Written for the QLFC round 11.
Team: Pride of Portree
Position: Seeker
Prompt: Inspired by Saw
Severus knew he wasn't going to survive the year. The final battle was fast approaching. The children were training themselves—and each other—while he kept the Carrows occupied with more mundane rulebreakers.
Potter and his friends were off doing whatever insane task Albus had left to them, which apparently required a sword. The professors were setting up the castle defenses. Severus supposed they were trying to be secretive, but he saw it all. The end was coming, and no one was truly prepared.
Severus paced back and forth along the seventh floor corridor, his cloak billowing behind him menacingly. It wasn't worth doing rounds of the castle to check for students out of bed; not even Potter would have been stupid enough to invite the wrath of the Carrows by breaking curfew. Even if students were out, frankly, he'd rather remain unaware and not have to turn them in for their torturous punishment.
"I need to find Neville Longbottom. I need to find Neville Longbottom. I need to find Neville Longbottom. I need—"
No matter how many times Severus repeated himself, the wall before him remained, obstinately, a wall. He sighed and ran a hand through his limp hair. The Room of Requirement had always been tricky to predict, but since it had begun to harbour the escaped students it had become even more elusive than usual.
Severus kicked the unhelpful wall in frustration. The children needed help! The battle could come at any time, and he did not know what they were planning to do, but he suspected they would all get themselves killed. He couldn't let that happen.
What a waste of perfectly good lives, he thought to himself. What use is anything I have been doing if everyone ends up dead anyway?
He began pacing again, praying to all the deities he knew of that the room would hear him.
"I need these children prepared for war, I need these children prepared for war, I need these children prepared for war…"
It was all Severus could do. He hoped that, somehow, it would be enough.
Inside the Room of Requirement, Neville Longbottom woke with a start. A feeling of inexplicable dread washed over him. He sat up and glanced around to check on the other students, and the feeling increased when he realised he could see none of them.
Instead of the large dormitory that the room usually became at night, Neville found he was sitting in a small, dark dungeon. Standing, he felt his way around the perimeter, finding nothing of interest. Groaning, he dropped to all fours and began exploring the rest of the room as systematically as he could.
It didn't take long before Neville felt what appeared to be a pole sticking up from the floor. Following it upwards with his fingers, he realised it was actually the leg of a table. He pulled himself up and investigated the table with his hands, finding multiple objects he could not identify by touch alone.
Groaning again, Neville finally reached for his wand, berating himself for not thinking of casting Lumos earlier, but was dismayed to find that it was not there. He returned to examining the table as best he could in the pitch darkness.
His fingers landed on a small, rectangular object that appeared to have one very rough side and a removable midsection. Upon further investigation, Neville found that the middle of what he presumed to be a box contained several small, possibly wooden, stick-like objects, with rounded tips.
Aha! Neville had seen these used before, by Muggles. He didn't know what they were called, but they could make fire if you rubbed them against the box they came in.
Pleased with his deduction, Neville took one of the sticks and struck it against the side of the box, gasping when a flame appeared. Glancing around the table using the fire as a light source, Neville found a candle, and quickly lit it, blowing out the flame on the little stick only moments before it burnt down to his fingertips.
The candle was a more reliable source of light than the little stick, although it only illuminated a tiny section of the room. Still, it allowed Neville to see the letter lying on the table, addressed to himself. He turned it over and broke the wax seal on the envelope, and pulled out the parchment inside.
Mr Longbottom,
It is my job to prepare you for war. Unfortunately, in the world in which you live, the enemy cannot always be found by sight alone. Disguises and illusions can be difficult to distinguish from reality, however you must learn to do so quickly. As you read this, your time has begun. You have ten minutes to find the Death Eater in the room. If you succeed, you will be released. If you identify the wrong thing, or take too long, you will die, as that is the consequence of failure in war.
Good luck.
Neville's hands shook as he read the note. There was a Death Eater in this room with him! And in less than ten minutes he could die! How much time had he already wasted?
Neville forced himself to take a breath and calm down. If there were truly a Death Eater in the room then he would already be dead. The letter had said he was being prepared for war. Perhaps this was some kind of twisted training exercise? But who had done this?
