Harry Potter and the Mysterious Island
Summary: In Harry's fifth year, things start to really go down hill. While some in the Magical world fight back, some run away. Harry finds himself with some friends someplace that he never expected.
Rated T for adult situations; at least they're planned. Don't know if I have the ability to write them. Rating may increase.
Disclaimer: Never over eat pepperoni pizza late at night, never tell a psycho with a gun "shoot" when you really mean "go ahead" and never claim that I own Harry Potter and his world. Jules Vern owns the real Mysterious Island, which doesn't matter as it was destroyed in a volcanic explosion in the 1860's.
Author Note: After promising that I would never start posting a story until I finished writing it, I found myself with a number of unfinished stories. This one was my 2009 National Writing Month output, a bit cleaned up with the help of the fine folks at the Caer Azkaban Yahoo Group. As of this moment, it's still not finished, and I'm not even sure how it will turn out.
Chapter 1 Lost
April 12, 9:30 PM. Hogwarts Castle.
Harry made his way towards the Gryffindor Tower.
He felt relieved. He wasn't being expelled. Dumbledore had taken the fall for him.
He felt lost. Dumbledore was out of the castle. He knew that McGonagall wouldn't be able to stand up to Umbridge. She hadn't yet. Nor any of the other teachers. None of them had done thing one about the abuses of the Inquisitorial Squad. Except Snape, who seemed to encourage them. Now they would be even bolder.
He felt betrayed. Even in his office, Dumbledore hadn't looked him in the eyes. And he had left. If Dumbledore couldn't oppose the Ministry and Umbridge, what chance did he have? How many times had he, Harry, faced deadly situations where he really didn't have a logical chance to escape. But Dumbledore hadn't even put up a fight. And if he was really running away to "protect" Harry, how was he going to do that when he wasn't even in the castle? Or a wanted criminal, like Sirius. He loved the old dog, and knew that his godfather really wanted to help him, but honestly, he couldn't, and Harry realized that Dumbledore couldn't either.
He felt scared. As if things weren't bad enough with Umbridge torturing him every chance she got - he absentmindedly rubbed the scars on the back of his hand - things were about to get worse. Much worse.
And he was alone.
No, he realized. Not alone. He had people who had joined with him and followed him. They followed him, so he had a responsibility to them.
He had to help them.
But the Snap deck was stacked against him here. Not even Dumbledore could do anything. Dumbledore had run away.
Was Dumbledore a coward? Not necessarily. Running away wasn't always the mark of cowardice. "He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day." He couldn't remember who said that. "I'm not running away, I'm just fighting from a different place." Ginny had said that once while playing chess with Ron.
Running away. Route. Retreat. Retrench. Fall back. Strategic retreat. Delayed action. Recovery. Re-evaluation.
It wasn't cowardice to refuse to fight a losing battle if you could come back and fight a winning one.
He reached the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Hermione, get the girls of the DA down here. Ron, do the same for the boys."
"What's going on, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"I'll tell you all at the same time."
It took a few minutes, but soon the DA (and a lot of non-DA) Gryffindors were in the Common Room. Harry went a few steps up the boy's stairs and addressed the crowd..
"Tonight, we were betrayed, and Umbridge found our defense club. She was going to arrest me. Luckily, we had named it after Dumbledore and he took the blame for it. Fudge tried to have him arrested but he escaped, leaving Umbridge the new Headmistress.
"I don't believe she will be content with that. She won't be happy until I'm arrested, and probably the rest of the club at least expelled.
"I won't be expelled. I won't let her break my wand. I won't be arrested without a fight. I'm leaving Hogwarts and I suggest that the rest of the club members do the same. I'll be calling a meeting for the DA almost immediately to tell the members in the other houses.
"I suggest you take only what you absolutely need. After we leave, most of us are still under age, so as tempting as it would be to pack everything and shrink it, it would take a spell to restore your stuff, and the Ministry would track you.
"I'm going to grab just a few things, call the meeting, and get out of the castle. Again, I suggest you do the same."
