Eventually everyone made their way back to their own Dormitory or were forced to do so by older students or teachers.

An overall feeling of confusion and uncertainty seems to be running through the school at the moment.

The news had travelled swiftly that Kat Black had been found and was safe. Lots of rumours abound as to what happened, but none of the teacher or older students were willing to tell the students anything that night. It is known that Kat, Nimue, Yvette and Marvo are all in the infirmary, but no more details are available, other than that 'Things will be sorted out in the morning'

Eventually everyone goes into a deep sleep.

When you awake in the morning you feel slightly strange. You feel you have had a wonderful, deep, dreamless sleep. But something just does not seem right. You cannot at first put your finger on what it is at first and you lie in your bed, listening.

Then you realise what part of the problem is....

There is no noise! The school is quiet as if it was the middle of the night. You can hear a slight breeze outside, but no sounds or movement. Not even an owl hoot, or the scurry of a House Elf.

You look at the time and see it is an hour after the usual breakfast call!

You check some of your fellow students and find them still asleep. You try and wake one of the others, but they will not wake! They are breathing deeply, but nothing you can do makes them wake up!

*******

Adrana woke only to find everyone else still asleep! She poked the person next to her, hoping for directions to breakfast, as she was late already, but the person wouldn't wake up.

"This is just great," she thought to herself. "Well, at least I got here. Thanks Dumbledore," she mumbled under her breath.

"Let's see know, I've got all my stuff here," she said checking to make sure everything was still in her trunk. "And you," she said to her cat Majin who was still asleep. "Where are you supposed to go?"

The cat gave her a blank look and went back to sleep.

"Nevermind...let's see," she mumbled reading a slip of paper. "Gryffindor, that's the name of my house, eh?"

She looked around to see if anyone was awake yet.

Madison woke with a start. She had been having a very disturbing dream, but now couldn't remember what it was about. She lay in her bed, staring at the canopy and enjoying the silence, when she realised that something was wrong. It was a little too silent. She rolled over and looked at her clock.

"What? I missed breakfast!" she cried, jumping out of bed. "Why didn't anyone wake me..." She trailed off, seeing everyone else in the dorm still asleep. Confused, she walked over to the girl sleeping in the bed next to her, and gently shook her.

"Hey, time to get up..." The girl was breathing, but didn't stir. "What is going on...?"

"I guess I should probably go to the common room or something..." she said to herself.

Just about that time, she saw someone else on the other side of the room that was waking up too. She yelled something about missing breakfast, but Adrana was more worried about why everyone in this school slept in so late.

She walked over to the girl that had woken up. "Excuse me, but, umm...do you guys normally sleep in this late?"

Madison looked at Adrana, relieved to know that she was not the only one awake here. "Oh, you must be the new girl. Adrana, right? I'm Madison," she introduced distractedly. "And no, we don't usually sleep this late...we're supposed to be having breakfast and getting to class about now." She was beginning to get really worried. "Something is definitely wrong here..." She looked around the room at the other sleeping girls, and came to a quick decision. "C'mon, we should see if anyone else is awake," she said quickly, pulling on a sweatshirt and heading out the door.

As Adrana followed Madison, she tried to explain her situation to her.

"Well, I just got here late last night. I transferred from another school, but it wasn't half as big or advanced as this one. Anyways, one of the teachers led me straight to the common room last night and told me to ask some of the others students where to find my classes in the morning."

Just as they finished talking, Adrana thought she saw someone walking down the hall in front of them.

Morticia slowly wakes up and feels a bit hung over. Yes, she knows that feeling, although it had happened only once - shortly before she was leaving to Hogwarts at the end of the summer, when she'd been out with her older brother Nathan and his friend Drake.

She looks around in confusion. Ceridwyn is still sleeping, although she's usually up very early. The castle is so quiet. She sits up in bed and startles as she feels a weight pressing her down - it is Glueclaws lying on her covers, sleeping with one open eye out of which he stares at her as though trying to talk to her.

"Gluey?" Tish whispers and reaches out for him. For the first time it seems the cat is glad that she is around. "What is it with you?" The big ginger cat doesn't move as she softly touches it. Not even the whiskers stir.