There wasn't enough time to worry too much about it. He had to start searching. Using the candle, Neville wandered the room again, but found nothing that remotely resembled a human, let alone a Death Eater.
The note had mentioned disguises and illusions. If he had his wand, Neville could have used that spell Hermione had tried to teach him to check if anyone was concealed in the room with him, although honestly he'd never been much good at it.
The table contained nothing else of particular interest. The box of fire-sticks, a couple of drops of wax from the candle, a small round thing that looked like one of Ginny's makeup containers, and a glass of water. None of which seemed particularly useful for identifying Death Eaters.
Neville picked up the makeup container, at a loss for what he was supposed to do, but reluctant to simply stand around thinking when he could be acting.
As he opened the compact, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror inside and paused. He had changed drastically in the last few months, but he didn't remember turning his eyes red. He held the candle and mirror carefully, inspecting his reflection. Everything else seemed normal.
Perhaps someone had played a prank on him. It could easily be one of Fred and George's products: terrify your friends with the Dark Lord's eyes! Still, that feeling of dread was creeping over him again. He put down the mirror and rolled up his sleeve.
A skull and snake design adorned his arm, and he almost dropped the candle in terror.
"I'm the Death Eater?" he asked aloud.
A new letter appeared on the table.
Congratulations!
You have won the game. The imperius curse is used often by your enemy to accomplish their goals without risking their own members. Remember, anyone could be under their control. Even you.
As Neville finished reading, the room and its contents disappeared, leaving Neville shaking next to his hammock. His arm was, thankfully, unblemished once more, but his mind was filled with questions that no-one could answer.
Ginny and Luna woke simultaneously, their left arms restrained behind their backs and material wrapped around their mouths, gagging them.
Ginny could see a large glass ball suspended from the ceiling above Luna. It appeared to be filled with a sinister-looking green liquid which bubbled and frothed. A quick glance upwards confirmed her suspicions that there was also one above herself.
Luna was far too calm as far as Ginny was concerned. She immediately began twisting and writhing, trying to free herself from the padlocked chain binding her wrist, as her friend sat opposite her, her eyes patient. She clawed at the material around her mouth, but it was stuck tight. She checked her pockets for her wand, but found them empty. A muffled sound of frustration escaped through the gag as Ginny realised she was well and truly trapped.
Two pieces of parchment appeared, floating in front of the faces of the girls.
Ms Lovegood and Ms Weasley,
It is my job to prepare you for war. One of the most important skills in combat is teamwork. If the two of you are able to work together then you will be able to escape. You will be unable to communicate, as speaking your plans aloud is often inadvisable in battle. You have ten minutes before the dissolving solution above you both destroys the containers. In war, the consequence of failure is death, and so it is in here.
Good luck.
Ginny attempted to scream again, but barely any noise made its way through. Luna simply shrugged and began looking around the room as Ginny continued to struggle. Suddenly, Luna waved to Ginny and pointed across to a dim corner of the room. A small metal object glinted on the floor. Ginny squinted, trying to make out what it could be. Luna stuck out her hand and mimed turning something, her thumb and two of her fingers pinched together as though gripping something.
A key! It was a key, that was what Luna was trying to convey. Still, it was too far away for either of them to reach. Luna very deliberately reached up to her neck and began to undo her tie, staring at Ginny expectantly.
Oh, Ginny thought, we're supposed to be working together. She mimicked Luna's actions, removing her tie. Luna beckoned with one hand. Ginny balled up the tie and used all the skills she'd developed from Quidditch to throw it directly into Luna's lap.
Luna attempted to tie the two strips of material together one handed, but was clearly struggling. Ginny wondered what she could do to help from the other side of the room. The objective here was teamwork, so there must be some way for her to help her friend.
Realising what she needed to do, Ginny reached up and pulled the hair bobble from the bottom of her plait. Waving to Luna to get her attention, Ginny flicked the bobble across the room, landing it close enough for Luna to grab it. With a couple of twists, Luna had the ties tied into a respectable lasso.
Luna attempted to use the lasso to pull the key closer to her, but her aim simply wasn't good enough. Rolling her eyes, she chucked the ties back across the room to Ginny.