The house stood in silence for a moment, then everyone started talking at once. Harry went up to his dorm, and started filling his book bag. His cloak, album, some spare clothes, Gringotts key, a few books, some pens and parchment, Sirius' package (he still hadn't unwrapped it and as he was going to stop at Grimmauld Place, he didn't think he'd need the magic mirror now), and the knife Sirius had given him. He looked around and grabbed some owl treats. Could he take the time to get to the Owlry? He wasn't sure. He finally grabbed the Marauders Map from it's hiding place in the cover of his Divination book, his least used text.
Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Dean had also come in and started packing.
"Whatcha gonna do?" Dean asked Harry.
"I'm going to try to get out of the country and finish schooling in Salem or Beauxbatons or someplace. Someplace not Britain. I love my country, but I can't live with this government."
"I have some aunts and uncles in Brittany," Ron said. "Ginny and I should go there. They're sure to search the Burrow. You can probably come, too, Harry."
"I've got mates in the Muggle world," Dean said. "I figure if I go to them, and let my family know by letter, the Ministry won't find me, as long as I don't leave a return address. Plus I can call them. I'll wait it out a few years, and see what happens. I reckon if You-Know-Who takes over the magical world, the Muggle one will start to notice. And I'll expect you to keep me informed, too," he finished with a smile.
"I'll owl you, if I can. I better remember to mention that I'll do that to the whole DA," Harry said, with a pensive expression.
"My mother is going to kill me!" Seamus exclaimed. "After everything she said about avoiding you, she's going to go spare!"
"Sorry, Seamus."
"I bet you planned this whole thing," Seamus said. Harry and Ron looked up startled. "I bet you planned on Umbridge becoming the Defense professor, making all those education degrees, taking over the school, and gunning for you - all to get me in trouble with my mother!" he finished with a smile, taking the sting out of his words.
Neville said, "Well my grandmother is going to kill me, too. Knowing her, she'll probably take me and walk right to Fudge's office - and get us both arrested. I think I'll avoid going home for a while. Mind if I tag along with you, Harry?"
"I don't mind. But my first stop will be a Fidelius protected house. You'll have to wait while I stop in. I don't intend to stay very long. Dumbledore might be there, and I don't think I trust him any more."
He finished his packing and headed down the stairs, "I'll wait for you in the common room."
He went to the door, and turned back to his dorm mates. "Good luck, guys. It would probably be better for us to mostly go our separate ways. Get out of the castle fast. And thanks for everything."
He left with "Good luck, Harry" and "Thanks" following him down the stairs. He was confronted by Angelina and the rest of the Quidditch team.
"Harry, you really leaving? Is it that bad?" she asked. Harry nodded.
One of the twins said, "Are you sure you don't want to stick around and fight her, Harry? We've got plans that will make her time here a living hell."
"She's made mine a hell, but no, I don't think that's wise."
"No one ever said we were wise. . . "
"Handsome, yes. . . "
"Clever. . ."
"Brilliant. . . "
"Got the picture, guys," Harry interrupted. They could complement themselves for hours if they wanted. "Just be careful you don't get caught."
"Harry, I hope you're not mad," Alicia said, "but this is our NEWT year, and as dangerous as it may be, I really want to finish the year and take them. It's just three more months." Angelina nodded. Katie looked confused. She was in sixth year, but didn't want to leave her friends.
"I'm not mad," Harry answered. "I can't decide this for you, or for anyone. I just know this is the right choice for me. Good luck! Try to stick together as much as possible; watch each others backs."
Katie still looked torn. She looked at her fellow chasers, and looked at Harry.
"Katie, if you need to get away later, grab your broom and fly out a window. Once you're in Hogsmeade, you can get away. That goes for all of you. Try to keep your brooms handy."
"Thanks, Harry," Katie said, and kissed him.
"Would be easier if our brooms weren't locked up, but we'll manage," one of the twins said.
"Harry, what do we do?"
Harry looked at the new arrivals, the Creevy brothers.
"Wait for Ron, tell him I said he should get you to Hogsmeade and on the Knight Bus to your home. Once there, you'll have to talk it over with your parents. The magical world is going to become an even more dangerous place for Muggle-borns. Decide if you even want to continue as wizards.
