Hinting, helping, healing
-Part One: Hinting
Michael Corner hurried down the stairs to the dungeons, clutching his potions book in one hand and his wand in the other. He felt nervous. They'd been here not one week and already students had been tortured by the new teachers.
Last year, Michael hadn't minded leaving home during a war. Last year, Michael had felt safe in the knowledge that he was able to spend the whole year in the safest place in the country. But with Dumbledore gone and Snape there to replace him, Hogwarts was the last place Michael wanted to spend his year.
He reached the potions classroom and relaxed a little. There had been no nasty encounters in the corridors. He walked into the classroom and took a seat where he could clearly see the whole room.
"Who's there?" Slughorn came running into the classroom, wand drawn. "Oh, Corner, it's just you."
"Yes. Sorry Sir. I got here a little early." Michael said. "The Carrows are in the Great Hall." He added quietly. Slughorn winced and nodded understandingly.
"Right. Of course." He said nervously. "Well, no need to set your cauldron up yet boy, just take a seat." He smiled half-heartedly and sat down at his desk.
Michael sat down at his desk and opened his potions book, pulling out an old folded up page of The Daily Prophet into. On it was a list of the muggle-borns the ministry was looking for. As Michael re-read it, his eyes lingered on the names of fellow students.
"You're not expecting to get news from that thing, are you?" Slughorn said suddenly, noticing the newspaper Michael held.
"Ah, no. This is an old issue." Michael said, surprised. Slughorn nodded. There was an awkward pause. Michael frowned to himself. All summer long his father had complained about how little the Prophet was saying about the war. He looked up at Slughorn. "Professor… Sir, is there any way, that you know of, to find out the truth about what's going on?"
Slughorn stared at him as if he'd just uncovered a secret he wasn't supposed to know about. Michael stared back hopefully.
"Well-" Slughorn began, just as the door opened and Draco Malfoy slid in. Immediately Slughorn stopped talking and looked away. Michael slumped in disappointment and glared across the room at Malfoy…
But as the lesson ended, about an hour later, Slughorn walked by Michael's desk, dropping a slip of parchment on top of his book. Frowning, Michael picked it up and read it.
'Channel 7. Password- phoenix'
Michael looked up at Slughorn, who met his gaze, pointedly adjusting the position of a small wireless on his desk. Michael widened his eyes and looked back down at the parchment.
"Mr Corner," Slughorn called, as Michael left the classroom. Michael looked back at him questioningly. "Be sure to clean up after yourself, won't you?" He said sternly. Michael nodded and gave the professor a quick smile, already planning to burn the parchment once he'd committed the words to memory.
-Part Two: Helping
One week left. One week left. One week left.
Michael chanted the words to himself as he walked from the common room down to the great hall. Luna, Anthony and Padma were walking with him.
There was one week left before the Christmas holidays. Michael never thought he would want to return home for Christmas. He had never imagined life at Hogwarts would be this bad.
"Do you hear something?" Luna asked suddenly. Michael listened. Somewhere below them, a girl was yelling.
"This way!" Michael said, running along the corridor and down a staircase. They peered around a corner to see Crabbe, Goyle and some other Slytherin standing around a third year Hufflepuff girl. Crabbe was waving a crumpled piece of parchment in front of her face.
"IS IT YOURS?" Crabbe roared at the girl. She was shaking, tears on her cheeks.
"Yes." She whispered. Crabbe cried out in anger.
"Someone should-" Michael started to whisper to Anthony, but before he could finish, Crabbe had cast crucio and the girl was screaming. Michael turned away. "Someone should get Flitwick." He said.
"I will." Padma said, looking slightly sick. The others nodded and she hurried away. Michael turned to Anthony and they nodded at each other before looking back at the girl and the Slytherins. The Slytherins were leaving, Crabbe still holding the girl's parchment in one hand.
"We should follow them." Anthony said, "They're probably taking that parchment to the Carrows. I bet it's got important information on it."
"But what about the girl?" Michael asked. She was crumpled on the floor, crying into her hands.
