Part IV: Revolution
Chapter VIII: In Which a Sword gets Stolen
Neville was keen on avoiding Corinna as the ire she felt was plainly evident on her face. He sat down next to Seamus in Charms and the next opportunity to talk to him was during Herbology after lunch as he did not continue with Potions and he wasn't spotted at the Gryffindor table. Luna's lack of presence at the Ravenclaw table was an indication on where he was, but she did not feel like hunting him down when she had the perfect opportunity that didn't involve giving up her much-needed tea.
"The hell was that?" she demanded as she managed to get next to Neville as Seamus and Luna weren't there to act as a buffer. "We agreed we were just going to write that the DA was recruiting, not all…that!"
They hadn't cleaned up most of the graffiti as Filch was just one caretaker. The first one down, of course, was the one in the Entrance Hall, but the damage had been done. Everyone was talking about it again when the Prophet had been reporting how it was Harry who had killed him. It did not bode well that Snape hadn't been spotted at breakfast or lunch that day.
"We need to get the truth out there, Corinna," said Neville and Professor Sprout bustled about to get everything organized for the lesson. As everyone else was chattering loudly, it gave them ample opportunity to talk. "The DA is more than just an opportunity to teach younger students how to defend themselves. That can be a facet of it, but what about what we plan to do about the sword?"
"I told you to keep that between you, me, Ginny, and Luna," said Corinna coolly. "And we can do other things. We can inspire people to stand up against the Carrows and other injustices. But purposefully antagonizing Snape like that?"
"It's the least he deserves for being able to walk free after killing Dumbledore."
"I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be punished—" Corinna was cut off when Sprout called for their attention so she could begin class.
"Well, we have the password," said Ginny a few nights later as the four of them sat in an abandoned classroom. They would have done this in the Common Room, but as Luna was in Ravenclaw, they had to settle for a classroom and the ever-handy Muffiato charm. They had met there every night, except for when either Neville, Ginny, or Corinna had patrol. Neville wanted to put up more graffiti, but both the others turned him off the idea. They got the message across the first time. "We can at least get in."
"As long as he doesn't change it," said Corinna as she looked over the papers scattered in front of them. As both Corinna and Ginny had been in the office when Dumbledore was in charge, they had sketch out the layout of the office from memory. They vaguely remembered where the windows were placed, but there was only one feasible point of entry. They also know not if the Sword was going to be under any protections. As a school heirloom, there was a very good chance that there were some.
"Shouldn't Revelio work?" asked Luna as she looked over their plans.
"But then we will have to break through the enchantments," said Ginny. She released a low breath. "Wish Hermione were here."
Not for the first time had they shared that sentiment.
"We also need to figure out when to do this," said Neville. "During mealtime would be optimal. It's pretty much the only time we can guarantee he wouldn't be in his office."
"Maybe we should have someone keep an eye on Snape," suggested Corinna, wishing she had Harry's map of the school. "Three of us can go in and split up the detail of lookouts and getting the sword. The other person can stay in the Great Hall and somehow get a message to the others if Snape leaves."
"Well, obviously that should be you," said Ginny. When Corinna was about to protest, she continued. "Look, you're the only one of us that has been able to produce a Patronus to send a message and you are also in a position to delay him as you can talk to him about Head Prefect stuff."
Corinna really wanted to be in on the action, but then she realized that this was probably going to be the most important role. It was dependent on her to make sure that they had the time necessary to get the Sword and get out. She felt honored that Ginny felt she was up to the task.
"We also need to talk about recruitment," said Neville. A few of the old DA members have been asking around as to what they were planning to do. The main goal was to undermine the Ministry, just as the DA had been about two years ago as it went beyond just teaching students how to defend themselves. There was the element of teaching that needed to happen, however, as many of the students have been attacked by Slytherins as the male Carrow had given them all permission to practice the myriad of curses that he was teaching them in class. For now, they have been telling people to stand up to moments of injustice, particularly for the younger students who don't know how to defend themselves as well.
"Ginny and I would be willing to teach," said Luna, which was a huge relief to Corinna. Her speech in the Prefect compartment still haunted her. "Should we do it in the Room of Requirement?"