"Of course. . . . "
"We're not afraid!" The second year Gryffindor certainly exemplified the house's virtue. Harry was afraid Dennis wouldn't be able to back up his courage, no matter how sincere he was.
"Then look into a different school. Maybe contact Madam Maxime, if you can. Remember, we're regrouping - at some point we'll be back together fighting again. I want you well for that time, so be careful. Take care of your brother," he said to Collin.
"I will, Harry."
"Don't be afraid to run. Even Dumbledore did that tonight."
Harry wished he had Collin's camera to capture the moment that the idea sunk into the fourth year's head. His eyes widened and he looked shocked.
Harry moved away, but was interrupted by some more house mates.
"You expect us to run away just because you say so, Potter?" a sixth year, Leghorn, or something, said. He was a braggart, and Harry generally avoided him.
"No. Most of you weren't on the sign up sheet for an illegal club. They have nothing on you. But if you're not leaving, good luck."
Seamus and Dean came down the steps from the dorm and headed toward the exit from the Gryffindor tower.
Harry called, "Watch your backs! Good luck!"
"Bye Harry," they called and disappeared through the portrait-door.
Harry only got another step closer to the exit before two witches stopped him.
"Harry," Parvati said, holding up a hand mirror. "My sister and I have these magic mirrors. They're spelled so we can talk to each other. I've told her what you said, and she's going to tell the rest of the Ravenclaws. If you don't mind, I'll come with you to the Room of Requirement and wait for my sister there."
"That's fine, Parvati."
"Harry, are you sure about this?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, I've thought this through, and I really think this is the best course of action for me. I just gave some of my reasons, and if others think it's the best choice for them, then they should take it, too. I realize that it might not be for everyone."
"But OWLs, Harry. . ."
"To paraphrase myself from first year, 'sometimes there are things more important than OWLs.' You'll have to decide if it is the right choice for you, but I have to get out of here, and hopefully find another school."
"Oh!" Hermione said, relief evident in the sudden relaxation of her stance. "I'm glad you aren't giving up on your schooling."
"Not at all. Just not here. Now I have to summon the DA. Can you make sure Ron takes the Creevys to Hogsmeade and gets them headed home? I wish I could get a message to the Hufflepuffs easier."
He used the spell Hermione had placed on the fake Galleon, and called a meeting for right away. He was still stopped several times on his way to the exit, explaining again and again that this was the best course for him, and maybe those in his club; everyone else would have to decide for themselves.
Parvati and he had almost reached the first turn when Hermione and Neville ran up behind them.
"Ron agreed to take care of the Creevys. Lavender and Ginny is with them. If you don't mind, I'd like to stick with you, Harry," Hermione said.
"Alright, just come along."
They reached the hallway with the tapestry and Harry pulled out the map.
"What kind of room do we want?" Hermione asked, ready to pace before the tapestry.
"We don't need it. We just need to tell the 'Puffs what's going on. I solemnly swear I am up to no good. . . . Good, they're on their way. Oh, no! Umbridge is in the Entrance hall with . . . Dawlish, one of the aurors who came to arrest me. There's another there that I don't know. They're heading towards the Grand Staircase. . . ."
Parvati looked at the map and asked, "What's happening in Ravenclaw Tower?"
"Looks like a meeting," Harry said, looking at the crowd of names in the Ravenclaw common room. "Oh, no!" Harry exclaimed, looking at a different part of the map. "Oh, no, again!"
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A few minutes earlier, Padma had put away the magic mirror that linked her to her sister in Gryffindor. She made her way to the common room and saw Cho. She didn't particularly care for the Seeker, finding her shallow and Quidditch obsessed. (Of course, Roger Davies was also somewhat Quidditch obsessed, but he was the team captain, so that was entirely different). She went over to Cho anyway.
"I've got some information, get Lovegood and meet me in the fifth year boys room."
"What's going on?"
"I'll tell you once we're all there. Wait! Lovegood! Come here!"
