You-Know-Who would even want somebody as chipper as Sonic to work for him," Ron countered, grinning, "It would be a nightmare trying to keep him under control."

Hermione looked away and crossed her arms. "I trust Shadow," she added quietly, "He's scared off Malfoy, and he stood up for me in the woods at the World Cup." She met Harry and Ron's eyes, resolute. "He can't possibly be a bad person."

Harry sighed, defeated. "Well, alright then. When are we going to tell them?"

Ron scratched his head. "Whenever the time's right, I suppose."

"Works for me." Harry looked at them gratefully. "Thank you." For what, he wasn't sure. Most likely simply for being there for him.

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances again, grinning. "Don't mention it."

The next couple of weeks passed in a calm haze. Sonic had trouble sitting still in classes, and usually ended up excusing himself for 'medical purposes' (a code for running, Harry suspected), but he did seem to be enjoying himself. He was endlessly amused with magic, and at night in the Common Room, would ask Hermione, who usually had her homework finished, to cast an array of spells. If Harry had to guess, he would say that was Sonic's favorite part of the day. Sonic's after-school activities, which consisted of basically being a courier for teachers or helping them clean up after class, didn't seem to bother him, and he took everything in stride and with a smile.

Shadow was elusive, but Hermione claimed to have seen him studying in the library, and they apparently did joint study sessions together (watching Ron's face as she said that had nearly sent Harry into a fit of laughter). Shadow was apparently interested in Magical Theory, and would usually skip lunch to go read about it. When he did show up, Sonic would siddle over to the Slytherin table to annoy either him or the rest of the students. Personally, Harry thought it was both.

Of course, everyone's favorite part of the week were Moody's classes. They were endlessly interesting and informative, a combination Harry had thought was impossible for teachers to pull off. It was also one of the only classes that Sonic seemed to pay attention to.

It was in one of these classes that Moody decided to round back to his lessons on the Unforgivable Curses. He announced that he would be putting the Imperius Curse on each and every one of them, to test their will and their resistance against it.

"B-but Professor!" Hermione stuttered uncertainly, hand in the air, "Isn't that illegal?"

Moody didn't answer, clearing the desks in the center of the room, leaving a wide clearing for whatever he was going to do with them.

"You said- to use it against another human was-"

"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like," said Moody, his magical eye swiveling to Hemione and fixing her with an unblinking stare. Hermione swallowed. "If you'd rather learn the hard way - when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely- fine by me. You're excused. Off you go."

He pointed one gnarled finger to the door of the class. Hermione went very pink and muttered something about not meaning that she wanted to leave. Harry and Ron grinned at each other. Hermione would rather eat bubotuber puss than miss such an important lesson.

In fact, the only person who seemed to want to leave was Sonic, who had his legs crossed on top of the desk and was frowning sourly. Harry knew he would stay, though. Anything like the Imperius Curse, which claimed complete control, was bound to intrigue yet frighten someone like him.

One by one, Harry's classmates were called up and made to do the most extraordinary things. Dean Thomas was made to hop around the room three times while singing the national anthem. Lavender Brown flawlessly imitated a squirrel. Neville was forced to perform a series of astonishing gymnastics he would certainly not have been capable of in his normal state.

"Hedgehog, you're up next."

Sonic strode forward confidently, quills slightly bristling. His hands were lightly clenched at his sides. Moody gave him an appraising eye, but treated him no different from the rest of his students.

" Imperio !"

Instantly, Harry noticed something different about Sonic's eyes. They were no longer the usual bright emerald green, a certain spark of something extinguished while under the effects of the spell.

"Do a handstand," Moody commanded.

Sonic didn't seem to be able to resist the effects of the spell, and he slowly reached his hands to the floor. He froze for a moment, his gloved hands flexing, until all at once the spell seemed to shatter and Sonic launched into a breakdance instead of a handstand. He spun this way and that, until he twirled with just enough momentum to land him back on his feet, a smirk on his face as he met Professor Moody's eyes.

Moody nodded. "Impressive, though we need to account for magical resistance due to your… species." Sonic shrugged, stretching and hopping on top of the nearest desk to watch the rest of the lesson.

A few more of his classmates went before Moody called on Harry. He was nervous, no doubt about that, but after seeing Sonic's display he felt a previously unknown shallow well of confidence inside him. I can do this.

