Parvati and Lavender arrived in the Room of Requirement and found the condition of the all boys club to be completely unacceptable. The over-age wizards had been living there for ten days with no rules, no supervision and it showed, both in the condition of the room and the condition of the boys. The two witches gathered them into a shower queue at wand-point and set about cleaning the Room to make it fit for living. At the news that witches were now being targeted, Ernie tried to leave the queue twice, but Parvati's wand put him back in his place, reminding him that in Susan's delicate condition, the smell of him alone would set her to passing out, the likes of which hadn't been seen since the Fainting Fancy sweet mix-up of Valentine's Day, sixth year. He reluctantly acquiesced, but the glare on his face did not go unnoticed by the witch, who simply smirked at him, wand held firmly. He had never been quicker in the shower, barely taking the time to towel off. He grabbed volunteers, Wayne and Derek, and they set off through the door, intending to end up in the Hufflepuff common room.
They did end up in the common room as planned. Unfortunately, they hadn't planned on their arrival meeting an intense scene with Professor Sprout shouting, girls crying, and Sally-Anne Perks half-naked, her arm roughly held by Amycus Carrow. Ernie's grip tightened on his own wand, and he felt the spell whiz by his ear as Derek shouted, "Stupefy," pointing his wand at Amycus' sister, who had begun to move towards them. She flew back, hitting the fireplace, landing in a crumpled heap. Ernie aimed his wand at Amycus, hitting him with the same spell. Carrow fell back, knocking over a nearby chair.
Professor Sprout steadied Sally-Anne, and as stunned as she was to see the oldest of her House back, it didn't stop her from speaking rapidly, her high-pitch sounding foreign in the now quiet room. "What are you doing here? You're on the list." Wayne took over for the Professor, covering Sally-Anne with a blanket he had grabbed from one of the chairs. She used that opportunity to use her wand and bind the Carrows siblings, leaving them where they lay. "Answer me, Mr. Macmillan, what are you doing back here?"
While the Professor was questioning and scolding him, he looked around the room. Sally-Anne in her knickers, Hannah Abbott, Megan Jones. Zacharias Smith was unconscious under the table. "Where's Susan?" he asked in a hushed, trying-not-to-panic tone. "Where's my wife?"
Hannah spoke quickly. "With Morag. Morag was trying to get her out. They may still be in the dorms. We weren't expecting the surprise inspection so early in the morning. We were afraid they'd find out about the baby, so Morag offered to help her escape. We were the distraction." She gestured towards Sally-Anne, who shrugged, her cheeks coloring slightly. She was still shaking as she pulled the blanket tighter around her and moved closer into Wayne's arms.
"Stay here with the girls," he directed Wayne and Derek, "in case they wake up. I'll look for Susan and Morag in their dorm."
He went through the already opened door that led to the seventh year girls' bedroom. When he arrived, it was in complete disarray. Bedcovers on the floor, mattresses overturned. Glass bottles broken. The door to the wood stove was open, but no fire was burning. The window across the room was open as well, and he peered out onto the grounds, but saw nothing unusual. He swallowed, getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He used his wand and a spell to push open the door leading to the bathroom, calling ahead of him. "Is anyone in the loo? Susan? Morag?"
He heard a shriek of relief from behind him and spun around, looking for the source. Morag was crawling out from under the bed nearest the window. "Ernie! Thank Merlin! The Carrows were inspecting. They would have –"
"I know," he said quickly, hugging her. "They're unconscious. We're taking you to the Room of Requirement. Get your stuff. Where's Susan?" He held his breath for the span of seconds that seemed like an eternity as Morag tilted her head towards the bed she had just crawled out from under. He lifted the bed and tossed it over onto its side, and saw Susan for the first time, curled up and shaking, her arms protectively around her belly; their baby. He pocketed his wand, and knelt down beside her, touching her shoulders with both hands. He kissed her head and she looked up at him, a frightened smile on her lips as she said his name.
"Oh, Ernie."
He stood, lifting her into his arms, pulling her tightly into an embrace. He kissed her mouth, pressing his lips gently at first, but growing more urgent as his fear was swept away with relief and the passion of not seeing his wife for the past ten days, almost a fortnight. Morag's cough ended their kiss and their embrace.
"Don't you think we should leave?" She pointed to the doorway, where the others were trying to watch the couple's reunion.
"Yes," Ernie said definitively. "It is time to go." He climbed back through into the common room, helping both Susan and Morag out as well. "I'm sorry, Professor. We need to go back into hiding."
She nodded mutely.
Wayne pointed to Zach's body. "Should we take him with us? He is a seventh year. He's in just as much danger as the rest of us."
Ernie shook his head sadly. "We can't. Colin banned him. The Room won't let us in if we bring him along."
"Ernie –"
Megan began, but Ernie shook his head again, speaking just above a whisper. "No. I'm sorry. He made his choice." He hated leaving his friend behind. He understood the choice he made, but now, there was no going back. He glanced at the Carrows as Alecto began to stir. "We need to go. Now." They gathered at the door to return, but Megan stayed behind for a moment more, and while Ernie watched her, she kneeled beside Zacharias, and kissed his forehead, whispering in his ear. Ernie felt as though he was intruding by watching, but he knew what she was feeling, and he waited as long as he felt he could before interrupting her. "Meg."
She nodded and kissed Zach again, holding his hand against her heart and then her stomach, and then laying his hand next to his own cheek before joining Ernie and Susan and the other, with tears in her eyes.