May 1, 2015
From the moment she woke up, she knew something was different. She could feel it like ice in the air, the threat of something dark coming, like death was lurking behind every corner. The presence had been growing for days now, but she seemed to be the only one who could sense it. Despite the chill that curled along the edge of her vision, she continued on with the rest of her duties. She gathered breakfast from the elves in the kitchen, she delivered it back to the room.
She gave offerings in the brazier that had appeared in the room when she began to live there. Bacon, sausage, toast. A splash of coffee that burned despite itself. Behind it was a tapestry of Lupa, two infants beneath her. Alexa murmured her prayers to the gods, to Mars and Minerva and Bellona especially, and watched the sweet smelling smoke rise until it vanished at a single point in the air. Other members of the army had taken to giving offerings as well. Alexa wasn't sure if the gods would bother listening, but it couldn't hurt to try.
She met with Neville and together, armed with their wands and a can of enhanced spray paint, they reapplied the graffiti in the halls while other teams of two went out and did the same. She returned Neville to the room, and swept through the dorms, checking that no one was missing. She checked in with Blaise so he knew she wasn't missing.
Theo was, as always, waiting for her when she got back. He and Daphne had both joined the DA, as had Marigold Wvarny, Alexander Maarva, Denise Schulery, and Eloise Varnette, a group of Slytherin sixth years. The room was a bustle of activity, but when she got back it was time for lessons to begin. The seventh years had pitched together and begun teaching subjects as best they could, focusing on Defense Against the Dark Arts. Alexa herself taught hand to hand combat.
While there had been a number of pureblooded wizards who had questioned the necessity of that, it had been hard to argue when, after being caught by Snape, she had taken him down with a knee to the nose.
The portrait of the girl watched them all. Ariana Dumbledore, Neville had once told her. She didn't know how he had gotten it out of Aberforth, but he had. She suspected the two of them were the only ones who knew. But now it seemed Ariana wanted attention. She was waving, and when she locked eyes with Alexa she bounced, frantically urging her towards the doorway she guarded.
"Neville," Alexa called, tilting her head towards the frantic painting. Neville nodded and fell into pace beside her, the two of them heading towards Arianna.
"She's in a right state," Neville commented, as they climbed through the portrait hole.
"That can't mean anything good," she sighed, her fingers drumming on her sica, Devorantem, strapped to her side.
Neville chuckled, "You could try to be positive just this once," he snorted. She shook her head, frowning. Neville's brows pushed together, "Did you get something on demigod radio?" Demigod radio was the term Neville used for the strange premonition like quality of demigod dreams. As of late, hers had featured a lot of snakes and darkness, and an overwhelming and claustrophobic sense of green. Only once had she seen the Dark Lord, planning another trip to the castle. She had been right, and from then on her dreams had been treated seriously.
"Nothing but the usual. I just have this feeling," she followed him through the portrait hole, glad no one could hear them now, "Something is going to happen soon, and a lot of people are going to die."
He grimaced, running a hand through his shaggy hair. In the dim light it made the cuts and bruises on his face stand out more. "Like you've seen a Grim or something?" he asked.
"Worse," she bit her lip, "It's this cold feeling that just keeps getting closer. Like the world is slowly freezing. It's like the Underworld is getting ready."
"Well," Neville's tone was lighter and she could tell it was forced, "Maybe you're wrong this time."
She laughed, "That would be a welcome relief, imagine the headlines, 'freaky demigod dream actually just a freaky dream and nothing more'" Alexa shook her head, "Octavian would have a conniption."
"Who knows," Neville shrugged, "Maybe we're getting close to the end of this, maybe there'll be a fight soon."
"Being a war vet as a teenager is not all it's cracked up to be, just to let you know," she shoved her hands in her pockets, her mind flashing back to Jason toppling the throne, "It's always better to go without the fight."
Neville clapped his hand on her shoulder, expression softening, "I know," he said, "I do. But-"
"I know what this will take, and there's going to be a fight. That's necessary at this point. We'll have to make a stand, sooner rather than later. The first years are almost entirely evacuated, people have vanished at a terrifying rate." She shook her head, "We need to get our plan finalized." She nodded to herself, meeting his eyes, "Send a message, we'll start gathering tonight."
Neville saluted, "Yes Captain!" He barked, and she rolled her eyes, bumping him with her shoulder. Seamus had been very quick to spread the whole Captain America thing around.
"Oh my gods!" Neville exclaimed suddenly, breaking into a run, "Harry!"
Alexa jogged to catch up with him, "Harry, like Harry Potter? I guess I wasn't wrong then…" the last part had been grumbled under her breath, and Neville either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her.
He shoved the door open and leapt out, "I knew you'd come! I knew it, Harry!" He pulled the chosen one into a bearhug while Harry spluttered in shock. He hugged Hermione and Ron, beaming all the while.
"Neville, what happened to you?" Harry exclaimed, he caught sight of her and his eyes widened, "And you for that matter?" Alexa herself, while far less battered than Neville, still boasted a split lip and a deep cut through her brow. Nothing Lavender wouldn't have been able to handle, but there weren't enough healing potions to go around, so she wasn't going to bother wasting them on petty injuries like hers. Besides, it sent a message.