" Imperio !"

Harry felt his will buckled under the force of the spell. It was an irresistible call, tempting for no reason at all but completely enticing nonetheless.

Jump onto the desk , a voice in his head seemed to say. Jump onto the desk… jump onto the desk...

Harry bent his knees obediently preparing to spring.

Jump onto the desk…

But why? Another voice in his head piped up, Stupid thing to do, really.

Jump onto the desk…

No, I don't think I will , the voice responded, a little more firmly, no, I really don't want to...

JUMP! NOW!

The next thing Harry felt was considerable pain. He had both jumped and tried to prevent himself from jumping, resulting in him smashing headlong into the desk, knocking it over, and by the feeling of it, smashing both of his kneecaps.

Sonic was rolling with laughter, and glancing dazedly at Ron and Hermione, Harry saw they were both hiding giggles of their own. He lay there, trying to blink away the fog from his mind, until all at once, it vanished.

"Look at that, you lot!" Moody shouted proudly, "Potter fought! He fought it, and he damn near beat it! We'll try that again, Potter, and the rest of you, pay attention- yes, even you, Mr. Hedgehog - watch his eyes, that's where you'll see it - very good Potter, very good indeed!"

After a few more silly commands and a whole lot of pain, class finally ended. Harry hobbled down the hallways leaning on Ron for support. "The way he talks-" Harry mumbled under his breath, "You'd think we were all going to be attacked any second."

"Well, look on the bright side, at least you can throw off that thing." Sonic pointed out.

Harry grit his teeth. "That's well and good for you, pulling it off the first time. You don't understand my pain."

Sonic and Ron laughed, while Hermione smiled faintly. She was preoccupied with something.

"Talk about paranoid," Ron muttered, glancing nervously behind him to check Moody was out of earshot. He was skipping every alternate step, having had much more difficulty with the curse than Harry had. Moody had assured him the effects would wear off by lunch time. "No wonder they were glad to get a shot of him at the Ministry. Did you hear him telling Seamus about what he did to that witch who shouted 'Boo' behind him on April Fool's Day? Scary stuff. And when are we supposed to be learning to fight off the Imperius Curse anyway?"

All of the fourth years had noticed the definite increase in workload this term. Long nights were spent working on Potions or Divination instead of sleeping, something Sonic took every opportunity to tease them about. Professor McGonagall had explained that the O.W.L.'s were drawing near, after a particularly loud groan at the amount of Transfiguration homework they had been assigned. Despite the fact they were a whole year away, she remained adamant the class start preparing now, since everyone's work was so abysmal in its current state that she was sure they would never pass.

Harry and Ron were deeply amused when Professor Trelawney read out their disastrous predictions to the class, commending them for their unflinching acceptance of disaster, but became less so when she asked them to do the same thing for next month. Thankfully, Sonic had offered to relay some of his more wild adventures, and Harry was planning on taking him up on that. Killer robots would surely impress Professor Trelawney.

Binns had them writing essays every week on the Goblin Wars, and Snape had them researching antidotes, something they all took seriously due to his not-so-subtle hint he may poison them to test their proficiency. Flitwick had them read three extra book on Summoning Charms, and overall Harry was pretty much drowning in schoolwork.

The group arrived at the entrance hall but were unable to proceed further due to the large crowd blocking the way.

"Hey, hoist me up!" Sonic tugged on Harry's robe. Harry complied, leaning down so Sonic could easily swing himself up on his neck. He was surprisingly light.

"Triwizard Tournament," Sonic read, "The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday the 30th of October- hey, that's next week! - Lessons will end half an hour early-"

"Brilliant!" Harry said, "It's Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won't have time to poison us all!"

Sonic gently swatted him and stuck his tongue out. "Let me finish! Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before The Welcoming Feast."

He jumped down lightly, but nearly crashed into Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff before his feet touched the ground. "Wotcher, Sonic," Ernie said. He apparently didn't want to stick around long, since he didn't stay to hear the answer and instead wandered off looking for Cedric Diggory.

They watched him go before continuing their way into the Great Hall for lunch, where Hermione excused herself to run to the library yet again.

Sonic idly tapped the table. "Wonder what she's doing in there?"