She gets up cautiously as not to upset the cat, gets clothed and gently picks up Glueclaws before she goes to the common room. Nobody there yet. She thinks about checking the other bedrooms, but decides against it and goes down to the general 3rd year common room, hoping that somebody might be there. The stillness is upsetting her. Vague remember of something she dreamed and can't remember...

Egreen Gedward arose and wondered why the light was so bright. Like the others he had attempted to wake a number of people in his House but they slept on.

Unlike the others he had a fair awareness at what had taken place though he had hoped that Morticia's vision and the other signs had been read wrong. He dressed and picking up a large carryall bag by his bed proceeded to go down in the unnatural quietness to the Third Year Common Room.

He saw others gathering there, including Morticia. He looked for Achel, Marvo and others. They weren't there as yet.

He stepped over to Tish and gently placed his hand on her shoulder so as not to startle her too much.

"Tish. I'm so relived it worked. Are you OK?"

Morticia looked up and smiled at him. "Hi, Egreen. I'm fine, no problems – slept like a baby. Have you seen any of the others? Strange, even the teacher s seem to have overslept!"

"I've seen no one but us and I'm starting to feel quite concerned." The degree to which Egreen was 'concerned' was actually far greater but he didn't want to alarm the others just in case it was just a matter of folks electing to stay in bed with the start of the holidays.

Kat had been awake late at Marvo's bed. Nimue had tried to persuade her to go to her own bed, but she hadn't. She had fallen asleep where she was, resting her head on the side of Marvo's bed. She was still asleep for the moment.

Marvo stirs slightly and then turns over. An extremely load snore comes from him and he wakes with a start!

'CONSTANT Vig.... wha?... oh....<yarn>... hello Kat what... KAT! Your okay!.... Where's Nimue... oh… Look. Sorry. Looks, we didn't. That is... we don't...'

Marvo seems a little lost for words and looks around the room. His eye patch has been taken off and his right eye looked slightly bloodshot.

Kat woke with a start. "Marvo! You’re awake. Thank goodness. I was so worried about you. After that curse and all, but at least you've woken up again. Nimue's around here somewhere. She went off to bed in the early hours, after we'd talked ourselves out. She followed us on the rescue mission, bless her. She was told not to, but didn't listen. Anyway, we had a bit of a run in with the dementors, well; at least Snape had more of a run in. And after spending that time out in the forest Dumbledore sent her here too. But, anyway, I am soooo glad you're awake!" Kat finished her babble, not realising that Marvo didn't know that her reason for running off into the forest had been sorted out.

The commotion in the corner wakes Nimue. She glances over to Yvette's bed to see if she has slept through Marvo's noisy awakening.

Then seeing Marvo is awake and Kat beside him still she calls softly:

"Morning, young lovers." then realises this wasn't the most tactful remark to make in the circumstances and blushes.

"Hey Nimue! He's awake!" Kat calls across to her. Obviously excited, and not noticing that there is anything strange in the time or the silence.

"I can see hear he's awake" called Nimue back so pleased that her remark hadn't caused any offence.

"It seems pretty light out. I'm surprised Madame Pomfrey hasn't been around to take our temperatures or ply us with tea."

Marvo blushes at Nimue's remark. "It dose seem odd doesn’t it." He looks around the room.

'Erm... Could you 'Ladies' give me a few minutes to get dressed? I'm Sure Madam P. will be here by then... I could murder a cup of tea!'

"Sure, though there isn't anything I haven't seen before." Replied Nimue with a wink at Kat.

She hoped that Kat remembered that Nimue had told her how their parents used to have them share a bath when they were toddlers. Her head felt somewhat giddy - this wasn't like her at all.

Marvo looks incredibly embarrassed, but says nothing.

"Oh! Of course. I ought to go and freshen up a bit anyway." Kat is still dressed in her costume from the night before.

She ran off to get a wash and get changed.

However when she returned Madam Pomfrey still hadn't appeared. Kat wandered over to the door that led to Madame Pomfrey's private quarters and knocked on it. No answer. 'That's strange,' she thought.

She opened the door and shouted in "Hello! Madame Pomfrey!" Still no answer.

Kat crept in and found Madame Pomphrey asleep in bed. She tried shaking her but no response. In fact there was nothing she could to make her wake up.

Kat returned to Nimue and Marvo, who was now dressed. "I think you might have to make your own tea as Madame Pomphrey will not wake up. She is still breathing, but I just can't wake her."