"We still need to figure out a way to use that Room without him having a way to get in," said Corinna as she thought about it a moment. "We can't use it in the way we did two years ago. We have to be trickier about it, especially if he suspects that's what we are doing. We can't be ambushed again. We barely got away with it then, we sure aren't going to get away with it now."
The words hung heavy in the air as the looked at one another and back at their plans. The initial excitement of doing this was wearing on them. It was especially wearing on Neville as he received more punishment that afternoon, this time by the hands of the female Carrow. She, like her brother, was not bothering to hide her insanity. She called muggles the scum of the Earth and if it weren't for them, then the Wizards would rule over everything. She then, of course, said that any Witch or Wizard who had Muggle blood in them was lesser, which prompted Neville to ask her how much Muggle she had in her. She would have tortured Neville if Anthony Goldstein hadn't stood up for him before Corinna could even do anything. They had both received detention.
Corinna had asked Neville what had happened with his detention with the male Carrow, but he didn't say, instead changing the subject to be about getting the sword.
"I think we should do this soon," said Neville as he looked over the papers scattered about. "We aren't going to come up with anything better and the sooner we can get that sword to Harry, the better."
They had agreed to do it Monday evening during dinner. Dinner was one of the few meals that Snape was consistently present for.
All weekend, Corinna was a jittery mess. As the linchpin to this whole operation, she felt even more pressure than if she was the one going into Snape's office. She would have to keep an eye on him the entire time. One false move from her and they were all caught.
Having potions that day did not help. Without Harry, Ron, and Hermione there, she was the only Gryffindor in seventh year potions. She had joined Ernie, the only Hufflepuff, at the table that used to hold four Ravenclaws, but was now down to two with Anthony Goldstein and Mandy Brocklehurst. At first, they were annoyed that they joined them, especially since they were all being highly competitive to earn the beloved spot as the best Potions student in Slughorn's eyes. But since Corinna offered to give them advice as the first few potions they were covering she had already done the summer before, they were more than happy to have her around.
All that Potions did for her was remind her that she had no clue where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were, and it was driving her insane. She should have been out there with them collecting Horcruxes, not sitting in a stuffy classroom, learning things she already knew.
Corinna met up with Neville during their free period as they hung around outside the Gargoyle that guarded the office. They had brought texts to make it seem as if they are studying out in the hall for a change in scenery, but neither of them were looking through them or going through their notes.
Once class let out for the day, Ginny and Luna joined them and Luna sat down next to Neville. "Anything yet?" she asked.
"Nope," said Corinna as Ginny leaned against the wall as there was no more room on the bench. As the crowd began to thin, Corinna got up and walked with Ginny down the corridor, pretending to talk, but they kept glancing back at the Gargoyle.
Sure enough, it eventually stepped to the side and Snape strode down the hall. The Gargoyle hopped back into place and, once Snape had rounded the corner, the plan was in motion.
"Remember, it's 'Asphodel,'" Corinna whispered to Ginny before they broke away and she rejoined Neville and Luna by the bench. Corinna walked at a brisk pace, but tried not to rush as she did not want to catch up with Snape. They knew his destination, after all.
By this time, the corridors should have been abandoned. Dinner was in full swing and Snape would have made up one of the last ones to arrive, as usual. So, Corinna was taken aback when she heard a scream. She immediately pulled her wand out and ran in the direction it came from: the North Tower leading up to the Divination classroom.
All the color drained from her face as she stumbled upon the scene just below the latter. There was the biggest of Malfoy's minions, Goyle, standing over a frightened first year as he had his wand trained on her. As he back was to Corinna, he hadn't seen that she had arrived. "Now will you tell me where they are?"
"I don't know!" she sobbed, trying to crawl away from Goyle. He let her get a few feet away before he used the Crutiatus Curse to leave her immobile.
"Get away from her!" shouted Corinna as she held her wand out. The little girl stopped screaming as Goyle turned to face Corinna. "Flipendo!" she shouted and Goyle went flying back. His shoulder hit the ladder and he went sprawling onto his side.
"What do you think you are doing?" she demanded as Goyle struggled to stand up. "She is just a little girl!"
