Amos Diggory, the 5th Year Hufflepuff prefect was still looking for Richard Blake. His fellow bunkmates, students, and even a teacher or two had told him to give it up. But Amos was anything but compliant. He did not want to give up.

He walked up and down the entire castle, checking every room twice, and leaving no stone unturned. He walked up to the third floor once again and started checking each room. This all seemed to be going nowhere. That was until Amos locked eyes right onto Richard Blake, in the middle of the hallway.

Amos looked relieved, "Richie! Oh-oh thank Merlin I found you!"

Richard, on the other hand, didn't seem so relieved. "You left me all alone Amos."

Amos felt his heart drop at what Richard said, "I…I know."

"You left me to go talk to Chea Chadwick! You left me all alone!"

Amos started to feel really down, "I know. And I'm sorry! Please, I'll make it up to you! I'll do anything!"

Amos could almost see a malevolence behind the smile that Richard gave but put it aside as he saw Richard run off.

"Wait! Richie!" Amos raced after Richie. He chased after the fast Second Year into an adjacent hallway. There at the end of the hallway was an open door.

Amos felt uneasy at first but quickly pushed those feelings aside as he rushed into the darkened room. He pulled out his wand and cast Lumos, and at that moment he wished he hadn't.

As he was surrounded by an army's worth of puppets, and ventriloquist dolls. Amos felt his heart drop right own into his stomach.

He wanted to leave. He wanted to run away, but that wasn't an option. Richie was somewhere in here, and Amos was going to find him.

Amos took a step forward into the room and began his search for Richard Blake. He made his way through a number of discarded dolls and dummies. He tried to remain calm, after all. They were just dummies. It's not as if they were going to come alive, or something?

His head shot around as he swore he saw something move. It was nothing. He hoped.

"Richie? Richie, where are you? It's time to come on out!" Amos scouted ahead and saw a small figure in the corner. "Hello? Richie?'

Only it wasn't Richard Blake. "Sedgewick? Is that you?" He caught his breath. "Is this where you and Richie have been hiding? Because…" Amos tapped on Sedgewick's shoulder to get his attention. Andrew's cloak fell off revealing that his back was carved out, leaving room for a handle where his spine should have been.

Amos recoiled in fear as Andrew turned around to reveal his mouth had been torn to resemble that of a dummy's mouth. Amos ran away, only to trip on the leg of a doll. Or so he thought.

He looked to see Richard's lifeless corpse, torn asunder. There were flies dancing around his rotting flesh, as a darkened flow of blood pooled around his body.

Amos Diggory screamed in terror. He got up to run away but found himself in the middle of a sort of web made from puppeteer strings.

He panicked, Amos began to hyperventilate as he tried to find a way out. Soon, his arms got caught in the strings. He flailed about only getting himself stuck more.

'Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr." A snare drum sounded as lights came on, and lit up a stage near the wall of the enclosed room. Amos wondered where the heck that had come from. The drum stopped as a clown came out of an enclosed curtain.

The clown bowed slightly, "Thank you! Thank you! Please don't get up! I know you happen to be 'caught' in the middle of something!" The Clown laughed. "I am Pennywise! And I shall be your entertainment this evening! Well, me and my new friend! Ian Mulciber junior!"

Pennywise pulled out from the curtain the body of Mulciber who had been made into a puppet as well. The clown raised his arm up Mulciber's back and worked the handle to bring Mulciber to life.

The Slytherin's eyes looked all around, and up and down. His whole head moved unnaturally, such as a puppet would.

"Say hello Mulciber!" Pennywise grinned.

"Hello Mulciber!" Mulciber said back to the clown.

Pennywise cackled, "No silly! Say hello to the audience!"

Puppet Mulciber looked over at Amos, "It's just Famous Amos!"

"Ohh, Famous Amos? How'd he get that nickname?"

"Well, he's popular for being on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team! That's why! Also, the professors didn't like his first nickname!"

"Which was?"

"Amos the Anus!"

Pennywise and Puppet Mulciber both laughed at Amos' expense as the Hufflepuff Prefect tugged at the strings, trying to escape.

"Famous Amos! The heinous anus!" Mulciber cackled.