Marvo Yawns 'What? Can't wake her up? That's rather odd. But what about everyone else? Surly someone should have been about by now? It's over an hour past breakfast!'

He starts to look concerned. "I think we better go have a look around. I don't like this. I don't like this one little bit." He makes his way to the door.

"Yes, there has to be someone else up. Let's go down to the common room." Kat follows Marvo to the door of the room.

Nimue looked over at Yvette's sleeping form.

"She hasn't woken up either? Though I'm not sure if she still under the influence of the sleeping potion. But Madame Pomfrey wouldn't have had a potion would she."

Nimue started to gentle poke Yvette and call her name. "I don't like this either, I'll leave Yvette a note."

She grabs a quill and parchment from the nurses' desk and writes:

*Yvette, if you wake up - please come down to the Third year Common Room right away. Get dressed first. Nightie is exquisite but we don't want to give Andy a shock. Don't worry I have your book with me. If you don't wake up...*

She didn't know what to say but decided just to sign it at that point. She took hold of the book and looked at Marvo - "just in case..."

"The book! I think Morticia has still got mine. I leant it to her to read a bit. Oh I hope she has woken up or we'll have to send someone to find it! I should never have given it to someone else. Mind you if I hadn't then He would have got it." Kat shivers.

"Oh, hang on a minute I got an idea." Kat held out her hand. "Accio 'Embracing the Truth'!" She waited. They all waited. Then the book came flying through the door and landed in Kat's hand.

"Phew! At least now I got it again. In case." She said smiling at Nimue.

"Ooh" said Nimue "'Embracing the Truth' - look here," she takes out Yvette's book from the cloth bag she had placed it in for safekeeping. It is bound in purple silk, the lettering on the cover shimmering and changing colour.

It's title 'Embracing the Illusion' was set in exactly the same style as Kat's book. "The book form a pair. The weird thing about this book is that after Yvette bought it in Hogsmeade, she had thought she'd accidentally burnt it up into just a pile of ashes. She was very upset but Marvo showed her that it was an illusion and the book become whole again. Didn't you Marvo?"

She continued to look with concern in Yvette's direction.

As they were walking to the Third Year Common Room Marvo seemed to be somewhat distracted. He was looking in any open doors and out of any windows they pass.

'Mm? Oh. Yes. Yes that's right. A rather ingenues double illusion spell had been cast on it.'

Soon they arrive at the Common room and enter.

Niki is sitting in the Slytherin common room, looking very forlorn. On the ground beside her is a large duffel bag. As she doesn't see anyone, she's been waiting for a while, hoping someone will come along and tell her what's going on. Open in her lap is a large book, but it doesn't look very interesting.

As she's sitting there Egreen pops his head into the common room, calling 'Peesey'. He sees Nikki sitting there.

"Oh hello." He's not at all sure if he's seen this student around before. While he is the Slytherin Third Year Prefect, his mind has been on other things for some time.

"I see you're awake..." he reaches for a name but it fails him. "Have you seen anyone else?"

Niki replies, "I haven't seen anyone! What's going on, or do you guys always sleep this late?" She stands up, dropping her book the duffel. You can see that it's a muggle book, relatively uninteresting.

"By the way," she adds, "I'm Nicola, but everyone calls me Niki."

Andy got out of his bed and looked over at Marvo, Kat, Nimue, and some other people that inhabited the large room. Hey! Why are Nimue and Kat in the room? Shouldn't they be in the girls' dorms? The funny thing was though, Andy didn't remember actually going to bed. Strange. He got up.

"Good morning, all," he said. "What time is it?"

*Andy, you haven't really woken up - pinch yourself *hard* this is a dream." Said Nimue to him, "Nimue, Marvo, Kat and Yvette are in the infirmary. You are in boys’ dormitory...no co-ed dorms at Hogwarts :-). Lee, Madison's friend may be with you. Awake or asleep who knows

However, across the hall you'll find Madison Avalon and Adrana Kragin.*

Andy wakes up from the odd dream he had about Nimue, and gets dressed. He begins to head down to the common room when he meets up with Kat, Marvo, and Nimue.

"Hey," said Andy. "I had the weirdest dream!" He pauses. "Why is it so...quiet?"