Part IV: Revolution

Chapter X: In Which the DA Becomes Product Testers

Winter was quickly approaching, which meant that the holidays were as well. It seemed that, every week, Corinna had a couple of students to take through the secret tunnel to the Hogs Head to pass them off to Remus. If he had already located their family, he would take them. If not, the Order had safe houses around the country. Either way, with how the Carrows were acting, they were safer out in the world than they were in Hogwarts.

She even expressed her concern to Colin Creevey and his brother, Dennis. They were both Muggle-borns and she offered to get them out if they didn't want to wait for the holiday. They both shook their heads. "No," said Colin as they sat in the crowded Common Room. Unless people were desperate for friends outside of their House or were at the DA lessons or meetings, they stayed up in their respective dorms. "Wes Andrews agreed to say we were his cousins. He has a really big family, see, and it was easy to forge the relationship. In fact, I think he's related to you in some way because I think a second- or third- or whatever cousin of his was a Crouch, if the family tree they have is correct."

"I'm sure," said Corinna, especially since being a Black meant that she was related to pretty much everyone in some form or another. She tried not to think about it too much. "The offer still stands at any time. I just need to make arrangements with my contact."

"You sound very official by calling them a contact," said Dennis with a chuckle. "But, really, we've already fooled them a couple of times. There's no reason for us to worry. We want to stay and help with the DA."

Neville led raids into detentions to get students out who were being tortured. They switched up who would go in, but it seemed that Neville was always apart of them.

"You need to be careful," she said, when she pulled Neville aside before Dark Arts. She used one of the known hidden passageways through the school. She remembered having to duck in there to avoid Romilda Vane. That incident felt like it happened in a different lifetime. "You might be the next person I smuggle out of the castle."

"If it comes to that, it means I've done right," said Neville, looking defiant. "I will only hide when there are no other options."

"That sounds fine on paper," said Corinna, crossing her arms. "Just make sure you don't get killed in the meantime."

"Same goes," said Neville easily as the bell rang, signaling they were late for class. They dealt with the jabs from Carrow, and even the house points they lost meant nothing to them now. Who could care about something as trivial as house rivalry when everyday was a matter of life or death?

Their last Dark Arts lesson of the term was about fiendfyre, something that made Corinna's stomach churn uneasily. She tried not to look over at the eager faces of Crabbe and Goyle, probably wondering when they would be able to use it on students when other curses and hexes were no longer viable options.

As it was the last Transfigurations lesson before break, McGonagall put a list on the blackboard of spells that they should practice as she knew they would be on the NEWTs and left them to it as she roamed around the classroom giving out suggestions on what people should focus on and correcting any poor wandmanship.

Corinna and Malfoy silently agreed to work on things that did not require partnering up. It was fine with her as she did need to work on her self-Transfigurations. She had just managed to get her hair to be a lighter shade of blonde when McGonagall stopped by. "Wonderful, Miss Crouch. You should try to fully change the color next as that is what the NEWT practical will really focus on."

"Maybe she should make it black like her mother," said Parkinson with a forced laugh and Millicent Bulstrode put a hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter.

"You two need to pay attention to what you are doing, not what everyone else is doing," said McGonagall coldly. "Miss Bulstrode, I know you haven't even managed to change your eyebrows as of late, and you should be able to do that at the end of last year."

As Parkinson and Bulstrode turned back to the practice, Corinna caught McGonagall's eye. It seemed to be a warning of some sort, but she went to check on Anthony Goldstein and Mandy Brocklehurst as they worked on Disillusionment Charms on each other.

Corinna looked over at Malfoy, who was staring at her. "What? Got another comment to make about my supposed family?"

"You do realize Bellatrix is my aunt, right?" asked Malfoy coolly. "I know the truth. But I'm not the one who told. That would be the Carrows' doing. I'd rather not people think I was related to you."

"The feeling is mutual," said Corinna, as she decided to try to make her hair the same shade of pink Dora preferred. "I'm surprised she didn't tell you to kill me."

