The following weeks were filled with a littering of strange events. Michael had left the Room of Requirement the next morning and had proceeded to steadfastly recruit several "free" members of the DA into the cause once more and they, in tandem with the members who were in hiding, wreaked small havocs upon the school. Graffiti appeared once more upon the castle walls. Large detention groups were freed once more. One day Alecto entered her classroom—the revitalised Muggle Studies—to find it bare of any furniture whatsoever. Little event after little event was beginning to build hope in the students, and frustrations in the Death Eaters, and each one was viewed as a victory.

When a member was caught, or found to be under considerable suspicion, they retreated to the safety of the Room of Requirement and continued their efforts from there. Cho and Terry were both in hiding now. As were several other members. Michael, Dean, and Susan were the only ones left in the school, and suspicion was beginning to fall heavily upon them. Soon they would have to give up their limited "freedom" and confine their efforts to the nighttime just as everyone else had. Because detentions occurred during the early evening—in the light—this would mean no more detention-freeing, so no one was overjoyed at the prospect.

The corridors were dark once more, and Michael crept along steadily. He remembered being amazed at Neville's fearlessness, and found himself (perhaps recklessly) feeling similarly. There was a first year in the dungeons serving detention, but "intel" said the kid's prospects after detention didn't look great. Essentially it was a rescue mission—get in, grab the kid, take him to the hideout, then get back to bed to avoid suspicion. What was tricky about it was that he was serving detention with Filch, who enjoyed watching his victims hanging upside down in manacles.

Michael reached the doorway of the room and sent one of Fred and George's decoys down the hall then hid around the corner and waited. A minute later, the small explosion dragged Filch away from his amusements. Once he was safely out of sight, Michael tossed some Instant Darkness Powder after him, hoping it wouldn't come too far back towards him, and dashed into the room.

"Hey, kid," he said in a pseudo-calm tone, "What's your name?"

The boy was shaking as Michael cast spells to throw off the wards ove him. "Jimmy Sloper."

"Oh yeah, your brother was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, right?"

Jimmy donned a brave smile and nodded just as Michael broke him free.

"Alright, let's go, Jimmy." He grabbed his hand and they ran out of the room. They were going to have to zig-zag across the castle, to prevent leading possible pursuit to their doorstep.

After a few minutes, they slowed a bit—walking would be quieter than running—and Michael was starting to relax, thankful for his most recent activities' effect on his fitness. Jimmy seemed to have an endless supply of energy and was almost bouncing with pent-up nervous energy.

"How's Jack doing anyhow?" Michael asked in an undertone, hoping to provide some distraction.

"Oh, he's good," he replied with a sad smile. "Him and my parents went into hiding a couple days ago. The Carrows weren't happy that I couldn't tell them where."

He clapped a comforting hand onto the younger boy's shoulder.

"Oh ho! Not happy, indeed." A hand grabbed each of them from behind and adrenalin flooded Michael's veins. "You. You're the Corner boy. Tisk, tisk. Ravenclaws becoming reckless vigilantes. What next?" Alecto let out a wheezy cackle. It was cut short when Jimmy kicked her in the shins.

Her grip slackened for a moment and Michael used the opportunity to cast a non-verbal stupefy. She slumped to the ground. "C'mon, Jimmy. We gotta run. Amycus could be right behind her."

But the boy just stared at her, a bright rage glittering in his eyes. His wand slowly rose until it was pointing at the Death Eater's form, then, with an awful scream, he dropped it and launched himself upon her, his fists flying every which way, and tears pouring down his cheeks.