Ron shrugged helplessly. "House-Elf things, if I had to guess."

Sonic perked up, "Really?"

Ron glanced at him warily. "Weren't you into that too?"

Sonic shrugged, "Well, when I go down to make my food, I chat with them a bit. They all seem really happy to work, even with no pay, and they got offended when I started cooking my own stuff. I'm not gonna stop that, since it doesn't really feel right to just take from them, but I'm not gonna go against what they want, even if I think freedom is better. It's whatever makes you happy, you know?"

Harry stared at him, but Sonic didn't meet his eyes. He obviously wasn't completely okay with the House-Elf situation, but he seemed to have reached a fairly solid conclusion for now. Finally, Ron responded with, "Tell that to Hermione."

Over the course of the next week, there was a tangible change in the air. Nobody seemed to want to talk about anything but the Triwizard Tournament. The castle was cleaner than ever, the suits of armor well polished, the stone floors shining with not even a speck of dirt upon them, and even the normally wily staircases and paintings seemed to be behaving themselves.

On the morning of October the thirtieth, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts House: red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H.

Fred and George were complaining about missing money when Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down for breakfast. Sonic was sitting with Shadow, his only company in the five foot berth the Slytherins had taken to giving him, and most likely annoying him to death given how Shadow's hand was drifting closer and closer to the knife the more Sonic talked.

The missing money was Ludo Bagman's from the World Cup, since he had lost the bet to Fred and George. The galleons he had given them there turned out to be Leprechaun gold, and had all disappeared a couple weeks ago. They were bummed about it, and were scheming up a way to get him to pay up. The conversation soon turned to the champions of the Triwizard Tournament, which had yet to be announced. All of the teachers had been tight-lipped and avoidant, which caused Fred and George to suspect there was a big announcement coming soon.

"Wonder what the talks are going to be?" Ron said thoughtfully, "You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff before…"

"Not in front of a panel of judges, you haven't," Fred countered, "McGonagall says the champions get awarded points according to how well they've done the tasks."

"Who are the judges?" Harry asked.

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel," Hermione informed him, "because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on a rampage."

She noticed them all looking at her in surprise, and with her usual impatience at them for not having read the books she had, she huffed, "It's all in Hogwarts, a History . Though, of course, that book's not entirely reliable. A Revised History of Hogwarts would be a more accurate title. Or A Highly Biased and Selective History of Hogwarts , Which Glosses Over the Nastier Aspects of the School ."

"What are you on about?" Ron asked, though Harry suspected he knew where this was going.

"House-Elfs!" Hermione exploded, " Hogwarts, a History says nothing about how the school supports slavery- "

"What's goin' on here?" A familiar voice asked curiously.

"Hermione's on one of her tangents again," Ron waved dismissively.

"I am not !" Hermione slammed her hands onto the table, "Just because you don't care, Ronald, doesn't mean there aren't those of us who-"

"Wait, Hermione, that's what this is about?" Sonic asked, brow raised, "Have you even talked to them about what they want?"

Hermione crossed her arms. "I know what they want. Freedom."

"Now wait, Hermione," Sonic raised his hands placatingly, "How about I take you down to the kitchens so you can talk to a couple-"

Hermione replied hotly, "Sonic, really? You think they actually want to be slaves to wizards? They're uneducated and brainwashed-" before she could continue, there was a great whooshing noise above their head as the morning mail came in. Harry spotted Hedwig's spotten white coat and pet under her chin as she arrived.

Tied to her leg was a letter from Sirius, which read:

Nice try, harry.
I'm back in the country and well hidden. I want you to keep me posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts. Don't use Hedwig, keep changing owls, and don't worry about me, just watch out for yourself.

Sirius

"Why do you have to keep changing owls?" Ron asked in a low voice.

"Hedwig will attract too much attention," Hermione whispered back, "I mean, snowy owls. They're not exactly native, are they?"

It was at this moment Harry noticed Sonic munching happily on his self-cooked plate of burnt bacon beside him, and became acutely aware that he had still not told the hedgehog duo about his dream.

"Sonic, listen," Harry said, "We've got something to tell you and Shadow later, in the Common Room. Tonight."

Sonic's ear flicking was the only sign he had heard him. After he finished his plate, he turned to Harry, blinked, and simply said, "Okay."

