It was clear as they made their way through the halls that, even though Voldemort had given a deadline of midnight, the battle was already beginning. Explosions echoed through the halls, and once they had to detour because of a large hole in the castle wall had rubble blocking the path. Bryt took a chance to look out and saw Death Eaters were making their way across the grounds, fighting moving statues and suits of armors.
"We have to hurry," Hermione said. Bryt nodded in agreement, frowning as she hurried on behind her friends.
"Do you think they're evacuating students?" Bryt asked. Hopefully they would get her brothers out once they realized the twins were waiting in there.
"I bet they are," Hermione said, "Maybe Harry ran into one of the teachers. They'd evacuate through the Room of Requirement."
"Good," Bryt said as they rounded the corner to the corridor the Room of Requirement was on. At the same time, Harry was coming around the far corner.
"Where the hell have you been?" Harry yelled as they came up to them.
"Chamber of Secrets," Ron answered.
"Chamber—what?"
"Chamber of Secrets!" Bryt grinned brightly, pulling out he spare basilisk fang and pushing it into Harry's hand, "Ron is absolutely brilliant. We were trying to think of a way to destroy the Horcruxes—we already took care of the cup, by the way, it's destroyed now—and Ron said that we could get the basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets. It was brilliant!"
"But...How did you get in there?" Harry asked, dumbfounded, "You need to speak Parseltongue!"
"He did!" Hermione said, "Show him, Ron!"
Ron grinned and made that same noise he'd used to open the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Bryt still thought it was incredibly creepy.
"It's what you did to open the locket," Ron said, Bryt noticed how he didn't mention Harry talking to the Snitch, "I had to have a few goes to get it right, but we got there in the end."
"He was brilliant," Bryt said again and Ron looked a bit sheepish at that, though he was grinning.
"Anyway, how'd your side go?" Bryt asked.
There was an explosion overhead and Bryt looked up, just in time to cover her head as dust rained down on them.
"I know what the diadem looks like," Harry said quickly, "And I know where it is. He hid it exactly where I hid my old Potions book, where everyone's been hiding stuff for centuries. He thought he was the only one to find it. Come on."
Harry went through the door and Bryt, Ron, and Hermione followed behind, down the stairs and back into the hideout. Bryt looked around, then her heart stopped when she realized her brothers weren't there. Ginny was there, however, as well as Tonks and, to Bryt's surprise, Neville's grandmother. Bryt ignored her, however, and went straight to Ginny.
"Where's Mike and Drew?" she asked in panic.
"They left," Ginny said, then continuing quickly, "As in, evacuated. Prefects were bringing underage students through. They noticed Mike and Drew and all but dragged them out with the other students."
Bryt breathed a sigh of relief. Mike and Drew were safe. They were out of the castle. Away from the fight. Thank God.
"Is everyone okay?" Tonks asked and Bryt turned back to the others.
"As far as we know," Harry said, "Are there still people in the passage to the Hog's Head?"
"I was the last to come through," Mrs. Longbottom said, "I sealed it, I think it was unwise to leave it open now Aberforth has left his pub. Have you seen my grandson?"
"He's fighting."
"Naturally," Mrs. Longbottom said with obvious pride, "Excuse me, I must go assist him."
She hurried out of the room quicker than Bryt had ever seen someone her age move. Bryt stared after her, then turned towards Harry, who was looking at Tonks.
"I thought you were supposed to be with Teddy at your mother's?" he asked.
"I couldn't stand not knowing—" Tonks cut herself off, and Bryt suddenly found herself thinking about her family, about Emily. Were they now sitting at Muriel's, not knowing what was going, just waiting for news? Bryt knew exactly what that was like. She'd been going through it for months.
"Have you seen Remus?" Tonks went on.
"He was planning to lead a group of fighters into the grounds—"
Tonks took off from the room before Harry could finish. Bryt watched her leave, and found herself thinking that she'd have done the same thing, if she was in that position and it was with Ron out there fighting.
"Ginny," Harry said and Bryt turned back again, "I'm sorry, but we need you to leave too. Just for a bit. Then you can come back in."