The strange blond came from her seat in the corner, putting her homework materials into her book bag as she came. She had to; if she left it for even a moment her homework would be "lost."
She led them to the fifth year boy's dorm. She knocked and opened the door, "Prefect! Emergency."
Tony Goldstein quickly pulled a bathrobe over his pajamas. The others weren't ready for bed yet.
"Steven? Kevin? Can we have a few minutes privacy?" The two boys who weren't in the DA grudgingly left.
Padma quickly told the others about Marietta's betrayal, Harry's capture, and Dumbledore's arrest and subsequent escape.
"With Dumbledore gone, Umbridge is Headmistress. Harry thinks she'll come after the DA; she has the list of names. He's leaving the castle tonight. A bunch of the Gryffindors are going with him. He's going to tell the 'Puff's; then he's going and he suggests we go, too."
"But OWLs are only a few months away!" Michael Corner complained.
"We can't take them if she arrests us," Terry Boot responded.
"How did he suggest we leave?" Tony Goldstein asked.
"Pack light, only the essentials, and get out a side or back door, get to Hogsmeade, floo to Diagon Alley, and make your way home from London.
Cho looked at the Indian girl with a shocked expression. "I'm not leaving Hogwarts because Potter got in trouble! I think he's exaggerating, again. There's no way we'll get expelled for this. What's the worse that could happen? We'll lose some points, which, thanks to the Inquisitorial Squad we don't have, and maybe get detention. Potter is blowing this all out of proportion." Her feelings about Harry were conflicted. She sort of fancied him, but was still sore about what he pulled on Valentines Day. Currently, the 'mad at Harry' emotions were winning.
"I don't think so," Luna said. "He may lead a dramatic life, but I don't think he'd tell us to leave just because he's in trouble. I think he really cares for us."
"No one cares for you, Loony," Cho said. "And I can't believe that you would leave in the middle of your OWL year!" she added, turning to the boys.
"I don't know," Michael Corner said. "He has been pretty helpful. I'm just not sure I believe that whole You-Know-Who is back, though."
"Exactly!" Cho crowed.
"Whatever you decide, I'm going to pack and join my sister. Good luck guys," Padma said, and headed for the door.
"Wait for me," Luna followed. Just then, their DA coins indicated that a meeting had been scheduled. Padma pulled hers out and looked. "That would be Harry calling the Hufflepuffs to tell them." She headed out the door with Luna following.
"I think I'll go talk to Harry," Tony Goldstein said.
"I'll join you," Terry answered.
"You do whatever you want," Cho complained, "I'm going back to studying, and I suggest you do, too. It's only three months until your OWLs. And more importantly, only a year and three months until my NEWTs."
"She's right," Michael said, as Tony started getting dressed.
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"Susan! The coin," Hannah Abbot whispered to her red headed friend.
Susan Bones looked up from her Arithmancy homework where she hadn't been able to concentrate, worried about what had happened since their DA meeting was interrupted by Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad. She wished she could get a note to her aunt, but it was after curfew.
"He's called a meeting for right now."
"Maybe it's a trap? Maybe Umbridge caught someone. . . ." Even as she said it, Susan didn't think it sounded likely. "Or not. If he's calling a meeting for right now, it must be important."
Hannah nodded. "I'm going to get dressed, first."
"Me, too. I don't care how important it is, I'm not going in my nightgown. Huh? How'd you get ready so fast?"
"I just pulled my robes over my pajamas," Hannah answered with a smile.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Susan commented, as she buttoned up her blouse.
The two made their way through "the warrens," as the 'Puffs called the twisty passages the dorms were accessed from. Unlike Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, all the Hufflepuff dorms were on the same level - one corridor for accessing the girls dorms, and one for the boys. Should any boy go through the girls' door from the common room, an alarm would sound. There were rumors of a net, too, but no one had attempted it in the collective memory of the current residents.
They found the three boys who were also in the DA already in the Common Room.
"What's going on?" Ernie Macmillan asked.
"We know as much as you do," Hannah answered. "Let's go find out."