"If she does want to kill you, I think she would want that honor for herself," he said as he tried to grow facial hair. "The others make snide remarks about our family, and she does not like being seen as lesser to the Dark Lord."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Corinna in a low voice. McGonagall was clear across the room, but others were still nearby.

"Consider it a warning," he said. "I believe her orders were to prune the diseased parts of her family tree."

All that did was confirm what Dora had suspected when Bellatrix targeted her specifically while trying to get Harry to the safety of the Burrow.

"Is that what I am?" asked Corinna. "A disease on your family?"

"You tell me," said Malfoy as he managed to produce a mustache that was reminiscent of Mr. Crouch's.

"I think she's trying to prune the wrong parts," said Corinna sharply. "She needs to start with herself if she's worried about diseases."

Malfoy did not seem to disagree with that statement. "Wouldn't that include you, then?"

"If that's what happens," said Corinna as she turned back to practice, but her mind was elsewhere as she considered Malfoy's words. He seemed to display genuine emotions just then, and she could not see the Malfoy from just a couple of years ago saying something like that. Well, he would, but in a snarky manner that would make her want to hex him. It certainly wouldn't be a friendly warning, if one could call it that.

She had patrol that evening, something she basically took up every night. It was much easier to smuggle people if she was constantly around after hours. Today, she had a fifth year Ravenclaw to smuggle out. Alec Quinn's mother, Alora Quinn, was an ex-Prophet journalist who would often report what the Ministry was up to. She had attempted to write the truth in the Prophet, but the editor, now a Death Eater as the old one "resigned," took note and she had to go into hiding after three Death Eaters raided her office. Although they were so close to the holidays, his mother did not want to wait and let her son remain around Death Eaters, and her and Remus agreed to meet up with her so they could flee the country, although she still planned to submit her work to The Quibbler.

The world really was upside down if The Quibbler of all publications was reporting on the truth. Or, at least the closer to the truth than the Daily Prophet. They would report the actual deaths, including the old Prophet editor and even when entire Muggle families were wiped out by bored Death Eaters after a pub crawl. The Quibbler was, of course, banned from Hogwarts, so it could not be delivered by owl. But, as crafty as students have always been, everyone was reading The Quibbler religiously.

"Daddy is very excited about the boosted sales," said Luna when the populace within the school caught on. "He's able to put out a magazine a week and even encourages people to write in."

The problem with that was that the published all the letters claiming to know where Harry was and how they had helped him in some way. Corinna doubted any of them are true as Harry has a hard enough time accepting help from his friends let alone complete strangers. If he had been spotted in the middle of Hogsmeade, Corinna would have heard it from someone other than from Marquis L. of Yorkshire.

So Corinna did her patrol duties until it got closer to midnight. She met Alec outside the Ravenclaw dormitory and led him through the Room of Requirement and into the Hogs Head Inn. Aberforth did not even bother coming out of wherever he was as Corinna lead Alec to the pub where Remus was just walking in.

"Cutting it close," said Corinna with a slight smirk.

After the quick introductions, Remus told Alec to go sit down for a moment while he talked with Corinna. "I was…I was actually at Andromeda's place."

"What?" she said in surprise. "And you live to tell the tale?"

"I just wanted to talk with Dora," said Remus, looking away from Corinna. "Surprisingly, she didn't hex me into oblivion, but she kept her wand on me while I apologized profusely. I told her I was an idiot and that I should listen to you and Harry and be there for my child. I can't thank you both enough for helping me see that."

"What did I do?" asked Corinna. "I just called you names."

"You did more than that," he said softly. "I would be there right now, but I promised to bring Alec here to his mum. They are both looking forward to you coming home in a couple of days."

It was very tempting to just go with Remus now, but she still had Muggle Studies class tomorrow afternoon, and then she was free to go. "Me, too," said Corinna. "Does Dora know what she's having?"

"She wants it to be a surprise," said Remus, who looked positively annoyed at the notion. "But, all we both want is for them to be healthy and not a werewolf."