"She has vital information about finding her Mudblood mother. I am just doing as I was asked." He managed to level his wand arm and shout, "Stupefy!"
"Protego!" Corinna watched as the red light flew over them. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Goyle's limbs locked together and he fell back onto the stone floor. Corinna breathed heavily as she approached the brute and made sure that her curse held. She might have done something more if it weren't for a sob breaking her concentration. She wasn't certain if she was annoyed or relieved for the distraction.
She turned back around and knelt down next to the girl. She really was just a first year, and small for her age on top of that. Her cat-eye frames were fogged up from the sobbing and askew from the torture. Her shoulder length hair hugged her round face. She was shaking so badly one might have thought she had been chilled. Unfortunately, she knew that feeling all too well.
"It's alright," said Corinna gently as she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "He can't hurt you anymore. My name is Corinna Crouch. What's your name?"
The little girl sniffled and clutched her schoolbag as if it were a shield. "Maisie," she mumbled. She glanced up momentarily before looking back down at the ground. "Maisie Cattermole."
"It'll be okay, Maisie," Corinna reassured as she pocketed her wand to really show she was no threat. "I can help you."
"No, you can't," said Maisie, seeming a little more confident as the shock wore off. "No one can help me."
"Do you know what Dumbledore used to say?" If she was a first year, she would not have even known Dumbledore as a Headmaster. That thought oddly saddened Corinna. "Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."
Maisie looked up at Corinna, her brown eyes misty from the tears. "He…he attacked me because my mum…" She sniffled again and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her robe. "My mum is Muggle-born. She went in to register even though we told her not to. She waited until I got to Hogwarts before she went. But I…I guess someone broke into the Ministry and got her out. She's on the run with my dad and Ellie and Alfred. I should go with them, but I can't leave. And I can't tell anyone that they are on the run."
Maisie collapsed into Corinna and started a fresh wave of sobs. Corinna just wrapped her arms around the small girl and held her tightly.
"I just want to go home," she mumbled.
"I know," she said as she rubbed Maisie's back to help her calm down. "Listen, I promise you," she said as she pulled the little girl away to look her in the eye. "I promise I will find a way to get you to your parents."
Maisie sniffled loudly. "You will?"
Corinna nodded. "I promise," she said. "But it's going to take me some time. For right now, Maisie, I need you to do something, alright?"
"What is it?"
"I need you to pretend like this didn't happen," said Corinna. "Oh, don't worry, I'll make sure Goyle here gets what he deserves, but it has to stay between us, alright? Think you can do that?"
Maisie seemed to hesitate a moment before nodding.
"I'm going to walk you back to your Common Room, okay? What house are you in?"
"Hufflepuff."
"That's a pretty awesome house," said Corinna as she helped Maisie stand up. They walked slowly to the stairs as it seemed that Maisie did not have all her strength back. "I have a friend in Hufflepuff. His name's Ernie Macmillan."
"I think I know him," said Maisie, relaxing a little bit more. "He's a Prefect, isn't he?"
"He is." They made it to the base of the tower and lead her back towards the stairs to take her down. "He is very nice. If you ever have any problems, you can always turn to him if I'm not around."
"I thought you said I couldn't tell anyone."
Smart girl. "We can trust Ernie. If it's alright with you, I'll tell him what happened here to keep an eye on you."
Maisie slowly nodded as they descended the marble staircase. A dull roar came from the Great Hall as everyone enjoyed dinner, but Maisie kept her head down and close to Corinna. She was only a few inches shorter than Corinna, but she seemed so much smaller. Corinna figured it was her youthful face only recently etched with worry and fear. Maybe Corinna was the lucky one in the situation. Even if she didn't have that great of a childhood, at least she was able to have one not in the middle of a war.
Once they got to the corridor by the kitchens, Corinna was at a loss as to where she should go. Much like all the other common rooms, the Hufflepuff one must be concealed in some way. "Maisie, where's the entrance?"
"Oh, it's over here," said Maisie as she took Corinna's hand and lead her over to a little alcove with a portrait of a ladder. Hidden in the recesses of the alcove were barrels stacked about. Maisie brought out her wand which seemed much too big in her small hands. Corinna wondered if she had looked that way at eleven. It was hard to imagine someone like her going down through a hidden corridor in the castle to face a series of challenges that lead to Voldemort at the end as Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to do.
