"Harry! Ron! Hermione! Will you lot slow down!" I hollered after them as they raced down the stone steps. "What are you all running for?"
"Long day yesterday." Harry panted. "You two go on, I'll explain." Ron and Hermione nodded before going to into the Great Hall for breakfast. "Well did Emily mention that Professor Twelawney got her assessment back from of Umbridge?"
"No." I snorted. "Bet it wasn't good."
"No, it wasn't." Harry frowned. "And that's not all. While you were out on patrol last night, we had a meeting with sniffles."
"I'm not surprised it's been a while since we talked to him. How is he?"
"Well good, we think."
"What do you mean you think? Is Remus ok? Molly? Arthur?"
"We don't know!" He exclaimed. "We didn't even think of them. Will you just… listen to me please? A hand appeared in the fire, after Sirius left. A hand. Umbridge's hand."
"Harry, I've got to go!" I said solemnly. "I'm sorry, we'll talk later!" I called over my shoulder as I ran for the dungeons.
"To what do I owe the pleasure Miss Potter?" Severus sneered.
"I'm sorry to bother you really, I am, but Sev, this is important." Maybe it was the slight panic in my voice, but Severus put down the potion samples he'd been grading and stared expectantly at me.
"Well?"
"Don't get mad, but, Harry's been using the Gryffindor fireplace to talk to Sirius. I know, he shouldn't, but you know Harry. Anyway I guess when they were talking to Sirius last night and when they ended things, Professor Umbridge's hand appeared."
"I see. I'm assuming you've brought this to my attention because you expect me to barge into Dolores Umbridge's office and explain away your brother's carelessness?"
"No." I started to tear up at the thought that Remus and the others could be in danger. "I want you to check on them. Sirius, Remus, Molly. Can you just see if they're safe please?"
"How do you propose I do that? There's no doubt the woman is monitoring every fireplace in the castle."
"You could go home go home. Take the floo from your office here to one of the houses that belonged to your mum. She can't track the fireplaces outside of the castle. She has no reason to. From there, you could contact the Order and make sure everyone is alright." Severus digested my suggestion momentarily.
"How very fitting that you were sorted into Slytherin Allison." A grin twisted across Severus face. "Wait here." He commanded. I sat down in one of the vacant chairs that stood opposite Sev's desk. He returned an hour later with a blueberry muffin in hand.
"Where did you…?"
"Remus insisted I take this once I informed him that your concerns had caused you to skip breakfast." Severus responded in disgust as he shoved the muffin into my hand. "He then forced me out of headquarters assuring me everything was fine, but not before giving me these." Severus held up a large collection of parchment and scrolls.
"What is all that?"
"They appear to be lesson plans." Sev sneered. "When I asked what you could possibly want with his advanced lesson plans, he said that he thought they'd be helpful for your underground Defense Against the Dark Arts club." There was no point in lying about it. If Sirius knew what we were planning, and Remus found out from him, I couldn't really lie.
"I don't understand how he would have found that out. Hermione said she used an enchantment so that no one would be able to tell anyone about our plan."
"It's not Miss Granger's enchantment that fell short, but rather the location which she chose to… gather your supporters."
"You're not mad?" I asked.
"Do not confuse my lack of comment for a lack of concern young lady. I am furious that you and your friends think this an effective solution for the problem at hand. However, I am going to teach you there are problems in this world that cannot be solved by being popular. I am not going to live forever Alice, you need to learn that I will not always be here to catch you when you fall off your broom." He handed Remus' lesson plans to me, and returned to his work.
"Thank you, for checking on them." I said before leaving the office. Fred and Emily were standing on the other side both looking concerned.
"There you are!" they both relaxed at the sight of me. "I was worried when you didn't show up for breakfast, so I went looking for Fred to see if he'd talked to you."
"Which of course I hadn't, but then Harry mentioned how you'd gone off in the middle of talking to him."
"So we figured, you'd be with Professor Snape." Emily finished explaining.
"That muffin looks like the ones my mum makes." Fred said pointing to the blueberry muffin that had been forced upon me.
"I think it might be one of hers." I confirmed with a huge bite. "Mmm it's still warm." Emily and Fred were both eyeing me with confused eyes. "I suppose you want to know how I got one of Mrs. Weasley's muffins." I explained what Harry told me about Umbridge's hand appearing in the Gryffindor fire and how I'd sent Severus to headquarters to check on Remus and the others. "Which brings us back to the Muffin. Remus insisted Sev bring it back to me when he found out I skipped breakfast, but he also passed these along." I waved a handful of parchments triumphantly.
"Are those...?" Emily Emily began to bounce excitedly.
"Remus' old fifth-through seventh year lesson plans? Yup." I answered. "Now all we need is a place to hold the meetings."
"Merlin's beard! I've got just the place!" Fred announced. "Tell Ron, Hermione and Harry to meet us on the left end of the seventh floor during lunch."
"I can't skip another meal, Sev will have my head."
"Well after the next class then. Fifth years have a break today, and I'm sure Fred won't mind missing whatever class her has second block." Emily suggested.
"See you all second block then! I've got to find George, ask him to cover for me." Fred said good-bye and raced off to find his twin brother.