"That's what we all want," Corinna agreed and she motioned for Alec to approach. "I'll see you in a couple of days. I'm going to Apparate from the village, but I'm going to do it the proper way. I don't want to give them a reason to think I'm the one smuggling students out."

"I also did not tell Dora and Andromeda what it is we have been doing," said Remus with a nod. "I don't think either of them want us doing this. It's too risky."

"But too important to stop doing," said Corinna. "And thanks for not telling. I promised Aunt Andromeda I wouldn't do something like this." She sighed softly. "I'm the only one who does this, but I've been wondering if I should tell someone else, just in case."

Remus shook his head. "Nothing is going to happen to you," he said. "Just stay out of trouble. Don't do the things that I have been hearing about from McGonagall. She's doing what she can to protect you lot, but there is only so much the other teachers can do to defy the Carrows and Snape."

"None of them are going to stop," said Corinna. "But I'm not partaking, as much as I would like to. All I know is that they have something big planned before we are all going to be sent home."

"Just be careful, all the same," he warned. "And I didn't hear you say that."

"Say what?" asked Corinna with a smirk. "I'll see you later, Remus."

She crept her way back down the tunnel and back into the Room of Requirement. It was very late, so she was surprised to see shadows crossing through the gap between the door and the floor. Holding her hand to her mouth so her breathing wasn't heavy, she carefully placed her ear against the door and strained to hear. She wished she had the Extendable Ears right about now. But she did not hear anyone speak, but the shadow was still there. She kept a close eye on the shadow as it shifted back and forth in agitation but did not approach. They were probably trying to figure out how to get in since Corinna was already inside, but they couldn't do it unless they new the exact reason it was summoned.

After what felt like an eternity, the shadow moved away and it seemed that they were gone. She waited a good quarter of an hour before pulling the door open. The corridor was deserted, and she quickly scurried over to Gryffindor Tower, barely paying attention to the Fat Lady when she complained about being woken up and how important beauty sleep was.

Before going to breakfast the next day, an extremely tired Corinna had woken up with her usual alarm, even if all she wanted to do was sleep until her next class. But she managed to meet up with Neville before he went down to the Great Hall. "Were you trying to get into the Room last night?" she asked without preamble.

"No," he said around his own yawn. "Once Ginny and Luna finished up the lesson, we took it to the Common Room to finish planning for tonight. Why?"

She told him about the shadow she saw and how it had hung around for a good hour before disappearing. "Do you think it was Snape or the Carrows?"

"I feel like if it were the Carrows, they would have tag-teamed it and I would have heard something." When they weren't teaching their own subjects, they were always together. Some of the students have even speculated that they shared an office, which Corinna did not want to think about. "I think it was Snape. The other teachers would not have hung around that long, or else would have said something to draw my attention to the fact they are a good teacher." She couldn't be sure who all knew about the Room. It seemed like such a big secret during her fifth year, but now a lot of people were, apparently, using it.

"Then what was he trying to do with the Room?" asked Neville. "Unless he knew you were in there."

"Again, I think he would have called out," said Corinna as she thought a moment. "Unless he didn't want anyone else to know."

"What could he possibly need the room for? He has an entire office to himself."

"If I knew, I would tell you," she said.

"Do you think he was trying to hide the Sword?"

"No. If he intended to hide it away, he would have done it before this. You lot did that couple of months ago at this point."

"As much as I would like to keep standing here and discuss theories," said Neville, "I'm starving, and Luna and I were going to hang out since she has the morning off, too."

Corinna thought about the mounting homework she had for over break. The best thing for her to do was tackle it so it wouldn't be such a big problem when she did go home, but she had a few other things she needed to do that could not wait. "Alright. I'll see you around, Neville."