They opened the door leading out of Hufflepuff house, looked both ways and turned right. They passed the entrance to the kitchens and soon headed up the stairs to the Entrance Hall.
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Ron, Ginny, Lavender and the two Creevy boys made their way down the central staircases - the same moving staircases that once deposited Ron, Harry, and Hermione on the wrong third floor corridor. Luck was with them, and they reached the first floor quickly. They went through several corridors and reached the top of the south part of the Grand Staircase. This was the one most Gryffindors used, as it was the one physically closest to the Gryiffdor tower and a Gryffindor banner flew over it. However, the quickest way to the seventh floor entrance was the central staircase.
The four students headed down the steps and stopped as the hated voice of Umbridge yelled, "It's Weasley! Get them!"
Dawlish and the other auror ran up the steps after the students. Ron led them back through what he hoped was a confusing set of corridors, secret passages, and stairs, aiming for the exit normally used to get to the Quidditch pitch near the northeast corner of the castle.
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In the entrance hall, Umbridge was still staring at the upper parts of the Grand Staircase. The marble steps began on the ground floor, went up about ten feet, then continued up, left and right. At the ground floor, it was flanked by two staircases leading down - the right one led to the Hufflepuff basement, and the left to the Slytherin dungeon..
"Slytherin!" she exclaimed. "ELF!"
One of the castle's real maintenance staff appeared.
"Mistress needs Tilly?" she asked.
"Go to the Slytherin dorm and tell the Inquisitorial Squad that I want them here, now!"
"Yes, mistress." The elf disappeared with a pop.
Less than a minute latter, a group of students appeared on the steps leading up from the basement.
"Opps! We better use the back steps," Susan said quietly, catching sight of Umbridge, as she turned around and gently pushed her dorm mates back the way they came. The disappeared into the corridor at the bottom of the steps. Unfortunately, they were seen.
"Hogwarts!" the new headmistress ordered. "Lock down the school. She heard the great, iron bound oak door lock behind her, and knew that the rest of the doors leading out of the castle were also locked.
A noise on the dungeon steps caught her attention. The Inquisitorial Squad came stomping up the steps.
"Draco, take half your group and go after Bones and the others; they just ran down the stairs. They can't go back to the Hufflepuff dorm, I've locked down the school. Parkinson, take the rest to the room we found them in earlier, and guard it. If any one else shows up, stun them. I don't expect anyone too, because I think Potter's little group is trying to follow Dumbledore and leave the castle."
Draco smirked when he heard that. Finally, the old mudblood lover was gone!
"Bulstrode, Warrington, Goyle - you're with me. They're probably heading toward the staircase up from the basement on the other side of the Great Hall." He put action to words, and headed down the corridor that led to the Great Hall but went on beyond it. Turning left at the far end, he heard footsteps ahead on the staircase leading up. They broke into a run, and started a chase.
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"What's going on?" Hermione wanted to know.
Harry, still staring at the Marauder's Map, answered, "Draco's chasing the 'Puffs, and are probably heading this way. Ron's being chased by the aurors. He's heading to the back door. And so's Dean and Seamus. The 'Claws are almost here. Bloody hell! Why didn't they go?"
"Language Harry. What now?"
"Seamus and Dean met up with Ron's group, but they didn't leave the castle. And they're still being followed. And it looks like the Slytherins have split up. The 'Puffs are coming up the eastern side of the castle. Oh, no! Umbridge has more aurors in the Entrance Hall.
"Hermione, ask the Room to give us a way to escape. I'm going to try to intercept the 'Puffs and help get them here. When the 'Claws arrive, either leave, if you can, or wait for us until the last moment. If we get captured, you won't know."
"How about leave us the map?"
"Can't. If I did, I wouldn't know the 'Puff's route. I'll be back as soon as I can." Harry raced down the corridor. Hermione started pacing back and forth in front of the non-existent door.
"A way to escape. A way out. A way to safety," she muttered, as she paced in front of the blank wall three times. On the third time, the door appeared. She opened it up and looked at what the room gave her.
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Ron, the fifth year Gryffindor members of the Defense Associate, the two fourth years, and the lone second year member turned a corner as another red spell hit the wall near them.
