Holly wasn't sure what she had just witnessed but decided that it was safest if she didn't follow them inside. It would just mean that her death wouldn't be as soon and that she would have at least a slim chance of living to at least attempt to kill Voldemort.
Sun seeped through the windows by the time Holly got back to the dorm room that Ron and Hermione were in. They had woken up, probably by the sunlight and were searching everywhere silently.
"Holly!" Ron exclaimed when the door opened but it appeared that no one had entered. She pulled the cloak off her body so she was visible again.
"You're an idiot! I hope you know that!" Hermione sighed. "You know what- I ban you from using that cloak uless you tell us or if it's absolutely necessary."
"You can't do that!" Holly exclaimed.
"I'm the oldest so surely I should be in charge!" Hermione insisted.
"And the most logical." Holly said.
"Exactly!"
"Wait! No- that doesn't help me!"
"Too late!" Hermione smirked before putting the room back together with the wave of her wand.
The trio sat in their dorm room with the door locked so no one would accidentally come across them. Of course they knew that none of the Gryffindors would rat them out but it would just be simpler if no one else knew. When first lesson rolled around, Holly pulled on tge invisibility cloak and went down to the kitchens to get everyone some breakfast. Hopefully there wouldn't be too many people out in the corridors because the last thing she needed was for someone to step on the cloak and reveal her to the whole school.
Luckily, Holly didn't run into anyone on her way down to the kitchens but she would have to reveal herself to all the house elves which might be an issue but to be fair, what death eater or Ministry member would question a house elf for Holly's whereabouts?
Holly tickled the pear in the painting of the fruit bowl and the wall opened up to reveal thousands of wrinkled, pale creatures, only around 3 foot heigh, rushing around and cleaning pots and pans. Out of all the small house elves there, Holly noticed one very kind and farmiliar face. He was very hard to miss because of his colourful clothing. Mainly just socks on different parts of his body where they tended not to belong, for example: his large ears; but there were some less obscure items of clothing.
"Dobby!" She whispered, hoping she wouldn't attract the attention of the other elves. Dobby looked around to see who had called his name but only noticed the other house elves who were getting on with their jobs.
"Did someone call Dobby's name?" He squeaked, his large golf ball eyes scanning the room.
"Dobby it's me!" Holly whispered, pulling the cloak up to reveal her face.
"Holl..."
"Shhh! I shouldn't be here!" Holly whispered.
"Of course! Deepest apologies!" Dobby said, nodding his large head in agreement. "So what can Dobby do for you Miss?"
"It would be lovely if you could get Ron, Hermione and me some breakfast." Holly said and Dobby nodded his head with a smile.
"Dobby would be thrilled to make some breakfast for Ron, Hermione and Holly." He exclaimed before rushing off to make some toast and jam.
About five minutes later, Dobby returned with a huge tray of breakfast floating behind him. He had a giant smile on his face as Holly partiality revealed herself.
"Would you like to come and see Ron and Hermione with me?" Holly asked.
"Dobby would find that most exciting!" The house elf exclaimed, his eyes sparkling.
Holly lead Dobby out of the kitchens and up to Gryffindor Tower by having one of her feet out from under the cloak so the small house elf would always know exactly where she was.
When they reached the dorm room, Ron and Hermione were still half asleep and the door opening scared them. However, they quickly lowered their wands when they noticed the adorable little house elf with a large tray of food in the doorway.
"Hello Dobby!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Miss Hermione! It's wonderful to see you!" Dobby squeaked, bowing his head slightly. "And Master Ron! Amazing to see you too!" He added, placing the heavy tray down onto one of the beds.
"Dobby- you're a free elf. You don't need to call me Master." Ron said with a smile. Dobby smiled back rather shyly as he stood next to the end of the bed.
"Do you not want to sit down?" Holly asked as she gestured towards the two empty beds.
"You are most considerate Holly Potter." He squeaked, taking a seat on the red and gold bed. "Dobby is very grateful!"