They went their separate ways as Neville went for the staircases and Corinna made her way to the corridor with the Room of Requirement. I need to retrieve what I have hidden here, she thought, pacing back and forth until the door revealed itself. She walked through and was immediately bombarded with the towering piles of stuff that was hidden over the years. This was where Malfoy had fixed the vanishing cabinet and plotted his many attempts at killing Dumbledore. She tried to push down the anger that burned her stomach as she drew out her wand. "Accio Sword of Gryffindor," she called, but nothing happened. She could see the Sword clearly in her mind. She had seen it displayed behind Dumbledore's desk the few times she had graced his office. Either the sword or the Room somehow prevented the summoning charm from working, or it wasn't there.

And it would take her the rest of her days to sort through all the stuff that was in the Room. It was better off to assume that it wasn't even there in the first place.

Instead, so the trip was not a complete waste, she retraced her steps. It was a few months ago at this point, but she had committed the steps to memory. She pointedly looked away when she came across the vanishing cabinet, the door hanging open as if eagerly awaiting to let more Death Eaters into Hogwarts, although they did not need that anymore. It was just a couple of turns away before she came across the cabinet again and swung the doors open. The remains of whatever it was were in still in the cage, but tucked behind it was the ancient copy of Advanced Potion-Making.

Although she hated the fact that Snape ended up being the Half-Blood Prince, she had to admit that he had an amazing mind. What other sort of spells and potion-shortcuts did he know that could help Corinna? Besides, there had to be some sort of poetic justice to use this book against Snape.

With a satisfied nod, she closed the cabinet and shoved the text into her bag. She walked quickly past the piles of rubbish and left the Room of Requirement.

As she was walking back towards Gryffindor Tower, two looming figures came around the corner with their wands trade. "There you are Crouch," said Crabbe with a lopsided grin on his face. Next to him was Goyle, who's jaw clenched in anger. "Or, do you prefer Lestange? It has been very confusing, don't you agree?"

Corinna had her own wand out, figuring she could take on both of them and she wouldn't be at a disadvantage. "Not really," she said, "but I suppose it would be confusing to those who are too thick to think for themselves."

"Petrificus—"

"Flipendo!" shouted Corinna before Goyle could finish the spell. "Honestly, if you are going to use a spell, pick a shorter one."

"Impedimenta!" Corinna felt her movements slow down as she struggled to right herself. "Should've shut up, Blood Traitor."

The jinx didn't last long, but it was enough time for Goyle to recover, but Crabbe did not think to use another spell on Corinna. "Ventus!" she shouted, aiming between Crabbe and Goyle so they were both trapped in the spiral of wind. She was able to push them to the other side of the corridor. She broke the spell and then ran for it down to the nearest girl's bathroom as she knew she would not be able to outrun both of them.

"Like that's going to stop us!" shouted Crabbe.

Corinna managed to get the door shut before they got close enough. "Colloportus!" she shouted, locking the door. It only bought her a few seconds of time as she ran into one of the cubicles and stood on the toilet.

"Calamitatis," she whispered just as the door slammed open. She had just finished the wand movement necessary to complete the spell when Crabbe and Goyle both started slamming cubicle doors open and inspecting each one. She stayed perfectly still, her hands braced on either side of the dividers. She dared now move as Goyle slammed the door open and looked in the cubicle. He did not hang around long before moving on.

"She has to be in here," said Crabbe as he passed by the door that was slowly swinging closed. "There's no way she could have left."

Over the cubicles, Corinna saw the door open to reveal a first year. She saw Crabbe and Goyle and froze. "You can't be in here. This is the girl's loo!"

"Don't tell us what to do, little—"

"Petrificus totalus!" shouted Corinna to the nearest one—Goyle. Crabbe, who was about to berate the little girl, turned around to see his fallen friend.

Corinna stepped out of the cubicle, and she saw Crabbe's eyes shift at the movement. "Expelliarmus!" she shouted as his wand went flying out of his hand. It flew in a high arch and Corinna easily caught it.

The girl screamed again and ran out of the bathroom.

"How'd you do that?" demanded Crabbe.

"Disillusionment charm on myself," said Corinna. "Now, why did you attack me in the corridor?"

