The chilly night air settled uncomfortably towards the ground. The moon was supposedly full, was hidden behind the still visible gray clouds. There was enough light to see dark, mysterious shadows though.

Harry, Ron and Hermione huddled close together trying to keep warm. They kept checking their watches, waiting for the anticipated moment. They heard a slight rustling noise coming from their side. Instantly, they held their breath. A light dawned on upon them. After recovering from the shock, they adjusted their eyes to see Draco Malfoy.

Malfoy stood near them looking extremely sour, perhaps wondering how a piece of paper convinced him to miss a nice warm bed.

"Why are you doing here, Malfoy?" asked Ron in an extremely irritated way.

He smirked back in a mischievous way. "Why, I'd think you should know, after all, you're the one who sent me the obviously fraud piece of parchment."

"What do you mean? We wouldn't send you anything, much less a piece of paper!" retorted Ron back.

"I wouldn't be so sure," was all his reply.

The argument was cut short by a loud whistle of the wind and a cold draft. They looked around. Harry felt extremely odd right now, as he stared on at the empty darkness. Fear encased the four with long clawed hands.

Nothing more happened in the next few moments. The leaves stopped rustling and the waves of the lake became unusually still. The regular sounds of the night seemed to halt to a deadening silence.

The clouds of gray completely hid the moon, allowing no light to escape. An eerie sense of uncertainty hung low onto the ground. Nothing else happened for quite a while, but no one dared to let his or her guard down.

A low engulfing wail was heard. Soon after fluttered millions of small black leathered creatures, screeching ferociously. The bats circled the small group making it almost impossible to escape. The furious attack seemed to dissipate when many of the small winged creatures made they're way back into the forest keeping near the ground.

"Come on!" Harry said, "Those are the 'demons in our view!'"

He sped of into the forbidden forest forgetting all of the safety precautions and dangers. His two friends followed him quickly. Now the only one left standing was Malfoy.

He stood there for a moment, wondering whether to continue on this foolish mission or to go back to the safety of the castle. Rational thoughts escaped Malfoy now and he decided to follow them, not wanting to be the last one.

~~~~~

The black creatures managed to lead the group to a clearing deep in the middle of the words. Here the full moon shone through creating ample light. The overgrown, horrid flies began to fly around in a circle. The beating of the wings became monotone when more had gathered.

These creatures of the night became commonly enough that there seemed to be a large cylindrical shape hovering a few feet above the hard ground. Harry quickly glanced down at his watch; 12:59 A.M. Only a minute to go before one comes, he thought silently to himself, waiting for the anticipated, but unknown happening. In a minute, the anticipated did come.

A brilliant ray of moonlight was reflected from the moon creating a shimmering white circle just below the cylindrical structure. Within moments, the dark shape collapsed away. The bats, previously there became black wisps of smoke.

After the chills of the nighttime sky blew the smoke away, the ground began to grumble slowly beneath the white shadow. The soil below it began to shake and stir, sometimes churning up pieces and throwing them to the side. The removed soil eventually began to reveal a stone structure.

Slowly, one by one an old rocky stairway could be seen. They stared stunned at the sight that has graced their eyes and minds. An uncomfortable stillness lingered around, allowing no one to move or speak a single word. Perhaps it was the surprise, perhaps it was the fear, perhaps we may never know.