All four of them began to polish off the huge tray of food. This was the first time they had eaten properly since Grimmauld Place and even then they didn't want to eat all of Sirius' food because he couldn't just go out of the house to buy more yet. Holly found this infuriating because he had proved himself innocent but the Ministry seemed to be refusing to let him roam freely by announcing to the Wizarding World that he hadn't done anything wrong!
When the end of lunch rolled around, Holly, Ron, Hermione and Dobby gathered under the invisibility cloak and shuffled out of the room. It was going well until they saw Ginny curled up in a ball, against the wall, in the middle of a corridor. They stopped walking for a split second because Ron wanted to know what was wrong with his little sister.
"Ron I get we can trust her but it's better if less people know we're back." Hermione hissed, pushing Ron forwards a bit. However, there was a step just infront of him that he proceeded to trip over and fall to the ground.
"Ron!" Ginny exclaimed after snapping her head up to see what all the noise was. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were back! I've missed you so much!"
"We haven't come back forever." Holly sighed, emerging from the invisibility cloak along with Hermione.
"Why not?" Ginny asked, all the hope seeping out of her face.
"McGonagall has something for us. We had to come and get it." Ron explained.
"But... Can't you stay? Surely you're nearly done." Ginny asked.
"We've barely got a start Gin. We had to hide out at Grimmauld Place for a while and then we couldn't even destroy any of them because we don't have what we need." Hermione said.
"And what exactly is it that you need to destroy?" A voice from behind them snapped. "I have a really good feeling that I know, but I just want to double check!" It was Malfoy.
"We want to destroy your habit of interrupting private conversations!" Holly replied, trying to hide the growing smirk on her face because of how proud of herself she was for thinking of that.
"Maybe your so called private conversations should be in a private place. Not out in the open where any prefect such as myself could overhear." Malfoy suggested.
"Piss off Malfoy. You have no clue what we're on about. All you want is another fake story to tell!" Ron snapped.
"Alright then. But remember, I'm only a few words away from exposing you!" Malfoy replied, putting his arms up like he was surrendering before sweaping down the corridor, his school robes billowing behind him.
"You know, you really can tell that Snape is his favourite Professor. Do any of you three see a resemblance?" Ginny asked but when she turned around, Holly, Ron, Hermione and Dobby were gone.
The four of them had slipped under the cloak again- to be fair it was to protect all of them because if Ginny knew where they were, she could be used by anyone: whether it be the Ministry or Voldemort! When they reached McGonagall's classroom, it was empty apart from the smallish grey cat sat on the desk.
"Professor McGonagall." Holly whispered and the small grey cat became their Transfiguration Professor.
"You can come out. There isn't anyone else here." She replied and the four emerged from the cloak. "You must have got my letter. I wish I had been given some guidance as to why all this is useful to you but it wasn't."
"I get what he was thinking with the sword of Gryffindor. That's the one thing that is obvious." Ron said.
"Of course. The one useful thing that was given to any of you has gone missing!" McGonagall sighed. "The last time it was seen was in the Headmaster's office but even if it still was in there, we don't have a chance of getting it now Snape has become Headmaster." She added, lowering her voice slightly.
"Well I was given the pensive, the Chamber and my first snitch." Holly said, hoping to find something directly useful out of those three.
"I got his book collection. Don't get me wrong I'd love all of them but how much use are they going to be fighting You- Know- Who?" Hermione asked, not really expecting an answer.
"Also the deluminator is useful if we need light. But can't we just use our wands for that?" Ron added.
"I really don't have a clue what he wants you to do with all of these things." McGonagall sighed. Suddenly, a loud crash came from outside. "Under the cloak!" She hissed, morphing into the cat before the door burst open. Two rather grubby looking people practically fell into the room and scanned it. They didn't seem too intelligent so the trio along with the small house elf felt completely safe under the cloak.
"Just the stupid cat again!" One of them grunted.
"Whenever I hear that woman talking, that cat pops up out of nowhere!" Grumbled the other as the door slammed behind them. McGonagall transformed from a cat into herself when sbe was sure they had gone. Her lips were pursed tightly and she seemed a little more tense than usual.