"Because we were bored, and you were alone." That made Corinna pause. That excuse seemed oddly rehearsed. "We thought we could take you."

Corinna rolled her eyes. "A third year could take you both out," she said. "If you are so bored, why not go hang out with Malfoy? I thought you liked being bossed around by him."

"We don't listen to Malfoy anymore," he said simply. "He actually told us to quit torturing the young'uns, can you believe it?"

"Actually, no," said Corinna, knowing that the old Malfoy would have loved to have free reign over the school. There last few weeks of their fifth year came to mind. "Well, I think you two should quit it," she said coolly. "Just because you lot think you're hot shite because your parents are running around with You-Know-Who does not mean that we are going to stand by and let you pull this." She aimed her wand again. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Once Crabbe had gone as still as Goyle, Corinna through his wand onto him. "If you two so much as consider using a spell against another student, no matter if they are first or seventh year, I will hunt you down and hex you until you resemble nothing more than a shell of your former selves. Is that clear?" As they couldn't answer, she stepped over their bodies. She removed the disillusionment charm off herself and left the bathroom. She had just rounded the corner when that little girl was walking with McGonagall, telling her that an invisible girl was attack a couple of students in the bathroom.

Muggle Studies was already an awkward class to begin with, but with Crabbe and Goyle constantly shooting Corinna death glares, it only added to the insanity.

Word had gotten around that McGonagall had given them both a week's detention when they got back from the holiday. They didn't divulge who they attacked, but word spread around that it was, indeed, Corinna who did it. If McGonagall heard, she didn't say anything to Corinna about it. She would at least like a few house points for doing a perfect disillusionment charm on herself the first time.

Corinna knew very little about what was actually taught in Muggle Studies with a competent teacher. She did not know anyone who took the class, except for Hermione, which seemed utterly pointless as she was Muggle-born. She assumed they would look into how Muggles have faired without magic, such as utilizing electricity and other things that Witches and Wizards have no use for, while also taking a look at how their histories are different and so on. It seemed like an interesting class, and maybe one more people should consider taking, especially if their scope of Muggle knowledge is extremely limited, but Corinna would much rather not have to sit in a stuffy classroom while listening to the fanatic talk about how lesser Muggles are.

As she ranted on about how Muggles will one day replace House-elves, Corinna thought back to the first Potterwatch she listened to. Royal, who she finally figured out was Kingsley thanks to Remus, talked about how they were all still human, whether there was magic in their blood or not. They all had an obligation to look out for their Muggle neighbors just as much as their Wizarding ones.

No one seemed to be paying attention to Carrow as she ranted and raved. Not even the other Slytherins who might be inclined to agree with her. She couldn't help but look over at Malfoy, the only one of the students she knew to be a fully fledged Death Eater. Not for the first time, she was wondering how much he had changed. Just from the couple of conversations she's had with him and what Crabbe told her earlier, she wondered what else was different about him.

"I would be paying attention if I were you," said Carrow and gave a laugh reminiscent of her brother's. "I just might give you a quiz when you get back to Hogwarts for the next term."

No one really cared. All they had to do was show up and do the bare minimum for the homework. Unless someone was interested in getting the NEWTs for the course, there was no point in really trying. During her OWLs, Corinna wanted to do well in all her exams as a matter of principle even if she had no plans on continuing with the class. Now, she did not even care if she got Troll, the lowest possible grade, in Muggle Studies.

The bell rang and they all eagerly left the classroom. Neville caught up with Corinna as she was heading down the hallway. "I would go right down to the Great Hall if I were you," he suggested. "We are about to go out on a bang."

Corinna did not ask if that was literally or figuratively as she hadn't even bothered to detour to Gryffindor Tower and, instead, joined the oddly small crowd of seventh years towards the main staircase. She did not know who was all recruited, but she noted that all of the other seventh year Gryffindors were not at the table, and there was no Ginny or Luna or Creeveys or anyone else of note.