Ginny, however, got a look on her face that made it clear she had no intention of returning to the room as she took off for the door.
"And then you can come right back in!" Harry shouted after her, "You've got to come back in!"
"Hang on a moment!" Ron said suddenly, "We've forgotten someone!"
"What?" Bryt asked, "Who?"
"The house elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?"
Bryt frowned.
"You don't mean to make them fight?" she asked.
"No, I mean we should tell them to get out," Ron said, "We don't need more Dobbies, do we? We can't order them to die for us."
"Of course not!" Bryt said in relief, grinning at Ron, hugging him. He finally was understanding. He finally got that house elves weren't just creatures to use and boss around.
"They should be okay in the kitchens," Hermione spoke up, though she looked worried, "If anything, they can Disapparate. We're close to finding this Horcrux, why don't we get the diadem and then we can go to the kitchens and warn them?"
"Good idea," Bryt said, "The sooner we destroy the diadem, the better."
They hurried out of the room, as the Room of Requirement had to be empty for it to shift rooms. Though this time, they came out to a corridor on the first floor.
As they left the room, the first thing that hit Bryt was the dust, which hung in the air like a fog. It seemed the entire castle was shaking now. Red and green lights were flashing outside the window and Bryt rushed over, fear tightening her chest. The Death Eaters were really close to the castle now. Grawp, Hagrid's full-giant half-brother, was marching through the grounds, swiping at the Death Eaters.
"Let's hope he steps on some of them!" Ron said.
"As long as it's not any of our lot!"
Bryt looked over to see Ginny and Tonks were at a window nearby, which had been broken, and were shooting jinxes out of it towards the Death Eaters below.
"Good girl!"
Again, Bryt turned to the voice. Aberforth was rushing down the corridor, leading a group of students who had apparently stayed to fight.
"They look like they might be breaching the north battlements," Aberforth said, "They've brought giants of their own!"
"Have you seen Remus?" Tonks called.
"He was dueling Dolohov, haven't seen him since!"
Tonks disappeared towards the stairs before they could say anything. Ginny immediately turned to the others.
"They'll be all right," Harry said and Bryt hoped he was right, "Ginny, we'll be back in a moment, just keep out of the way, keep safe—come on." Harry turned to Bryt, Ron, and Hermione at that before heading down the hall.
Bryt raced off behind with Hermione and Ron, quickly making their way back to the entrance of the Room of Requirement. Harry was already pacing in front of the wall and, soon enough, a door appeared. They all rushed through and as the door closed behind them, the sounds of the battle immediately cut off, as if someone suddenly muted a television. It was incredibly eerie.
"And he never realized anyone could get in?" Ron asked, his voice giving an odd echo. Bryt looked around the room and couldn't help but agree with Ron's surprise. The room was massive and looked like a giant, indoor mountain range made of junk. Discarded items were piled into mountains with curving valley paths weaving through them. How could Voldemort have thought no one had ever found this room before? Did he think the thousands of items in here were just there on their own, that no one had put them there?
"He thought he was the only one," Harry said, "Too bad for him I've had to hide stuff in my time..." Harry started off down one of the valleys between junk mountains, "This way. I think it's down here..."
"You think?" Bryt echoed, not that comforted as she followed behind Harry. If he didn't remember which way they were supposed to go...
And it seemed he didn't. It wasn't long before they ended up at a crossroad where the valleys went in three different directions and Harry stopped, looking around with a frown.
"Let's split up," Harry said, "Look for a stone bust of an old man wearing a wig and a tiara. It's standing on a cupboard and it's definitely somewhere near here..."
Harry went off the middle route, Hermione went off to the right, and Bryt and Ron went together down the left.
"So, an old man in a wig and tiara," Ron said, "There's no way we could miss that."
"No kidding," Bryt said, looking around. Though all she could see as they went deeper into the room was more and more junk. Discarded books, old potions that were nothing more than sludge now, broken items students apparently tried to hide to cover their accidents...
But no tiara-and-wig-wearing bust.
"Shouldn't we have run into it by now?" Bryt asked.
