Written for Arithmancy in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments).
I've always loved the Silver Trio, so of course I had to write an AU for them. I see them as very close-knit, especially after the events of Deathly Hallows, so excuse the mushy thingamees because I see them comfortable enough for that stuff.
It may seem like nothing much has changed in this universe, but I assure you, many small things did change. All of those small things brought out big differences, some of which you'll see in this piece. That said, I don't plan on continuing this. So simply enjoy this snippet from another dimension and ponder its intricacies.
Disclaimer: Now I don't normally read Silver Trio stories, so I don't know how original this plot is. Either way, J.K. Rowling owns the characters and settings. And their personalities, she owns those as well.
The three of them stood on the hilltop, looking over the grounds of Hogwarts.
The two females, one a dirty blonde and the other with fiery orange hair, stared at the castle; the blonde solemn, the redhead grim, as if expecting the worst.
The only male stood between them, and he too seemed to be staring at the castle with a certain kind of resignation. But there was a look in his hazel eyes, suggesting he was in a place far away, reliving a peculiar memory.
Finally the male broke out of his trance and turned around to face the two females. The blonde focused on him, while the redhead continued to stare at the castle.
"This is it." The male broke the silence. Wind whipped his blond hair about his face.
The redhead stared resolutely ahead. The blonde gazed at him with something akin to expectance.
"It's us. Against…them." The male gestured outward, towards Hogwarts, though nothing about it showed hostility.
The wind howled and despite the noise it made, the scene was almost eerie.
"We have to lead them," He pushed on, despite the silence from the other two. "Harry," – the redhead winced – "Ron, and Hermione are depending on us. They let us leave them at Grimmauld Place, seriously injured, so we could do this."
"They left us a task, and nothing more," the female with red hair spoke up, her voice bitter.
"It's crucial to the defeat of You-Know-Who, Ginny," He persisted.
"We kill some snake, and then what?" The redhead, Ginny, shot back. "He'll be here. And we 'stand back'? What were they thinking, 'Oh, they can just stand back after they killed the last Horcrux and let other people die'?!"
"No," The blonde spoke up calmly. "They want us to lay low until they show up. We can help, but we can't fight anyone important."
"Important is every single Death Eater!" Ginny cried out, kicking at a sizeable rock. It flew off the ground and landed a few feet away, leaving her cursing and hopping on one foot.
"Not all of them," The blonde stated. "We just can't harm any of the Inner Circle. No, Neville, you can't go after Bellatrix, not until Harry, Ron, and Hermione show up. They're nearly done being healed."
Neville let out an angry growl. "Can we do anything?"
"That's the spirit," Ginny encouraged.
"We just have to wait," the blonde said, looking slightly less dream-like and a bit more uncomfortable.
"You know how much I hate waiting, Luna," Ginny grumbled.
"I do, and resisting for this long has made you strong," The blonde, Luna, answered calmly.
Her words seemed to settle over the group, silencing them.
"Who's going to fight?" Neville spoke up finally. "Half the DA is gone, and there's only so many teachers."
"I've thought about that," Luna said suddenly. "Do you remember the DA coins? If people still have it on them, we might gather some more forces."
"Luna, you're a genius," Neville grinned. "And if the people that hear the call bring as many people as they can with them – "
"– and they lead the others with them through Ariana's portrait – " Ginny piped up.
"Problem solved," Neville said, now excited.
"But even then, we won't have enough people fighting," Luna pointed out.
"Charlie," Ginny said. "We can Floo call him from the castle, he might be able to bring in some dragons. And Bill, he could put up some protective enchantments he's learned over the years."
"That's settled, then," Neville decided.
They lapsed into silence again.
Finally, Ginny broke the silence. "I wish they'd given us something else to do," she burst out angrily.
Luna opened her mouth to speak, but Neville cut her off.
"We do." Neville said shortly. "They overlooked something. Where do we get something to kill the snake? Harry, Ron, and Hermione lost Gryffindor's Sword after destroying the tiara and getting captured by Fenrir Greyback in Hogsmeade. So how do we get rid of the snake?"
They remained silent.
"The Chamber," Ginny blurted.
"What?" Neville asked. Luna simply waited, silently encouraging her friend to go on.
"Well, when H – Harry and I left the Chamber," Ginny began. Despite stumbling over the name of her ex-boyfriend, she looked excited for the first time that evening. "We left the basilisk there. With the fangs. Could we – ?"
"We can't, we don't know Parseltongue," said Neville miserably.
"Ginny," Luna said suddenly. "How did Harry get the sword the first time?"
"…Through the Sorting Hat, he told me," Ginny answered uneasily.
"Things end up where they once began," Luna quoted happily.
"You think so?" Neville asked doubtfully.
"It's true," Luna pressed. "It's happened loads of times to my belongings, when we still went to Hogwarts."
"It's our best bet," Ginny said reluctantly, after a pause.
"Well, why not?" Neville finally said. "He's not here yet; I think we have time."
"Let's go, then," Ginny said softly, glancing up at the castle before turning back to the other two.
"Wait." Luna pulled them into a hug. "The Blibbering Humdingers will leave you alone if you receive a hug." After a moment, they reciprocated.
"Just in case," Ginny murmured.
"Just in case," Neville agreed.
"Whatever happens," Luna said softly.
The three of them turned and stared across the Hogwarts grounds, hoping for the best in the hours to come. They began the trek towards its silhouette, hand in hand.