Harry felt oddly relieved. He had thought it was going to be much harder than that. Sooner than he would have liked, breakfast ended and they headed to their first class of the day. Before that, Sonic had quickly run over to Shadow and notified him of the meeting, to which Shadow simply 'hmph'd and said, "I'll be there."

Harry's excitement lasted throughout the day, his classes passing faster than they ever had before. Finally he was in Potions, the last class of the day, and eagerly awaiting the signifying the end of class. Unfortunately, Snape was one of those teachers, and had taken it upon himself to use the last ten minutes of class to force them into silence during note-taking. The only one who seemed to be relaxed was Sonic, and Snape was absolutely going to lose it any second, Harry was sure.

At first, Snape had pretended not to notice the bright blue alien hedgehog who suddenly started showing up to class, but his facade quickly crumbled and Sonic got into more and more trouble with any Potions he had to brew. This was one of the few classes where Sonic actually had to do classwork rather than simply listen to a lecture, and it showed. Frankly, he was terrible at everything that had to do with chopping up ingredients (at one point, his Grindylow spine had been too unevenly diced, and when thrown into the potion, turned its color from a bright red to a vomit green, the texture and smell following the color). Snape had since banned him from touching anything in the classroom.

Blessedly, the last bell finally rang, and it would be an understatement to say the students did anything but rush out of the classroom, the fastest of them all (and the most eager to leave) of course being Sonic.

The students rushed up to Gryffindor Tower, quickly depositing their bags and pulling on their cloaks as instructed. They rushed down the steps to greet Professor McGonagall, where she hurriedly put them in lines according to grade level. Sonic was borrowing one of Ron's cloaks, but since Ron was the tallest of the Golden Trio, it fit him oddly and trailed across the ground. Given that this was a formal occasion and he couldn't just throw it off or risk the wrath of Professor McGonagall, he had simply taken to standing between Harry and Ron and hoisting himself up on their shoulders. At least he could see, and it got the cloak off the ground (much to the relief of Ron), though no matter how light Sonic was, Harry was sure his shoulder was going to be sore tomorrow.

It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking mood was already shining over the Forbidden Forest.

"Nearly six," Ron said, checking his watch and then staring down the drive that lead to the front gates. "How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?" He nudged his shoulder, "Cut that out." Sonic stopped swinging his legs.

"I doubt it." Hermione said.

"How then? Broomsticks?" Harry suggested, looking up at the starry sky in anticipation.

"I don't think so… not from that far away…"

"A Portkey?" Sonic chimed in.

"Or Apparation?" Ron wondered. "Maybe you're allowed to do it under seventeen where they come from."

"You can't Apparate inside Hogwarts grounds, how often do I have to tell you?" Hermione said impatiently.

They studied the drive excitedly, but minutes passed and nothing happened. Everything was still, silent, and quiet.

Suddenly, "Aha!"

It was Dumbledore. "Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

"Where?" A chorus of students asked.

" There! " yelled a sixth yearn pointing over the forest.

It wasn't a broomstick, and was indeed much too large to have been one hundred broomsticks. A powder-blue carriage was descending across the sky, skimming the tops of the treetops of the Forbidden Forest. It was gigantic, the size of a large house, and it was being pulled by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant. The carriage hurtled to the drive, causing the first three rows of students to draw back anxiously. With a tremendous crash, the first of horses' hooves, larger than dinner plates, stomped into the dirt. A second later, the carriage landed too, vast wheels rolling to a halt as the golden horses tossed their fiery manes.

A boy dressed in powder blue dismounted from the carriage and hurriedly unfolded a set of golden steps. A shining, high-heeled black shoe emerged from the carriage - a shoe the size of a child's sled - followed, almost immediately, by the largest women he had ever seen. The sheer size of everything was immediately explained. A few people gasped.

Harry had only seen one person this large in his entire life: Hagrid. He doubted whether there was an inch difference in their heights, but still- somehow, this women seemed to exude a presence that made her so much bigger, not to mention more intimidating. She was olive-skinned, with eyes black and liquid-like, and a rather beakish nose. Her shining black hair was pulled into a knob behind her head at the base of her neck. She was dressed in a massive black satin coat, and opals glittered around her neck and on her thick fingers.