Ron frowned and looked like he was going to answer, but then cut off and stared at the mountain of junk dividing their path from Harry's. Bryt was about to ask what was wrong when she heard it. Voices from the other side. Bryt moved closer, but she couldn't make out what anyone was saying.
"Harry? Who're you talking to?" Bryt called.
"Descendo!"
The voice on the other side sounded familiar, but Bryt didn't have a chance to figure out why. Ron was suddenly pushing her to the side as an avalanche of items started cascading down where they had just stood. Bryt heard Harry shouting something and the rain of junk stopped.
"You okay?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, you?"
Ron nodded and they both looked up as there was a very familiar voice on the other side of the junk mountain.
"If you wreck the room you might bury this diadem thing!" Draco Malfoy's voice echoed around the room.
"What's that matter?" Crabbe's voice came after, "It's Potter the Dark Lord wants, who cares about a die-dum?"
Bryt and Ron exchanged a look, then immediately split up. Bryt went up the pile while Ron raced down the path again to block from behind. Bryt had no idea how Malfoy and his goons got in, but if they were here, Harry would definitely need help. And an attack from above, Bryt knew they wouldn't expect this.
"Potter came in here to get it," Malfoy's voice came again, "So that must mean—"
"Must mean?" Crabbe interrupted, "Who cares what you think? I don't take your orders no more, Draco. You an' your dad are finished."
Bryt reached the top of the pile, shorter than the ones around her since it was the one that'd been collapsed. Bryt noticed Harry with his back to her, and in front of him, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Harry made a lunge towards a bust behind him and Crabbe suddenly yelled out a Cruciatus Curse. Bryt gasped, then breathed a sigh of relief as Harry dodged it. However, the curse hit the bust, which exploded, sending the diadem into the air...straight for Bryt.
She lunged forward without thinking, snagging the diadem, though at the same time she misjudged and went tumbling down the pile, right into view of Harry and the others.
"It's that mudblood!" Crabbe called, raising his wand and Bryt's eyes widened. Luckily for her, Hermione had appeared at the end of the path and sent out a Stunning Spell, missing Crabbe by inches, but it was enough to distract him. Bryt shoved the diadem in her pocket as she scrambled to her feet, rushing to Harry's side, wand in hand.
"I got it," she whispered. Harry looked relieved. Though that disappeared instantly as they braced themselves as Crabbe and Goyle were both raising their wands.
"Don't kill him!" Malfoy shouted, "DON'T KILL HIM!"
Bryt and Harry both took advantage of the confusion. In unison, they shot out Disarming Jinxes, and at the same time, Hermione and Ron shot out Stunners that both missed. Crabbe had managed to retrieve his wand and was running towards Ron, the two disappearing out of sight around the corner. Bryt didn't think, she just raced off after them. Harry and Hermione could handle Malfoy and Goyle. Bryt needed to help Ron.
Ron came rounding the corner a second later, racing towards them. Bryt nearly fell as Ron grabbed her hand, yanking her back towards the others.
"Wha—" Bryt started, looking over her shoulder to see Crabbe racing behind them, setting fire to everything near him. The fire was already getting out of control.
"Aquamenti!" Harry yelled as they got closer, but it did nothing. It didn't even reach the fire.
"RUN!" Ron screamed.
Harry and Hermione spun, taking off ahead of them. Bryt noticed Malfoy hoisting up an unconscious Goyle and Crabbe raced past them all, looking more afraid than any of them. He apparently didn't have any control over the fire he'd unleashed.
Bryt could feel the heat coming off the fire behind them. Bryt was glad Ron's hand was around hers, pulling her along. She had a much shorter stride, there was no way she would have kept up as much as she could if it weren't for Ron urging her along. Bryt looked over her shoulder as they ran around one corner to the next, and she could have sworn the fire was chasing them. This wasn't natural.
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were nowhere in sight now. Bryt and Ron rounded a corner with Harry and Hermione in front, then nearly plowed into them. Flames blocked their path forward. They spun around, but flames were behind them as well. There was no way they'd climb through the piles before the fire reached them.
They were trapped.