"Damn!" Seamus exclaimed. "Now what? We got effing aurors after us, and the door's locked."
"We need to stop them or slow them down," Ron explained. "How about when we turn the next corner, Dennis, Collin, and Ginny run on while we turn and try to disarm them."
"NO!" Ginny cried.
"Ginny, they need to hear the footsteps or they'll know its a trap. You should know when to turn and help. Please don't argue, we're at the corner."
They ran around the corner, and Ron yelled, "Head for that staircase." He then stopped, got next to the wall, and aimed at the corner.
Dawlish and his companion came running around the corner, almost right into the three fifth year boys.
"Expelliarmus!" three voices yelled. Up to that point the students had just run away, so they were not expecting anything like what happened. They were slammed into the far wall, and their wands went flying towards the boys.
"These might come in handy, not being the wands of under age wizards," Seamus exclaimed.
"I hadn't thought of that," Ron muttered, waving the wand. It worked, but not as well as his wand.
"Now what?" Dean wanted to know. "We're really in it, now. We knocked out some bobbies!"
"Some what?" Ron asked.
"Muggle word for aurors. Don't worry about it," Seamus answered. "But he's right. What are we going to do with the doors locked?"
"Go up the stairs," Ron explained to the whole group, that was now back together. He led them up to the third floor, and walked about halfway down the corridor, stopping next to a statue of a one-eyed, hump-backed witch.
"Dissendium," he said, hitting it with his wand. The hump opened, revealing a ladder disappearing into the dark.
"Where does that go, Ron?" Ginny wanted to know.
"To the basement of Honeydukes," he said, as he climbed into the statue and started down.
"You mean we could have left the castle at any time to slip into Hogsmeade?"
"You could have done that anyway," Ron called up from his lower position. "Just a short trip through the Forbidden Forest would get you there."
"I may be a Gryffindor, but I'm not dumb enough to go into the forbidden forest," Dean yelled down. He was the last one in, and tried several things to close the door behind himself. He finally found that touching it with his wand caused it to close, leaving them in the dark.
"Lumos," several of them said.
"Colin, Ginny, and Dean - you better extinguish your wands. We'll soon be out of Hogwarts, and they can track us from our wands if we use them. Seamus, if that's your original wand, extinguish it, too. Use the auror's. Now follow me, and lets get Collin and Dennis back to their home."
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"Harry! Someone's after us!"
"The Inquisitorial Squad! Quick to the meeting room."
"Potter, what the heck's going on?" Zacharias Smith demanded.
"They tried to arrest Dumbledore," Harry said, as he waved the group past him, watching behind them for the pursuit that he knew was there. "He ran. Now I think they're going to arrest the rest of us. They have the list."
"Dammit, Potter! How the hell did they get that?"
"We were betrayed by Edgecombe. Now get a move on it. Hermione's trying to get us a way out of the castle."
"How?"
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Move it!"
An explosion knocked chunks of rock off the wall near them.
"Run!" Harry yelled, "They're firing blasting curses!"
He fired off a few more stunning curses in the general direction of the Slytherins, just to slow them down, then made a break for the staircase that the rest of the group had already gone up. As he approached, Hannah Abbott stepped out and fired a spell past him. As he passed her, she turned and ran with him.
"Thanks, Hannah!" he gasped, winded from the run.
"'Welcome," she wheezed back. At the top of the steps she cast "Aguamenti" causing a jet of water to pour down the steps.
"Good thinking,"
"Thanks," she replied, as they ran towards the next staircase on their way to the Room of requirement on the seventh floor.
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At the Room of Requirement, the Ravenclaw group had arrived. Hermione filled them in on what she knew.
"So, that might be the only way out of the castle?" Terry Boot asked, eying the offering of the Room of Requirement with suspicion.
"We could always throw ourselves on the tender mercies of Umbridge," Hermione said, sarcastically.
"Oh, no," Luna chipped in. "I spoke to my father over Christmas break, and he said that she had all her compassion magically removed when she became Undersecretary. Either that, or she's a new form of Dementor. Most people I've spoken to feel all happiness disappear in her presence."