She tapped a barrel two from the bottom and the middle of the second row. She tapped it five times and the portrait at the end of the hall went from a painting into the real thing.
"You should be safe in there," said Corinna as she turned back to Maisie. "Until I can get you out of here, you'll have to keep going to class. Just stick with your friends and never go anywhere alone. Even if it's just to use the loo. If you ever feel unsafe, just come find me or Ernie."
Maisie rushed to hug Corinna and held her tightly. She, in turn, wrapped her arms around Maisie and gently rubbed her back. "Just know that you have people on your side. People who will be willing to stand up to ar—bullies like Goyle." She stopped herself short from cursing.
"Thank you, Corinna," said Maisie as she looked up. "It's just…does it get easier? Dealing with…what happened?"
It seemed that the ladder was on some sort of timer as it faded back to being a portrait. Corinna glanced back down at Maisie, who had paid it no mind. "It does," she said gently. "Someone used the Cruciatus Curse on me over the summer to get information out of me about Harry Potter." Maisie's eyes went wide, blown up by her glasses. "My cousin was there to help me after it had happened. I would turn to your friends right now until I can get you to your family, alright? I learned that they can be just as important as family."
Maisie sniffled again as she tapped the barrel again. "Thanks," she mumbled. "I'll keep that in mind."
Corinna gave Maisie a small smile. "Good night, Maisie."
She went up the ladder and Corinna had to admit that she was curious as to what the other dormitories looked like. Were they all warm and cozy like the Gryffindor Common Room? She imagined that the Hufflepuff one would be similar, just a different color scheme. She had a hard time imagining the Slytherin Common Room in the dungeons as anything but cold and slimy.
Once Maisie was gone and the ladder was a portrait again, the concern for the young girl faded and anger rose up in her like a tidal wave. She gripped her wand tightly as she marched passed the kitchens and back up into the Entrance Hall. As Trelawney spent most of her time being drunk and no one else had a reason to go up to the North Tower at this time of the day, she made to march up there and give Goyle a piece of her mind now that Maisie was safe in her Common Room.
But as she gazed upon the Great Hall, something clicked in the back of her mind and a cold dread filled her entire being. She swore under her breath as she rushed in there and looked up at the staff table. Her heart might as well have stopped because she was so dead.
Snape wasn't at the staff table.
She turned right back around, running into a group of young Slytherins in the process. They jeered at her, but she paid them no mind as she ran back up the marble staircase and ran pell-mell all the way down to the corridor that held the entrance to the Headmaster's office. She did not slow down until she got to the gargoyle. The stitch in her side and her heavy breathing made it impossible for her to try to say the password, but the gargoyle stepped aside anyway to reveal an angry Neville and Ginny with Luna standing behind them seeming to be her usual airy self.
"Oh, so now she shows up," said Ginny, leveling a glare that Corinna had seen Mrs. Weasley give her children.
"I'm sorry," she managed to choke out. "I'm so sorry, I—"
"Save it," Ginny snapped. "We don't want to hear your excuses."
Corinna swallowed thickly. "I suppose that's fair."
"Ginny, it wasn't that bad," said Luna.
"Not that bad?" said Ginny. "Neville and I were stripped of our Prefect status. And if you haven't noticed, we have detention."
"With Hagrid," added Luna. "Neville's already had detention with Hagrid before. He said it wasn't that bad."
"It still could have all been avoided if Corinna had warned us that Snape was coming up." She turned her attention back to Corinna. "We had the Sword in hand. We were about to leave when he showed up. What was so fucking important that you couldn't have sent us a Patronus?"
"Oh, so now you want an explanation?" muttered Corinna. "If you must know, I came across Goyle using the Cruciatus Curse on a first year." That seemed to give them a moment of pause. "I stopped him and made sure she was alright. I walked her back to her Common Room to make sure nothing else happened to her."
"How noble of you," said Ginny. "Then you should have sent us a Patronus that you had to abandon your post."
"I'll remember that for next time."
Ginny shoved passed Corinna and Neville followed suit. He was oddly quiet throughout this whole thing. As the one who was so keen on restarting the DA, he probably should have had a few choice words to say.