Ginny grabbed the lasso and stretched herself away from the wall as far as she could. A quick glance upward showed that they were almost out of time. Ginny flicked her wrist and landed the loop around the key. She pulled gently, not wanting it to simply slip off again, and dragged the key towards herself.
Ginny grabbed the key as soon as she could reach it and stuck it into the padlock, releasing herself from her restraints. She jumped to her feet and dove across the room to Luna, fumbling slightly with her friends lock but freeing her quickly. The gags across their mouths vanished, as did the dissolving solution above them. Ginny squealed with glee as soon as she could make noise again.
A piece of parchment appeared floating in front of them. Luna took hold of it and read it aloud.
Congratulations!
You have won the game. In war, communicating through silent means and understanding each other well enough to act as a unit is an important skill to have mastered. Remember, anyone could be listening in the shadows.
"Well, that was weird," Ginny stated as the room began to disappear around them.
"Yes. I wonder why we are in our school uniforms, when we were sleeping in our pyjamas." Luna replied.
"That's the part that's bothering you?" Ginny shouted as they appeared next to their respective hammocks in the Room of Requirement, startling Neville, who appeared to have been standing next to his own hammock studying his arm.
Susan, Hannah, Justin, and Ernie woke simultaneously, lying on a cold tiled floor.
"Anyone know where we are?" Justin asked, looking around.
"Not really, but maybe the Room of Requirement has changed shape?" Hannah suggested. Everyone nodded, satisfied with the answer.
A piece of parchment appeared on the floor between the four students. All of them stared at it, but none made a move to touch it.
"I suppose I'll read that," Ernie announced after a few moments of group inactivity.
Mr McMillan,
It is my job to prepare you for war. Congratulations! You are the designated leader of your little army. Your task is simple: escape the room in under ten minutes, before a poisonous substance is released inside.
"Strange," Ernie mumbled. "I wonder how it knew I would read it."
Ernie straightened up and puffed out his chest.
"Right then, troops, you heard me! Let's get searching for a way out of here!"
The other three Hufflepuffs began to explore the empty room, Ernie directing them from the centre.
"I found something!" Susan exclaimed, pointing at one of the floor tiles. "I think we could press this in, with enough weight."
"Move aside, Susan," Ernie commanded. "As the leader it should be me who tests this theory."
Susan scooted back out of the way and Ernie stepped onto the tile. A door sprung open across the room.
"Well, that was easy!" Ernie declared, and stepped towards the door. However, as soon as he stepped off the tile, the door closed once more. "Ah, perhaps not."
"What's the problem?" Justin asked. "You stand on there, and we walk out."
"But how will Ernie get out?" Hannah asked him.
"Well, perhaps one of us could prop the door open, and then he could run?" Justin suggested. No one had a better idea.
"In that case, I should be the one to stand on the tile," Susan said. "I'm the fastest runner here, and we don't know how long you'll be able to hold the door."
"No, Susan." Ernie bowed his head dramatically. "As your designated leader, it is my duty to take this risk."
"But you're stronger and I'm faster!" Susan protested. "If you hold the door-"
"Susan, as your leader I command you to walk out of that door, we are running out of time!" Ernie shouted, stepping back onto the tile.
"Come on, Susan. If this is just the Room of Requirement being weird then he's not in any real danger."
Susan still looked unsure, but nodded to her friend and walked across to the doorway. Bracing her hands on the door, she locked eyes with Ernie.
"Run as fast as you can on three, okay?"
Susan counted, and Ernie ran. The door slammed instantly, pushing Susan away and leaving Ernie alone. A floating piece of parchment appeared before him.
Congratulations!
You have won the game. Unfortunately, sacrifice is a necessary evil of war. You may rest assured that your friends are well.
Ernie blinked away tears, and sat down on the floor. His ten minutes were almost up.
Susan, Hannah and Justin found themselves standing by their hammocks, along with Neville, Luna and Ginny. Ernie was nowhere to be seen.
Severus tossed and turned in his sleep. He didn't know if the Room had heard his plea. He had no idea if the students were going to be safe. He could only hope that somehow they would find the necessary skills to come through this war whole.