We are officially in the twenties, my good readers! Thank you soooo much for all the wonderful reviews I got for the last chapter. I really appreciated them and they made me wish that I could update everyday for all my awesome readers! We are in the home stretch so be sure to keep checking for updates, as I'm hoping to keep them coming at a steady pace!

On a completely unrelated topic…I made my pottermore account. And I'm more excited than a 20 year old should be…

Anyways, more reviews would be lovely. Let me know how everything is turning out!

Read and enjoy!

"What are we going to do about Neville?"

"I don't know, Seamus."

"Well, what are we going to about Luna?"

"I don't know Seamus."

"Well, what about Ginny?"

I sighed in frustration, shoving the library book on human transfiguration back onto a random shelf as I passed by it. Madam Pince, fortunately for me, was too busy lecturing a group of third years for trying to sneak into the Restricted Section. "Seamus, what do you want me to say? I don't know about Ginny. I don't know about Luna. I don't know about Neville. I just don't know anything, okay?"

Seamus pulled a face, biting the tip of his tongue as a way to keep a nasty retort to himself. Evidently, even that didn't work. "You obviously know a whole lot about Draco Malfoy. Maybe if you two weren't so busy gallivanting-"

I laughed hollowly, stuffing another transfiguration book into a small crevice in a bookshelf sectioned off for books on dragons. "That's quite rude of you, Mr. Finnigan. First off, we aren't gallivanting-"

"Yes, you are. Don't pretend you haven't been spending more time with Malfoy," he hissed, cutting me off. "We've all noticed it. I just would have thought you would be spending the extra time trying to help out the DA as much as possible."

I opened and closed my mouth for a moment, floored that he had suggested that I didn't care about the DA anymore. Ever since my…well, you know…with Draco, we had been spending more and more time together. Studying in the library, walking the halls after dinner, avoiding the Slytherin common room at all costs.

"Why would you say that?" I spun around, facing Seamus with a determined expression. "Of course I still care about the DA. But, it's not like this whole thing has been easy the past week. Wouldn't you agree?"

Seamus shifted uncomfortably on his feet. It was hard enough convincing people to stay after Michael Corner was tortured for trying to unchain that poor girl from the wall. Now that people realized why Neville had been chased out of the school, it was damn impossible.

"I've been trying really hard to recruit," Seamus finally said through his teeth as I turned slowly to shove the last transfiguration book into the section for fungi. "And all I'm saying is that-"

"Natalie Garcia! Don't you dare put that book where it doesn't belong! What do you think you're doing?"

I let out a groan of resignation as I watched the book rise from the shelf. I quickly covered my head with my book bag as the transfiguration book landed on top, effectively smashing a pot of ink. Black goo oozed from the bag, dripping into my hair and onto my face.

"Out! Out with you!" Madam Pince shrieked as she continually beat me with the book, smashing quills and flattening rolls of parchment. I scurried from the library without another glance back at Seamus.

Unfortunately, he didn't think the lecture was quite done yet.

"And another thing! Why haven't you even tried to help us look for Neville. You know he's been gone for two days-"

I tuned him out at that point, trying to wipe the ink from my eyes, but instead smearing it across my forehead and cheeks. Seamus had taken it upon himself to step into Neville's place as leader of the DA- something that, though I loved Seamus to death and back, he epically failed at.

"-can't believe you would just sit around with the dark lord's HEIR, for Merlin's sake," he finally finished, taking a deep breath as he glared at me with contempt. "You didn't listen to a word I just said, did you?"

I shook my head, gazing up at him with wide, innocent eyes as I took out my wand. I started to siphon off the dripping ink. "Though, for the record, I don't think You-Know-Who has an heir. And if he did, I highly doubt Draco would fill the shoes."

Seamus snorted, taking out his wand to try and help me clear the goo. I held out my hand, shaking my head vigorously. Merlin only knows he would probably blow me to smithereens. "Only because the only bright thing about him is his hair. Honestly, Natalie, what do you see in him?"