"Who were they?" Holly asked, pulling the cloak off Ron, Hermione, Dobby and herself.
"They are two of the most stupid people to walk this planet. They're from You- Know- Who's side. That stupid Delores still refuses to admit that he's back though! Pretty pointless if you ask me- just because the Ministry hasn't announced it yet doesn't mean that they haven't completely taken over the school!" McGonagall exclaimed, begining to ramble on a bit which wasn't normal for her to do.
"Are you alright Professor?" Hermione asked, slowly approaching her.
"They killed a first year. Them and Umbridge!" McGonagall snapped. "She couldn't handle the cruciartus curse so she went insane and jumped off the Astronomy Tower!"
The room fell silent. The people in the school were crazy! Surely this wasn't true. Surely three fully grown adults hadn't made an eleven year old kill themselves!
"I suppose you want your things then, don't you?" McGonagall said eventually. She ducked into the office at the back of the classroom. When she came out, She was carrying a small cylindrical object, the shiny snitch and floating behind her was a large collection of books- there must have been about 50 there. Hermione opened up her backpack and let the piles upon piles of books stack up in it. Luckily, it didn't effect the weight of the bag because there was a featherlight extension charm on her bag that Ginny had learned how to do rather than just a regular one.
"Thank you Professor!" Hermione said, swinging the bag onto her back again.
"Your snitch." McGonagall said, giving Holly the tiny golden ball that was wrapped up in a small square of cloth. "And the deluminator." She added, passing Ron the cylindrical object. He clicked the small button on it and the light from the chandelier above him was sucked into it. When he clicked it again, the ball of light shot back out of the end and into the chandelier again.
"Thank you so much Professor!" Ron exclaimed. "I'm sure there is some use to this." He added reassuringly.
"You three are more than welcome to go down to the Chamber to see if there is anything in there that Dumbledore wanted to leave you." McGonagall replied. "But it was good to see you three and of course yo too Dobby. Even if it was only for a short time."
"It was good to see you aswell." Holly said before she pulled the invisibility cloak over the four of them.
On the second floor, there were portraits that had been boarded up so the people couldn't see out of them. Holly, Ron, Hermione and Dobby could only hear the faint complaints and annoyed grumbling sounds from the other side of the wooden planks. The door to the girls bathroom wouldn't open when they reached it.
"Alohamora." Holly whispered and the door opened. The place was silent. Moaning Myrtle would usually be waiting for an unsuspecting first year girl to walk in before she began shrieking but this time she wasn't making a sound. Come to think of it, none of them had seen any of the ghosts whatsoever since they had returned.
Holly approached the sinks in the center of the bathroom and spoke some parceltounge. The old geometric structure opened up and a large tunnel appeared. From what the three of them could see, it was overgrown with mossy plants that thrived in dark, dank places- like the ones you tend to find in caves.
"Be careful." Hermione warned.
"Why? We've jumped down here before." Ron asked, standing on the edge.
"That was three years ago. And you don't know what had grown in it before that because the Basilisk had been up and down it throughout the year." Hermione explained. "Lumos." They couldn't see the bottom of the tunnel with the small glow of Hermione's wand.
"Lumos Maxima!" Holly said, still couldn't quite see the bottom though. Ron rummaged around his bag and pulled out a small bag filled with around 10 knuts. He dropped it down the hole in the floor. It kept falling for a while until it made the clatter you would expect bronze to make against cold stone.
"Safe." He confirmed. "Well, as safe as it possibly could be."
Holly began to slide down the tunnel with Dobby just next to her, it was more free falling than sliding until she reached the end where it began to curve and eventually she was thrown out the end. Not long after she reached the bottom, Hermione came flying down the tube and finally Ron. He picked up the small bag of knuts and stuffed them into his bag. With their wands lit, the four of them shuffled their way into the Chamber. When they reached the snake door, Holly spoke some more parcel tounge and the seven snakes unlocked. The heavy door swung open to reveal the main bit of the Chamber.