"One of us should stay with her." Luna said.
"I will." Michael volunteered unexpectedly.
"Ok, let's go then, Anthony." Luna said, and the two of them followed the Slytherins down the corridor. Michael walked up to the girl and crouched down beside her.
"Are you alright?" He asked her. She looked up at him with watery eyes.
"It was a letter from my mum." She whispered. "She's hiding in France."
"Come on." Michael said kindly, picking up her bag and offering her a hand. "I'll take you to Madame Pomphrey, then back to your common room." The girl wiped her eyes and accepted his hand. He helped her up and checked the hallway. "I'm Michael Corner. What's your name?"
"Rose." The girl said quietly. "Rose Zeller."
"I'm sure your mum will be fine, Rose." He told her. "My friends have gone to get Professor Flitwick. And some others are following those Slytherins." Rose looked reassured.
"Thanks." She whispered. Michael smiled and they walked in silence towards the hospital wing. Their pace quickened when they passed the entrance to the dungeons and Michael gripped his wand tighter as a precaution. When it was all clear, they relaxed again. Michael sighed.
"Hogwarts is all wrong now." He muttered, almost to himself. Rose looked up at him with a half-hearted smile.
"On the bright side." She said tiredly, "There's only one week left."
-Part Three: Healing
Walls were crumbling. Curses were flying. People were falling. Michael was running.
He stumbled along the stone passage, breathing heavily. To his surprise, Michael felt angry tears prick his eyes. This was his school. And it was crumbling around him.
"Look out!" Someone yelled. And then, out of nowhere, something smashed violently into his side. A tremendous wave of heat blew above his head as he tumbled to the ground. Michael's face collided with the floor and he felt a shooting pain up his jaw. He yelled out in pain and tried to stand up he was pinned to the ground. His ears were ringing and smoke was everywhere. With a mighty cry, Michael pushed hard with his arm, and to his surprise, the weight rolled off of him. Michael sat up and turned to see what had been on top of him. He cried out in shock and surprise: It was Dean Thomas from Gryffindor.
"Dean?" He said. Dean didn't respond. Michael looked around him and saw that the wall beside them had a gaping hole in it. Dean must have pushed Michael out of the way. He crawled towards Dean and pulled him away from the rubble that littered the corridor, propping him up against a sheltered interior wall.
"Dean!" He yelled, shaking his peer's shoulders. "Dean! Wake up!" Michael yelled, his voice cracking. With shaking hands, he lifted his wand "Aguamenti." He said. The water splashed in Dean's face, but didn't wake him. Michael swore. "Bloody Gryffindor hero." He muttered as he placed two fingers on Dean's wrist. Almost as soon as Michael had spoken, Dean coughed and stirred. "Dean! Dean can you hear me?" Michael said worriedly.
"Michael?" Dean muttered. "That you?"
"Yeah" Michael said with a relieved smile. "It's me. Come on, we've got to get moving." Dean grunted as Michael helped him up and the two of them rushed down the corridor, Dean lagging behind.
"Is anyone fighting up here?" Dean asked.
"I think so." Michael said. Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, a death eater appeared.
"Watch out!" Dean called, casting a shield charm so strong, it knocked Michael off his feet. The death eater turned to Dean and they began to fight. But Dean was losing; he wasn't using enough attack spells.
"Less defence, more attack." Michael yelled. Dean glared. Michael gritted his teeth in annoyance and sent a spell at the death eater's ankles.
"Bloody Ravenclaw know-it-all." Dean muttered, quickly stunning the fallen death eater. Michael smirked and the two of them continued running.
They came to a staircase, leading down into a nasty looking battle. They exchanged a look.
"You ready?" Dean said. Michael nodded grimly. Dean turned to Michael and shook his hand. "Good luck, mate." He said. Michael smiled.
"You too. Don't get too brave, Gryffindor." He said. Dean laughed.
"Don't be a smart-arse, Ravenclaw." He shot back.
And with that the two boys launched themselves into the battle.