"That actually makes some sense," Hermione said, forestalling an argument that she didn't think they had time for. "But the question is, do we take a leap of faith or not."
"Has anyone looked through it?" Padma wanted to know.
"I did," her sister answered. "You can't see anything. And I mean, nothing. Totally dark. I think it's because it's a magical conduit. It doesn't actually activate until you're all the way in."
"But we may not find our way back, right? We have no idea where it will take us."
"I asked for an escape to someplace safe. Either we believe the Room, or we don't. LOOK OUT!"
The red of a stunning hex came flying towards them from the far end of the corridor. Hermione fired back. More spells came their way. A firefight broke out.
"Where's Potter, by the way," Tony Goldstein asked, as he popped his head out of the Room of Requirement to shoot towards their attackers.
"Rescuing the 'Puffs," Hermione answered, right before getting hit by a stunning hex. Tony jumped out and fired off several stunners in return, as well as a few disarming jinxes. He dodged the return fire, and jumped back into the room as the rest of the DA members finished pulling Hermione in.
"Do we go or not?" Terry asked, as Tony again jumped out to keep their attackers away.
"Ron's group tried to leave by the back door, but seemed unable to." Parvati told them. "I think it's this way or capture."
"Fine, start heading through. Padma? Maybe you can go through first, and use your magic mirror to tell us what's on the other side?"
"Parv? You're the brave one?" she asked her sister.
Parvati gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. But you owe me." A moment later Padma's mirror spoke.
"It's dark, it's outside, it's warm, and there's no archway on this side. Oh, yes, it's near the sea. I can't really tell you much more than that."
"But you're alright?"
"I'm fine. I just hope there's some civilization around. I don't see any lights."
"We're going to start coming through. See you in a few minutes."
"Where is Potter!" Tony said as he narrowly escaped being hit by a yellow spell.
Hermione rubbed her head, having just been awakened with an Ennervate spell. "I told you. . . ."
"I know what he's doing. I just wish he'd do it faster before one of those spells hits us. They're not using stunners anymore."
Suddenly, there was noise from the other direction in the corridor. Looking out the door, a large number of spells went both ways down the corridor as Susan Bones leaped into the room followed by Justin Finch-Fletchley and Zack Smith.
"Quick, though there!" Padma directed them. Luna and Terry had already joined Parvati on the other side.
"Where?" Zack asked.
"All we know is someplace safe," Padma said, before disappearing.
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Umbridge looked over the aurors who had collected in the Entrance Hall.
"You have the lists. I want every one of them arrested. Then we'll search the school for any that aren't in their dormitories. Go. I'll meet each group at the entrance to the common room and open the door. Let's go."
HPatMI HPatMI HPatMI HPatMI HPatMI HPatMI
Harry dived into the Room of Requirement. Only Hannah, who preceded him and Hermione were there.
"What is that?" He looked at the stone arch with some sort of veil covering the opening.
Hermione answered, "It's our way out. Everyone else has already gone through. What about Ron?"
"I saw him in a tunnel to Hogsmeade. He should be alright. If that's the way out then let's go."
Hannah watched as Hermione pushed the veil aside to walk into darkness. Suddenly a spell came from behind her, and she ran towards it. She heard Harry casting behind her. She glanced back to see him holding a magical shield and two bodies just outside the door. He was stepping backwards, watching the door.
"Everyone through?"
Hannah replied, "Just us two left, Harry, and I'm going in. Come on."
Harry looked over his shoulder and saw the blond go through the arch. He turned and ran towards it as someone shouted a spell from the doorway. He dove into darkness.
HPatMI HPatMI HPatMI HPatMI HPatMI HPatMI
Pansy and her part of the Inquisitorial Squad came running from the other end of the hallway when she saw Draco's group reach the door to the room where Potter had been meeting earlier that night. Two of Draco's group went down, but then Draco and Bulstrode ran into the room. The door closed behind them.
By the time she reached the doorway, it had disappeared. She was left staring at a blank wall.