Dumbledore started to clap, and the students began to follow his lead. Many craned their necks to get a better look. Her face relaxed into a gracious smile, and she strode towards Dumbledore, extending her hand. Though tall himself, Dumbledore barely had to bend over to kiss it.

"My dear Madame Maxime," he said, "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr," Madame Maxime said in a deep voice, "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form," replied Dumbledore easily.

"My pupils!" Madame Maxime called. Harry, whose attention had been completely focused on her, now noticed about a dozen boys and girls shivering in the cold. It was understandable, given that they were all wearing fine silks rather than cloaks. A few were wearing headscarves and shawls.

Sonic whistled quietly, "They're sure dressed for the weather, huh?"

Harry nodded, but turned his attention back to Madame Maxime and Dumbledore.

"'as Kakaroff arrived yet?" she asked.

"He should be here any moment," said Dumbledore. "Would you like to wait here and greet him or step inside and warm up a trifle?"

"Warm up, I think," said Madame Maxime, "But ze 'orses-"

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them," said Dumbledore, "the moment he had returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other -er- charges."

"Skrewts," Ron muttered to Harry, grinning.

"My steeds require -er- forceful 'andling," Madame Maxime explained. She looked as though she doubted anyone at Hogwarts would be up to the job. "Zey are very strong…"

"I assure you that Hagrid is well up to the job," Dumbledore said, smiling.

"Very well," Madame Maxime agreed, bowing slightly. "Will you please inform zis 'agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?"

"It will attended to," said Dumbledore, also bowing.

"Come," said Madame Maxime imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps. As soon as they were inside, gossip erupted among the Hogwarts students regarding the possible size of the Durmstrang's horses. After a few minutes, everyone went quiet again. Sonic had long since dropped to the floor and started tapping his foot impatiently. Patience was not one of his strong suits.

"Can you hear that?" Ron asked suddenly.

Harry listened; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from out of the darkness; a muffled rumbling and sucking sounds, as though an immense vacuum cleaner was traveling along the bottom of a riverbed.

"Great, now I can't see!" Sonic said, annoyed. He hopped up onto Ron's shoulders, despite his complaints. "Oh."

It was the lake. It's previously smooth surface was now bubbling, great boils of steam popping on top and waves washing against the muddy banks of the lake shore. In the middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as though someone had pulled the plug on the bottom of the lake bed.

What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool. Then the rigging appeared…

"Is that a ship?!" Sonic exclaimed incredulously. "No way!"

"It's a mast." Harry confirmed. Sonic was bristling at some unknown danger, but Harry was too drawn into the spectacle before him to worry.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes were ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship erupted out of the water, bobbing on the turbulent waves and gliding silently to shore. Harry heard the splash of an anchor, and saw a plank being lowered onto the bank.

People began to disembark; their silhouettes casting odd, bulky shadows on the ground as the sun finally set. As they drew closer, and were cast in the light pouring from the castle windows, Harry noticed most of the bulk was in fact due to the shaggy, woolen coats they all seemed to be wearing. The man leading them was wearing a different sort of cloak, sleek and silver like his hair.

"Dumbledore!" He called heartily as he walked up the slope, "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Kakaroff," Dumbledore replied. Kakaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, like his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entire hide his weak chin. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both his own.

"Dear old Hogwarts," he said, looking up at the castle nostalgically, smiling with yellow teeth. His eyes remained shrewd and cold. "How good it is to be here, how good… Viktor, come along, into the warmth… you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold…"

Kakaroff beckoned to one of his students. An odd noise from Sonic caused Harry to look up at him in concern, though he was hardly paying attention. After all, when Kakaroff has said Viktor, he meant Viktor Krum.

AN: And... whew! We finally have a new lead on the Chaos Emerald, but it's going to be harder to locate than ever before. Hermione sure is stubborn over House Elves, huh? The Triwizard Tournament is just getting started... I wonder who the Champions will be, hehe. Mostly the same, of course, but with key differences. Keep reading to find out ;) Of course, that is, when I get the next chapter written. I have stuff planned for the Second Task and after, but nothing for the First Task, so I'm writing as I go. As always, hope you enjoyed and leave a kudos or a comment if you did! Stay safe everybody.