She made a show of scooping some Shepherd's Pie onto her plate, but kept glancing over at the staff table. Once again, Snape had joined them, but paid very little to what the male Carrow was telling him. She was surprised that the female one wasn't there with her brother.

She shoved the food into her mouth without tasting it as she looked around. No one else seemed to be aware of what was going on. The fifth years sitting next to her were talking about how they were looking forward to their break before they having to buckle down for their OWLs. She should start to think about her NEWTs, but it honestly felt silly to worry about exams when the world was crashing down around them.

A loud boom came from above, causing dust from the enchanted ceiling to fall onto the tables. The hall immediately went silent as Snape was quick on his feet. "What the—"

He was cut off when a firework came flying into the hall. It seemed to know precisely where to go as it started off low and then rose up into the night sky before setting off into a shower of red and gold. One right after the other, fireworks were being launched into the sky as students were scrambling to get out of the hall, but all mesmerized by the colorful display. Figuring them to be Fred and George's special fireworks, Snape did nothing to stop them, and had actually shoved Carrow's wand arm down when he was about to curse them.

As the students rushed out, with Corinna leading the younger ones out first, she saw that someone had transformed the Entrance Hall into a snowstorm reminiscent of what was happening outside. The younger students curled up into themselves while the older students summoned blue jar flames that would last only a minute or so without anything to protect it.

Seamus moved to stand next to Corinna as she had summoned some fire to help keep the younger ones warm. "Fred and George expanded their Portable Swamps into Portable Biomes. Lavender and Ginny are setting up a rainforest in the corridor of Snape's office as we speak. I think Neville and Luna were planning on putting a desert where the Carrows have their offices."

"Brilliant," said Corinna with a grin on her face. "But this will only keep Snape so busy. He's much smarter than Umbridge."

"Ah, about that." Now it was Seamus's turn to grin, and it was definitely of the shit-eating variety. "We might have gotten our hands on some prototypes where only those who put it up are the only ones who can take it down. But, we'll see what Flitwick can do, eh? Just promised the Weasleys to let them know how well they work."

Corinna shook her head and summoned some more flames. She should be telling them to get to the Common Room, but she knew they were having too much fun watching the chaos unfold. The fireworks did not seem to be slowing down in the slightest.

"How did you even get these things through?" asked Corinna as some of the younger students were now embracing the cold and the snow and were playing in it. Some were making snow angels and others were splitting up into teams for a snowball fight. "They would have definitely confiscated these."

"That was actually Lavender's idea," he said. "Fred and George packaged them up into boxes of pads and tampons. We always waited to get them delivered when the male Carrow was in charge of searching through packages since he would not think twice about what might have been inside."

"I could not be any prouder of you lot," said Corinna as they turned their attention to the male Carrow and Snape who had given up on the fireworks and were focusing their magic on getting rid of the snowy landscape in the Entrance Hall. Snape wordlessly tried numerous spells, the flashing lights from his wand mimicking those inside the Great Hall. Not even fire did anything to the snow other than make the bright orange flames reflect off the shiny flakes.

"Prefects!" shouted Snape, and the kids playing stopped to look over at the man. Corinna personally had never seen him this angry before. "Escort your houses back to your Common Rooms. No one is to leave for the rest of the night."

"Way to ruin the fun," muttered Seamus, but Corinna was relieved when the fifth year Prefects for Gryffindor immediately started escorting their House up the marble stairs, which was easier said than done as they were covered in snow. "Come on, let's see how the others are getting along."

Ginny and Lavender's rainforest was thick and dense, making it impossible to get into the Headmaster's office. It also meant that everyone had to go the long way around to go upstairs for those in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. The desert in the corridor by the Carrows's offices was sweltering. Corinna's robes stuck to her from sweat as she made her way through. It was not nearly as fun as the snowy landscape in the Entrance Hall, but it would be a pain for the Carrows, which was more important here.