"Don't worry, Corinna," said Luna as she stepped forward. "They are just angry that we failed in our mission. You did the right thing. In the end, that's what Harry would have wanted, isn't it?"
Surprisingly, those words did nothing to comfort Corinna. "Thanks, Luna," she said all the same.
After that, Neville and Ginny refused to talk with Corinna. Luna was also included in that, by extension, as she was almost always with one or the other. She just let them be angry at her as she felt like she deserved it. It was another set of friends she abandoned, after all.
September faded as fall settled in around them. Corinna found herself alone in the Common Room just like she had the first couple years at Hogwarts before she became friends with Terry. She found herself focusing on her studies like Aunt Andromeda wanted, but she was also trying to find ways to get Maisie out of the castle.
Asking McGonagall or Hagrid was out of the question. She could not do anything to jeopardize McGonagall's position for one student. It was more important that she be there for all the students. And when she went to talk with Hagrid about it, he brought up a suggestion to host something called a Support Harry Party. He said it was to show that Death Eaters in the castle that they can't take away their hope, but Corinna prayed she did her best to talk Hagrid out of it. She also thought it best not to bring up her predicament with him after he suggested that.
At least, it seemed, that the message of "What Would Harry Potter Do?" seemed to elicit a positive response in students helping out other students. Although he received detention in turn for it, Michael Corner rescued a second year from their own detention where they were chained to the wall and various Slytherins, led by Crabbe and Goyle, were tasked to practice the many curses that they were learning about in Defense. Not that any of them could even really call it that anymore. It didn't even pretend to be any sort of protection, just full-blown Dark Arts at this point.
One good thing that was going on was that, at the very least, Maisie seemed to be doing better. Corinna had told Ernie about it the next time they had Potions together, trying to speak lowly so Anthony and Mandy couldn't overhear. He promised her that he would keep an eye on Maisie. Whenever she saw Maisie in the hallway, she was always surrounded by a group of Hufflepuffs, and not just her first-year friends. She also told Maisie that she was working on a plan, but each time it was said seemed to almost drain Maisie of hope.
Sure enough, all known passageways out of the school were sealed away. She also didn't have Dora stationed in Hogsmeade this year to help. In fact, she omitted talking about Maisie in any of her Patronus messages or in her longer letter that she sent to Aunt Andromeda and Dora every Sunday. For one thing, Aunt Andromeda would not approve of Corinna going against her wishes, and another was that she did not want to drag Dora into this. Her and her baby were doing well despite everything, and Corinna was going to do everything in her power to keep it that way.
Even if it meant she was at a complete loss as how she could help Maisie.
Inspiration did not strike until a notice came onto the board announcing that Hogsmeade weekends were suspended until further notice. Corinna was one of the few people who wasn't sad about that. What was she going to do? Sit in the Three Broomsticks drinking butterbeer alone?
As she headed down to class, she reminisced about Hogsmeade trips past. She remembered her friend date with Terry at the Hogs Head Inn, how they had plowed through a bottle of wine in a short amount of time. They probably would not have ever thought to go there if it weren't for the first DA meeting that was hosted there. The only one that was outside the Room of Requirement.
Corinna froze as she was about to head into the Defense corridor. The Room of Requirement was, indeed, a very curious room. She thought of the piles and piles of stuff from years past or the room where they held meetings where Harry would go around and show them how to properly defend themselves when no one else would teach them. Not caring to be marked absent from that horrid class, she went back the way she had just come from.
She froze in front of the wall across from Barnebas the Barmy. She stared at it as, the last time she was here, they were attacked by Death Eaters. It brought her back to that night and she shook her head to try to clear it out of her mind's eye. She needed to focus. She needed to see if the Room would give her what she wanted.
I need a way to get a student to safety, she thought as she paced. I need to get a student out of the castle…a place to take refuge… On the third turn, she stopped and looked back at the wall. Relief flooded over her as the door appeared and she stepped inside.
It was a large circular room, but not much else was in there. Except for a portrait of a girl who was around Corinna's age, but maybe a tad younger. She had blonde hair swept back over her shoulder and she watched Corinna as if she was expecting her to be there.