I opened my mouth to retort, but was saved the opportunity by another who cut in.

"I resent that, Finnigan."

I looked over my shoulder to see Malfoy leaning casually against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. He had a set expression of determination on his face, mixed heavily with a glare toward one of my best friends. "The question should really be," he went on, pushing himself off the wall with his shoulder as he sauntered closer to us, "Why should she be friends with a filthy half-blood like you. Can't even cast a simple charm or brew a simple potion without setting it on fire first."

I rolled my eyes as Seamus pumped out his chest, taking a step closer to Malfoy in a way that he probably thought was menacing. Boys- they would never learn.

"And I suppose you think you're the right man for the job?" Seamus jibed, sticking his pointer finger into Malfoy's chest, shoving him backwards a little bit. "Dragging her into a house filled with death eaters. That's real manly of you."

Draco's face went red with anger as he took a step toward Seamus, effectively closing the gap between them. "Don't touch me, filth. You have no idea what you're talking about. I suggest keeping your opinions to yourself."

I tried to insert myself into the middle of their love-fest, but was pushed out by both Seamus and Draco, who hadn't broken eye contact. I huffed with frustration, dropping my book bag to the floor. Black ink leaked out onto the stone.

"Just kiss and makeup already," I managed to say as I squeezed my petite body between the two teenage boys. They weren't able to push me out of the middle this time. "You two are completely ridiculous." I placed a hand on each of their chests and tried pushing them apart, but it was like trying to push two brick walls apart with my bare hands. Utterly impossible.

"You aren't even worth my time, Finnigan," Draco snorted as he took a step back. I was still pushing his chest at that point, so the force paired with him taking a step back caused me to stumble slightly away from Seamus. I managed to catch my balance before running headlong into Malfoy.

Seamus shook his head, picking my book bag up off the floor. "Come on, Natalie. Let's get out of here. I have better things to do."

Draco grabbed a hold of my upper arm, dragging me closer to him. I stumbled again, shouting a quick 'hey!' as I crashed into his front. "Sorry, Finnigan. We have things to discuss. She's coming with me."

My best friend dropped my bag onto the floor unceremoniously, crushing the rest of the ink pots that Madam Pince had missed. Mixed colors of ink spilled onto the floor, pumping out of my book bag as if being poured from a pitcher.

"You can't order her around. She isn't your property," Seamus said heatedly as he made a move to grab my other arm, "She can make her own decisions and her decision is to come with me."

Draco laughed humorlessly as he pulled me a few steps down the empty corridor, keeping me out of range of Seamus' grabbing hands. "Look who's ordering her around now. Go away, Finnigan, before you hurt yourself."

I wrestled my arm out of Draco's grasp, shoving him away from me with as much force as I could muster. Which, in reality, only sent him staggering a step back before he regained balance.

"Seamus is right. I can make my own decisions." Seamus sent a triumphant smirk toward Draco, who responded with a dangerous glower. "And my decision is to stay away from both of you."

"Natalie-" Seamus began, but I cut him off with a quick shake of my head.

"No, you both are acting like a couple of vultures fighting over a dead animal. I am not a piece of meat and until you both learn that, I don't want anything to do with either of you." I picked up my bag dramatically and swung it over my shoulder.

Instead of retreating down the hallway in the grand exit manner I had planned in my head, I slipped on the puddle of ink, crashing onto the stone floor with a loud 'oomph!' I picked myself up off the floor, robes dripping with colored ink as I turned to face the two boys. Seamus seemed genuinely concerned for my well being, whereas Draco was nearly doubled over with laughter.

"Just pretend that didn't happen," I said stubbornly as I stuck my nose into the air and stomped off down the hallway, ink dripping in a trail behind me.

Why did they have to ruin a perfectly good day? Why did they have to fight over my well being without actually asking for my input into the situation? Why did I have to slip in that puddle of ink, clearly ruining my dramatic exit? "That'll teach them," I grumbled to myself, hitching my bag higher onto my shoulder in a highly irritated fashion. "That'll teach them not to mess with me."