In the corridor that split up the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw entrances was, of course, the original Portable Swamp that Fred and George invented two years ago and was the cause of much strife for Umbridge and Filch. Many of the students were daring each other to swim across as that was the only way to get to the dorms. Unfortunately, as Flitwick had already proven he knows how to get rid of it, it did not take long for it to come down. It seemed to annoy Colin and Dennis as they were the ones who had put it up.

The Common Room was a frenzy of activity as those involved were quickly identified and were treated like royalty. Neville especially, as he was the mastermind behind the entire thing. They had managed to smuggle butterbeer in and were passing them around when McGonagall came striding in. The revelry seized as she stood by the portrait hole, looking at the scene in front of her.

"I do hope," she said in a carrying voice, "that no one of my house pulled such a stunt tonight. Once we find out who the perpetrator or perpetrators are, they will be punished severely. I do not think I need to remind you how very strict the new Headmaster is. Expulsion may be on the table."

"Would that be all bad?" asked Neville, accepting McGonagall's glare. "It would get us the hell out of here."

"Despite what you think, Mr. Longbottom, an expulsion would mean the Ministry will get involved. I would hope that everyone in this Common Room would know what that may entail."

No one said a word. The prank that might have gotten someone detention even during Umbridge's reign may now mean Azkaban or even death for the current administration. All those involved looked at each other with horror in their eyes.

"I suggest," she said, "that you all take the holiday to reflect on what happened here tonight and I expect a change in behavior come the first of the year from each and every one of you."

McGonagall left soon after that. They all were no longer in a celebratory mood as they broke into their friend groups. The older DA members gathered into the corner, sitting on couches or chairs while Neville stood in the middle of the group.

"This won't fall back on us," said Neville. "We were careful. All the teachers were in the Great Hall."

"No, they weren't," said Corinna and they all turned to her. "The female Carrow wasn't there."

"Did anyone see her?" asked Ginny. She sat stiffly as if prepared to duel her way out of here, but her eyes betrayed how scared she was. They all shook their heads. "What could she have been doing?"

No one knew the answer to that. "I think if she caught any of us in the act," said Lavender, "then we wouldn't be sitting here right now."

"So wherever she was, she wasn't in the halls," finished Neville, starting to pace as he thought.

"But we have so many things planned for the upcoming term," said Seamus. "Are we going to stop?"

"Of course not," said Neville. "Did we stop when Umbridge put up the Educational Decree that banned the DA in the first place? Luna, Ginny, Corinna, and I didn't stop when we fought Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries or last year when they invaded Hogwarts. We aren't going to stop now. Harry wouldn't, so why should we?"

No one said anything to the contrary. "We will definitely keep trying to get kids out of detention and defying the Carrows and Snape whenever we can. If they think they can barge into our school and take over, they have another thing coming."

"Here, here," many of them said, holding up what remained of their butterbeer.

"We'll pick this up in January," added Neville. "We'll even go harder. This just proved today that we are making their lives a living hell."

The next morning, Corinna woke early to finally pack her things. She hadn't bothered unpacking a lot of it, living out of her trunk and school bag. Lavender was still asleep when she took her trunk and bag down into the Common Room. There were already a few students awake and eagerly awaiting to get out of the castle.

Corinna was going to Apparate from Hogsmeade and as she did not have to wait for portkeys or for the floo network to be available, she was going to leave as soon as curfew was lifted and they were all dismissed from the castle. She wasn't even going to stick around for breakfast.

As soon as her watch said it was seven, she marched out of the Common Room. She took the long way down to the Entrance Hall as the Portable Biomes were still active. In fact, there was no difference between the Entrance Hall and the outside world as Corinna had her scarf around her face to protect her from the falling snow and bitter wind. Her cap was down low on her face so that the only bit exposed was a slit for her eyes. She did have her wand trained out as she melted a path to the gates.

After telling the enchanted gate who she was to let her through, they swung open, fighting against the wind. A particular gust caused her eyes to water and she could no longer see anything in front of her.

"Stupefy!"

There was a blinding red light as Corinna felt herself flying back and the world faded around her.