"Oh! It looks like we scared our guest Mulciber!" Pennywise feigned a concerned look.

"Well, he shouldn't be! He has a backbone, unlike yours truly!" Puppet Mulciber howled with laughter.

"Oh, come now Mulcie! I think we should help calm him down!" Pennywise smiled. "How about you recite your poem?"

"Okay okay, you talked me into it!" Mulciber looked over at Amos. 'Abra Cadabra, I sit on his knee! Presto, change-o! You'll float, you'll see! Hocus Pocus, he'll eat you with bread! Magic is fun…we're dead.'

Pennywise threw Puppet Mulciber aside and charged at Amos. His mouth open wide to shows rows upon rows of sharp jagged teeth.

Amos managed to get his wand. "Lumos Maxima!" A magnanimous flash of light blinded Pennywise.

"OH! You accursed Badger! You've blinded me!" The clown screamed.

Amos quickly cut himself down from the strings and ran for the door, barely making it out of the room before the doors shut with a resounding 'slam!'

Remus and Severus had spent the entire Saturday night in the library looking through every single book. Looking for an explanation as to what Pennywise might be. However, their search came to a dead end.

Remus had the foresight to 'borrow' James' invisibility cloak. He went into the restricted section in search of tomes and books.

Severus stayed behind to read over the manuscripts and kept his guard up as he did so.

His eyes would always read a paragraph or two before doing a brief scan of the library to make sure Pennywise didn't show up again.

Severus scrolled through the text before him and then looked up.

"Peek a boo! I see you!' Pennywise appeared before Severus with a smile.

Severus leaped up to his feet with his wand drawn.

"Oh please, what are you going to do? Kill me? Hmm?" Pennywise walked around the table. His eyes darted over the documents and books laying on the table. "Decapitate me again? Because we both know you…"

Pennywise's head came off with a resounding, authoritative, curse from Severus. The Slytherin in question slowly walked over to see the damage done but found no body.

Pennywise snuck up behind him, snatched his wand out of his hand, and grabbed him by the throat. "I really need to learn to watch what I say, but then again words are invisible." Pennywise bared its teeth at Severus. "Now, I simply wish to talk. Can you do that while you resist the urge to lop my head off?"

Severus was thinking of a way out of this. "Can you resist the urge to drive those teeth of yours into me?"

Pennywise grinned, "I can." He let go of Severus and threw his wand to the other side of the room.

They both slowly sat at an adjacent table. Remus was coming back from the restricted section underneath the invisibility cloak. He saw Pennywise accosting Severus and was about to act when they both agreed to sit down. Remus took the chance to retrieve Severus' wand. He put the invisibility cloak on once more and tip-toed over to it.

Pennywise grinned at Severus. "You…are not like most of my prey. You are different, and for me, different is bad news."

"What do you want?" Severus demanded of the clown.

"To the point, I want to make a deal with you."

Severus raised his eyebrow, "A deal?"

"You should be honored, I never make deals…until now."

Severus looked at Pennywise. "What's the deal?"

"Stop now, and I'll leave you and the Ginger one alone."

Severus weighed the option. This entire operation was to keep Lily safe.

"You and her can go through this relatively unscathed. Then you two can grow old, and thrive, and live haaaaapppy liiives! Until the two of you return to the dust, and the weeds!"

Severus looked down at the desk, "What of Lupin and Pettigrew?"

Pennywise drooled at the mention of Peer. 'No! Their fates are sealed. They are mine! The morsel, the wolf, the shaggy one, and the coward!" Pennywise cracked his neck. "You don't have to say anything now. I shall give you a week. Have your answer ready then."

Severus raised his head to interject, but Pennywise was gone.

Remus could only imagine what was going through Severus' head. Severus himself had no idea how to act. For now, they were safe, just for now.

Severus sighed as he caught his breath, "Did you hear that?"

Remus took the cloak off, "Yeah. So, what now?"

"Now, we have about a week to prepare. Hopefully, we'll have something prepared to fight him then."

The werewolf smiled softly and handed Severus his wand. "Thank you."

"Well, that thing probably would find some way to wriggle out of any deals made. Otherwise, I might have taken it."

"Gee thanks," Remus sarcastically remarked.