"Talking to yourself, are ya now?"

I jumped in surprise, startled at the voice that resounded from behind me. In my irritation and anger, I hadn't been paying attention to where I was going. Now that I was looking around, trying to find something familiar, I noticed that I had unfortunately wandered into a lair.

Amycus and Alecto's lair to be exact.

"Exactly who we was lookin' for," Alecto said with a wide grin, baring all her teeth. "Wasn't we, Amycus?"

I hadn't even noticed Amycus lurking in the shadows of the empty hallway. He stepped from a dark alcove, twirling his wand threateningly between his fingers. They both started to walk toward me, cornering me in the hallway much like they did to Neville in the classroom only a few days previously.

Now I was really reminded of vultures fighting over a dead animal. Leave it to me to create an even better situation for myself.

"We've been hearing that your daddy has had some issues with the Dark Lord lately. Fallen out of place, he has," Amycus taunted me, leaving his sisters side to try and push me closer to the corner of the hallway. "Can't be pullin' no family card, now can ya?"

Alecto shrieked with glee as she shot a jinx at me. I dodged it just in time, as it dug into the wall right where I my back had touched only a moment before. She had given me just enough time to notice one thing- the jet of light was shockingly green.

This was not good.

"Can't dance forever," Amycus grinned as Alecto shot another jinx at me. I rolled on the floor, creating a stamp like image on the stone from the ink on my clothes. It would have been funny, if not for the circumstances causing it. "You'll be going straight to Azkaban tonight."

Alecto lowered her wand for a moment to lean closer to me. "And I'm sure the dementors have a special treat for insubordinate teenage girls…"

"Should I daresay that they would just love to give you a kiss," Amycus tacked onto his sister's statement with more happiness than he should have. The joy and elation on the two of their faces distracted them for a second longer than they had expected.

Giving me just enough time to shoot up from the floor. I squeezed through the crack between their two bodies as quickly as I could, pushing aside their fat bellies, my hand sinking grossly into their flesh.

"Oh no you don't, girly," Amycus hissed as he made a grab at my robes. I dropped my book bag from my shoulder, disentangling my robes from my arms as he pulled at the fabric. I had just enough time to retrieve my wand from the twisted article of clothing before making a break for it.

"CRUCIO!" a voice behind me bellowed. I ducked my head under my arms as I pounded down the hallway. The spell narrowly missed me, as it struck the stone floor close to my feet.

"CRUC- damn it!" I heard as I turned the corner, disappearing from their view. Footsteps bounded behind me, closing in faster than I had thought possible for their size. "Can't run forever, girly!" The voice of Amycus Carrow was too close for comfort as I turned another corner, disappearing from view once again.

I was running out of breath. There was a stitch in my side that made it damn near impossible to stand up straight. My legs were burning from exhaustion. The adrenaline previously pumping through my veins, giving me the energy to make my quick escape was fading fast.

That was, until a hand stretched out from behind a tapestry, closing around my upper arm and pulling me into a black alcove. I stumbled, falling onto my knees. The bones cracked nastily against the stone floor, sending waves of nauseating pain up to my stomach. A hand clapped over my mouth just in time to keep me from yelling out a scream of agony and shock.

"Don't say anything," the unrecognizable voice whispered roughly in my ear. I sat in silence, my body shaking from head to toe. My knees were throbbing painfully, but I listened to this stranger, trusting him for some reason unknown to me.

"Where did she go?" I heard Alecto demand of her brother. Her loud footsteps faded down the hallway as she continued her search, but by this point the stranger was pulling me gently further into the alcove.

Which turned out to not be an alcove at all. The corridor was hidden behind the tapestry, winding narrowly through the middle of the castle. We climbed a few sets of rickety, stone stairs. My rescuer still didn't say anything, but I followed him anyways.

"Shhh," he said gruffly as he held out his hand to stop me from walking any further. "I have to check and make sure the coast is clear."