The large snake carcus was half submerged in water and was almost fully decayed. Merely a thin layer of flesh still hung onto the bones in places. There was nothing else too special about the Chamber that hadn't been there before. There were still the old stone snake heads lining the walls and the water covered floors were still slippery.
"Do you reckon there's anything in the tunnels?" Hermione asked, noticing a hole in the wall.
"I doubt it but we can check." Holly replied, making sure to avoid the deep pool of water surrounding the tunnel entrance. They weaved their way through the twisting passageways and eventually met up in the main part of the Chamber empty handed.
"Nothing." Ron sighed. "So unless dead snake bones are going to help us find horcruxes then we should probably leave.
"Avada Kadavra!" Yelled a voice from across the Chamber. A flash of bright green light barely missed Hermione as she jumped backwards. Holly, Ron and Hermione drew their wands and began throwing hexes and jinxes at their attacker in hopes of getting them. They hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of them yet so they didn't know who they were fighting but it wouldn't be anyone on their side since people didn't tend to throw the killing curse around for no reason.
The person finally revealed themselves. It was one of the people who had been listening in at McGonagall's door. Ron managed to hit him with a stunning spell. They obviously weren't very strong themselves since one stunning spell was enough to knock them out.
"Obliviate." Hermione said, pointing her wand at the unconscious man's face. His memory was fully wiped so he would have no recollection of seeing the trio there.
"Why is it whenever we're down here, someone's memory ends up getting wiped?" Holly asked as she took the man's wand.
"Must be something about this place." Ron joked.
"Where's Dobby? We need to go now. If one person managed to get down here it's only a matter of time before other people find us." Hermione asked, quickly looking around. Holly turned around and immediately saw the small elf laying on the floor.
"Dobbby!" Holly whispered so quietly that it essentially came out as a breath. She ran across the wet floor and slipped just as she reached Dobby's almost lifeless body. She crawled the last few feet and rolled the tiny elf onto his back. The large golf- ball eyes were staring up at the ceiling. Holly knew that house elves were powerful, how else could Dobby have apparated in and out of Hogwarts when Holly was lying in the hospital wing in her second year? But she knew deep down that the elf wouldn't make this.
"Dobby. Stay with me. Please." She whispered, scooping the elf up into her arms.
"Holly Potter!" The small elf squeaked. "Dobby is ever so happy with how kindly you have treated him."
"No Dobby! Please!"
"Stay happy Holly Potter. Be happy with your friends."
"NO!"
"Dobby is happy. Dobby is happy that he died with his friends near him. Dobby is happy that he died a free elf!"
Tear drops fell onto the house elf's face. Holly squeezed her eyes shut but carried on sobbing. The little sock she had given him that day after she killed the Basilisk was clenched in Dobby's hand. The tiny elf breathed his last breath and his grip loosened. The sock fell out of his hand and onto Holly's lap.
"Holly we need to go!" Ron sighed softly. "You can bring Dobby if you want."
Holly stood up, the lifeless elf limp in her arms. She made her way to the snake door and opened it.
"I'll be right back!" Hermione exclaimed, running back into the Chamber before the door closed. Holly and Ron waited for her with their wands ready incase anyone else were to come in. When Hermione returned, she was tucking a large Basilisk fang into her bag.
"And why do we need this?" Ron asked.
"Venom like this can destroy horcruxes." Hermione said proudly as the trio made their way to the tube that they had entered through.
"Accendio." Holly whispered and she shot up and out of the hole where the sinks had been. She still had Dobby in her arms and when Ron and Hermione joined her in the girls' bathroom she pulled the invisibility cloak out from her bag and draped it over them. They went outside to Hagrid's hut. They didn't even know if he was still there- but they hoped he was because he was one of the only people who could help them burry the dead elf.
"Who's there?" Hagrid asked, pointing his crossbow right at the trio's faces.
"Hagrid it's us! Can we come in?" Ron asked and a giant smile spread across the half giant's face.
The door swung closed behind them and Holly pulled the cloak off with her one free hand. Her face seemed to have lost all colour and she was shaking slightly.
"They killed him." She whispered, holding out the dead house elf.