Corinna looked about, keeping her wand out just in case as she stepped forward and looked at the portrait of the young girl. "Can you help me?" she asked. When the girl said or did nothing, she elaborated. "I need help getting a little girl out of the castle. She's in danger."
The girl was still a moment before she nodded and swung the portrait open. It revealed a dark corridor, almost like a cavern. Corinna stared at it a moment before lighting the tip of her wand and stepped forward. The portrait swung shut before she had time to step out of the light.
With a steadying sigh, she made her way down the passageway as it seemed to go down. It steadily grew colder to the point that she could see her breath mist in the wand light. After what felt like an eternity, she reached the end of the passageway with a solid, wooden wall in front of her. She gently pushed on it, but nothing happened. As she was about to try Alohomora, the wall moved forward.
Light poured into the passageway and Corinna silently vanished the light from her wand. She stepped forward and blinked to get her eyes to adjust to the bright light. She seemed to be in a backroom somewhere as there were barrels stacked off to one side, but there was a small kitchenette with what could have been considered a small sitting room. There wasn't much. Just a couple of overstuffed chairs and a mantel that held some dingy photos and a broken piece of mirror.
She froze when the door swung open and a very familiar man walked through the door. It was as if she was seeing a ghost as the man also stared at her, and then back at the portrait hole she had just came from and seemed to understand faster than she did.
"What are you doing back here?" he asked. "Did you send her here?"
He looked behind Corinna and she turned to see the blonde girl again. All she did was nod.
The man turned back to Corinna who was at a complete loss of words. "I'm sorry," she said very quickly. "I just needed to find a passageway out of the castle."
"You found it," the man said gruffly, which just added to how very much different he was to Albus Dumbledore. They had similar blue eyes and gray hair, but the man before Corinna was not as jovial nor as kind as her old Headmaster.
"Does anyone know about this?" asked Corinna, pointing to the portrait behind her.
"There are only two people alive who know about this."
Corinna glanced back at the portrait. The girl was quietly watching the exchange. She looked back at the man and swallowed thickly. "I hope I'm one of those two people."
"Glad they teach you something up at that school," he said as he stepped over to the kitchenette and put the kettle on the stove. "If half the rumors are true, then that place is a nightmare."
"Oh, it is," said Corinna. "Where are we anyway?"
"You're in my personal quarters at the Hogs Head Inn," he said. "Name's Aberforth, not that you asked."
"You didn't ask mine either," Corinna pointed out. But she shook her head as she tried to formulate a plan and quickly. "Corinna Crouch. Listen, is it alright if I tell someone else about this? Someone that may be the world's biggest git, but I trust him?"
"Depends," said Aberforth.
Corinna sighed heavily. "I need to get a student out and back to her family so they can get out of the country. I know someone who can help her, but only if I can meet him here since I obviously can't go waltzing through Hogsmeade."
Aberforth watched Corinna closely, and she felt like she was being sized up by Dumbledore. "Is it just the one student?"
"For now," said Corinna. "If this shiteshow continues, there may be more."
Aberforth looked annoyed at the prospect. "When do you plan on meeting up with this git?"
"As soon as I can," said Corinna. "I can send him a message to meet me here."
Aberforth still looked apprehensive. "A classmate of mine tortured this student because her mother is Muggle-born. She did nothing to deserve such a thing, not that anyone deserves to have the Cruciatus Curse used on them. Stuff like that is going to keep happening to her and to others in the same position she is in if I don't do something about it. The teachers' hands are tied. Please, Aberforth."
His expression did not change. He merely looked back at the portrait, but Corinna kept looking him in the eye. "As long as it isn't a parade of students coming through here. Just don't expect anything from me."
"We just need to use this as a meeting spot," said Corinna. "I'll even pay you if that's what you want."
"Money isn't what I'm after," said Aberforth and he turned around and went back to the main part of the pub.
Guess that's as good of an endorsement as she was going to get. She raised her wand again and sent a quick message. She watched her dolphin swim off through the wall and the seconds seemed to tick on forever before she got a reply in the shape of a wolf. "Tonight, at midnight," was all it said. That was more than enough time as she turned back around and headed back into the castle.