As he pulled back another tapestry and stuck his head into the empty corridor, the light flooding into the dark passageway lit up his features. And I realized why I had trusted his voice so much. Because I knew exactly who it was.

"Neville?" I shrieked in excitement as I hugged him tightly around the middle. He let out a breath of surprise as I tightened my arms around his waist. "Neville, we've all been so worried about you! Where have you been? What's been going on? What happened after-?"

He cut me off by placing a hand over my mouth, gesturing for me to be quiet as politely as he possibly could. "I'll show you when we get there. For now, shut your trap Garcia."

I smiled into the palm of his hand, glad that he was doing well enough to snap at me. He cocked his head toward the corridor. "The coast is clear."

I followed him across the hall, stopping in front of a blank wall directly opposite the tapestry. I glanced around, the surroundings becoming familiar to me immediately. "The room of requirement?" I furrowed my brow, glancing up at him in confusion. "This is where you've been staying?"

He opened his eyes just as the door appeared in the stone wall, opening it quickly and shoving me in unceremoniously. He shut the door behind us, bolting the lock to ensure our safety.

"Neville, what is going on? Where have you been? Why haven't you been coming to classes? We've all been so worried about you!" I spewed out as I walked around the newly decorated room. Large quidditch posters hung from the stone walls, which were also draped with crimson and gold material. Gryffindor pennants were tacked to the ceiling, nearly brushing the top of Neville's head as he walked under them.

A single crimson hammock hung in the center, swinging gently as he sat down in it.

"Neville," I said slowly, looking around the room once again, "have you been staying here?"

The once-shy boy nodded his head silently, glancing around the room with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "After they came after me, I knew they had enough. My blood, despite being pure, is no longer a necessity to them. I became too much of a hassle to have around." He grinned broadly before continuing. "So I made a break for it. I knew I had to stay in the castle- it's the safest place to be right now. So, I stumbled on the Room of Requirement and it dawned on me. I could stay here and easily conceal the location, as long as I was careful."

I brushed my fingers gently over a piece of gold material that cascaded gently down the wall. "What about food? And your things?"

"Got my stuff in the middle of the night. Snuck back into the Gryffindor common room one night. As for food…" He paused to take a deep breath. "I've gone down to the kitchens a few times. Ariana's been a great help too."

I cocked my head to the side. "Who the heck is Ariana?"

He pointed over his shoulder to a portrait of a young girl, her hair blowing in the invisible breeze. She smiled at me softly before turning to walk back out of the picture. "Ariana is the last passageway out of this place. I needed some help with food and water, of course the room itself can't provide it, but it did me one better." He pushed himself from the hammock and waltzed over to the frame, yanking on it for a moment. It swung open with relative ease, revealing another dark, murky passageway. "This one leads to The Hogs Head. Aberforth has been willing to help me out."

I didn't say anything, unsure of what to say. Neville sheepishly sat back down on the hammock, watching me with careful eyes.

"You can stay here, you know," he said quietly, rocking back and forth. A green and silver hammock appeared in the corner of the room, surrounded my green and silver drapes that hung from the wall exactly like the Gryffindor ones did. "Go get your stuff after curfew and bring it back here. I know Amycus and Alecto were after you. I heard them chasing you down the hall."

I took a deep breath, taking in the surroundings.

"So, we would be in hiding."

Neville nodded his head in a wary agreement. He evidently liked the idea just as much as I did. I knew everyone would be incredibly worried about me, but he did have a point. Amycus and Alecto were officially after us now. It was no longer safe to saunter around the castle in the daylight.

And the less people that knew we were here, the better.

I took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out slowly. "I'll stay, but on two conditions."

Neville perked up slightly, curious of my terms.

I pointed a thumb over my shoulder at my new residence, shaking my head. "No green. I don't want anything Slytherin related in here." As if on cue, the green drapes turned into a deep shade of purple. I nodded my approval. "And second." I gestured over to the back corner of the room, which consisted of a shower, sink, and toilet surrounded only by a poorly-constructed wooden fence.

"We absolutely have to do something about that bathroom."