"Who did?" Hagrid exclaimed, taking the house elf, who was only the size of Hagrid's hand.
"We don't know who it was but it was one of the people who tortured a first year." Hermione explained.
"Oh right!" Hagrid replied darkly. "I avoid all of them so I don't really know any of their names either."
"Can you help us burry him?" Holly asked, her lip quivering slightly.
"Of course I will. I'd do anything for you three troublemakers!" Hagrid exclaimed with a smile. It was almost as if Holly, Ron and Hermione had never left. Hagrid was still unconditionally kind to all three of them.
They spent the remainder of the afternoon burrying the house elf in the forbidden forest. They had to avoid any dangerous creatures in there but it was definitely easier than hiding from everyone at Hogwarts! After giving Dobby the funeral he deserved, all of them leaving a sock out for him, Holly, Ron and Hermione hid away in Hagrid's hut until nightfall. They sipped on large mugs of strong tea and caught up like they used to every week in their first year. However it wasn't to last- when it reached 10pm, the trio knew that they had to leave soon.
The Gryffindor common room was empty. Everyone was hiding away in their dorm rooms, either sad or scared- probably both!
When Holly, Ron and Hermione had gathered all the things that they had unpacked into the room the previous night, they yet again slipped under the cloak and went down the stairs.
When they reached the third floor, a small girl ran infront of them to stop them from leaving.
"Ginny! What are you doing?" Ron hissed as the girl pulled the cloak off them.
"Either don't leave or let me come!" She replied stubbornly.
"Ginny you're fourteen, you have the trace on you and you're my little sister! No!" Ron exclaimed.
"And you're my older brother and two of my best friends!" Ginny replied. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"Ginny we have to go! We don't have a choice. Dumbledore told us to do this. He left us things in his will to help us." Holly explained. "You need to stay. I get it's horrible here now but I promise you it's better here than it is out there when you're wanted!"
"But..."
"I'VE FOUND THEM! I'VE FOUND THEM!" Yelled a voice from behind Ginny. Flashes of red light blasted over their heads as they ducked down and scuttled behind the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor. They ran to the line that signified where the Hogwarts grounds ended and Hogsmede began.
"Diagon Alley in three, two, one!" Hermione hissed. Ron grabbed Ginny and held onto Hermione's arm, as did Holly. They apparated to the Wizarding street in London. It was completely abandoned apart from them. Shops were boarded up for the night and the whole street was silent.
A loud crack was heard around the corner and a small group of death eaters emerged from around the corner. All four of them raised their wands and began protecting themselves from the spells being thrown at them. They ducked down an alleyway to catch their breath.
"Ginny, do you get why we don't want you to come yet?" Ron asked as they listened out for the confused death eaters to figure out where they had dissappeared to.
"Surely it's better if you have more people to fight with you!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Shush!" Hissed Holly, clapping her hands over each of the Weasley's mouths. But she wasn't quick enough. Several death eaters chased them down the alleyway. They fought them off well until they reached a dead end.
Lucius Malfoy emerged from the small crowd, stopping the spells from being fired.
"We are naughty, aren't we? Skipping school!" He sneered, looking each of them up and down. "Take them to Malfoy Manor!" He added without a second thought.
A different person grabbed each of them and they disapparated from Diagon Alley to Malfoy Manor. Immediately, they were thrown and locked in a cellar with rats and spiders hiding in the corners.
"We'll deal with you one by one!" Lucius hissed, grabbing Ginny and pulling her out of the mini prison. "Ladies first!" He snarled, dragging her up the stairs.
The only thing any of them could hear was the fourteen year old screaming for dear life and Ron bellowing about how it was going to be alright as soon as he killed everyone up there.
Ginny's screams weakened into sobbing. She kept repeating the same words:
"I don't know where they've been! I don't know what they're doing!" She repeated over and over again between her sobs.
"I think you're lying!" Snapped one of the death eaters. "Do you know what happens to people who lie?" The swish of a blade was heard from the dungeon and the screams started again. That was until they abruptly stopped, plunging the Manor house into silence...