Winter: A Michael Corner Story
Michael Corner had never been so terrified in his entire life. His breathing quickened, and his palms began to sweat. He hastily wiped them on his torn blue jeans and continued to listen to the excited chatter around the room. All the people that once were in Dumbledore's Army were assembled in the Room of Requirement anxiously awaiting Neville's return. Supposedly he had gone to fetch Harry Potter from the Hog's Head.
He could care less at this point. All he wanted now was for it to be over, for the killing and the bloodshed and the running and hiding to be done with. He wanted his life to go back to the way it was before this all happened. He wanted to go back to Ravenclaw tower and lay on the midnight blue carpet and stare up and the stars on the ceiling. He wanted to laugh again. How he wished he could laugh or even smile again.
His own personal winter. That's what this was. A cold and dark place full of hopelessness and despair. Even if Potter came through the portrait and told us he was here to fight and that he had done all the fantastical things they had heard through the wireless, he would still want to go back. He hated feeling like this.
In the span of about five seconds everything changed. Harry climbed through the portrait hole and suddenly Michael didn't feel so hopeless. The time away from Hogwarts had changed Harry. He looked tougher, meaner almost. His fierce look of determination sparked something within him that was enough to temporarily warm up his winter.
But the news Harry brought had that temporary spark put out in an instant. He wasn't here to fight, he was here to look for something. He addressed the Ravenclaws and Michael was spared having to answer by a newly arrived Cho Chang. He was looking for the Diadem. What on earth?
Anger boiled up inside of him. Stupid Harry Potter was here for a lost trinket and he had the nerve to tell us that he wasn't going to fight? No doubt his presence here would attract you-know-who, and then where would we be? Potter would be off searching for something that had been lost for ages and we would be left here to fight his battle? How was that fair?
He looked around at all the eager faces and suddenly knew what he wanted most, but he had no idea how to achieve it. What he wanted most of all, was to be happy again. Could he be happy again?
He pondered this as Harry and Luna left the Room of Requirement and those around him broke off into separate conversations. Cho Chang asked him a question and he ignored her. He stood up and walked over to his hammock. He picked up his ragged blue and bronze jacket and threw it to the floor. He climbed in and waited for the noise to die down. Eventually he heard Ron and Hermione approach and he curled into a small ball to avoid detection. They were whispering to each other.
"…even if we find the diadem how are we supposed to destroy it?" Ron asked in a fierce whisper.
"I don't know Ron, I've been thinking about that as well." Hermione responded. They stayed quiet for a moment and his heart felt like ice. So Potter was here to destroy the last remaining remnant of the founder of his house?
He knew he should have been angrier with the lot of them. But he felt next to nothing. He turned and looked up at the Ravenclaw tapestry hanging on the wall. If only there were a way to make it so that he could think properly again. He missed being able to puzzle himself out of any situation. But there was no quick fix out of this one. He'd had to use all of his knowledge and logic to even survive the beating he received for freeing that first year a while back. His arms still bore the scars from that night.
He became more and more angry as the minutes passed. His fists began shaking violently and he knew that there was only one way out of this. He quickly stood up and stalked across the room. Several people called out greetings to him, but he thoroughly ignored them. He walked past a group of Gryffindors and was stopped by Lavender Brown.
"You're Michael right?" She asked.
He stood there and pondered his options. He could blow her off, but he knew that she would just follow him and he didn't particularly want to be followed right now. He decided that the best course of action would be to just figure out whatever she wanted and give it to her.
"Yes." was his response.
"Oh cool! You can help us then. We are going over all the spells we learned in DA and we were wondering if you wanted to practice with us. We need one more to make the pairs even." She smiled up at him and he frowned back. He wondered if he could pawn this off onto someone else, but in the end decided to just do it. Maybe it would relieve some of his anger.
He ended up being paired with Lavender. She was quite good at deflecting spells but her aim was off slightly. She tended to aim more toward the right leaving her opponent the chance to dodge left and counterattack. He would have pointed this out but at that exact moment he noticed that Harry had returned.
Michael turned and listened as Harry announced that they were going to fight and the excitement in the room was both visible and physically felt. Michael wished that Harry would get on with it already. Michael half listened as Harry told them that everyone was meeting in the Great Hall.
Michael realized that he was expected to move as everyone pushed and shoved their way out of the room of requirement. He let himself be jostled about and decided that he could at least stay to hear the battle plan. As he was making his way down, Lavender caught up with him.
"I'm excited!" She squealed as they were pushed along. He merely smiled in response. Lavender could probably sense his inner doubt and said, "But I'm also terrified."
He looked down at her and she clutched his arm and pulled him aside.
"I don't want to die." She confessed to him. Her face turned a little pink. She quickly shook her head and amended, "That's not right. I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to put my family through that again."
A single tear escaped her eye. Michael quickly wiped it away and gave her a smile. "You'll be alright." He assured her, but he knew that it wasn't the truth. He knew that in the end they might all die and that was something he was not prepared to deal with.
Lavender looked around and then turned back to Michael. "I'm still scared." She said with a half smile. He looked down at her shining eyes and he couldn't help but feel something stir inside him.
"We'll stick together okay?" He assured, "You and I can watch each other's backs." He gave her the biggest smile he could fake and watched for her reaction.
She smiled wider, "Okay then." She was a bit more chipper as she took his hand and they made their way down to the Great Hall.
His winter didn't seem so cold anymore as he looked at her and smiled.