"What? This?" Neville dismissed his injuries with a shake of the head. "This is nothing, Seamus is worse."
"Half of that is because he tried to hang curtains and they caught fire," Alexa snorted.
Neville laughed, "True," he turned back to Harry, "You'll see. Shall we get going then? Oh," he turned to Aberforth, "Ab, there might be a couple more people on the way."
"Couple more?" repeated Aberforth ominously. "What d'you mean, a couple more, Longbottom? There's a curfew and a Caterwauling Charm on the whole village!"
"I know, that's why they'll be apparating directly into the bar," said Neville. "Just send them down the passage when they get here, will you? Thanks a lot."
Neville held out his hand to Hermione and helped her climb up onto the mantelpiece and into the tunnel, Ron followed, then Neville.
Harry addressed Aberforth. "I don't know how to thank you. You've saved our lives twice."
"Look after 'em, then," said Aberforth gruffly. "I might not be able to save 'em a third time." Aberforth had the same flair for dramatics his brother did.
"Come on Potter, up you go," Alexa called, "Thanks Abe," she added, giving him a salute. He snorted, waving a hand at her as he turned and left the room. Harry heaved himself up onto the mantle and through the hole, and Alexa followed, lithely climbing up behind him.
"How long's this been here?" Ron asked as they set off. "It isn't on the Marauder's Map, is it, Harry? I thought there were only seven passages in and out of the school?"
"They sealed off all of those before the start of the year," said Neville. "There's no chance of getting through any of them now, not with the curses over the entrances and Death Eaters and dementors waiting at the exits." He started walking backward, beaming, drinking them in. "Never mind that stuff. . . . Is it true? Did you break into Gringotts? Did you escape on a dragon? It's everywhere, everyone's talking about it, Terry Boot got beaten up by Carrow for yelling about it in the Great Hall at dinner!" She rolled her eyes at that. Terry Boot was one of the smartest idiots she had ever met.
"Yeah, it's true," said Harry.
Neville laughed gleefully, "What did you do with the dragon?"
"Released it into the wild," said Ron. "Hermione was all for keeping it as a pet—"
"Don't exaggerate, Ron—"
"But what have you been doing? People have been saying you've just been on the run, Harry, but I don't think so. I think you've been up to something." Neville was watching them expectantly, with Alexa keeping pace at his side.
"You're right," said Harry, "but tell us about Hogwarts, Neville, we haven't heard anything." She narrowed her eyes at his lack of an answer. She didn't know why he was here, but-
"What's that on your arm?" Ron demanded suddenly, wand pointed at Alexa.
"She's got a sword and that's what you point out?" Hermione asked sarcastically.
Alexa held up the tattoos on her arm, she hadn't bothered hiding them after rescuing Amanda. "I'm a demigod, my dad's Pluto, god of the Underworld." She shrugged.
"Alexa's been brilliant," Neville beamed, "We wouldn't have made it without her. It's not really like Hogwarts anymore," he continued, the smile fading from his face as he spoke. "Do you know about the Carrows?"
"Those two Death Eaters teach here?" Harry's voice was indignant.
"They do more than teach," said Neville. "They're in charge of all discipline. They like punishment, the Carrows."
"Like Umbridge?"
"They make Umbridge look like Mary Poppins," Alexa snorted, "The other teachers are supposed to report us to them if we do something wrong. They don't, if they can help it."
"You can tell they all hate them as much as we do," Neville agreed, "Amycus, the bloke, he teaches what used to be Defense Against the Dark Arts, except now it's just Dark Arts. We're supposed to practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions—"
"What!?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione's united voices echoed up and down the passage.
"Yeah," said Neville. "That's how I got this one," he pointed at a fading scar on his cheek, "I refused to do it. Some people are into it, though; Crabbe and Goyle love it. First time they've ever been top in anything, I expect.
"Alecto, Amycus' sister, teaches Muggle Studies, which is compulsory for everyone. We've all got to listen to her explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how they drove wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them, and how the natural order is being reestablished. I got this one," he indicated another scar on his face, "for asking how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got."
"Blimey, Neville," said Ron, "there's a time and a place for getting a smart mouth."
"You didn't hear her," said Neville. "You wouldn't have stood it either. The thing is, it helps when people stand up to them, it gives everyone hope. I used to notice that when you did it, Harry."
"But they've used you as a knife sharpener," said Ron, wincing slightly as they passed a lamp and Neville's injuries were thrown into even greater relief.
"Doesn't matter. They don't want to spill too much pure blood, so they'll torture us a bit if we're mouthy but they won't actually kill us." He turned to Alexa, "Of course, she's the real daring one here, she did a bit more than mouth off."
Alexa laughed, "You're hyping me up Neville," she shook her head.
"You-know-who came to visit the castle a few months ago," he turned back to the three, "And he had a third year captured, he tortured her right in front of all the students-had everybody lined up in the Great Hall to watch. Alexa here decided she didn't like that, and she cast the cruciatus curse on him."
Their eyes bugged, "You didn't," Hermione gasped, "How are you not dead?"
"She can walk through shadows," Neville continued, "she got out alive and saved the girl."
"I've got the scar to prove it too," she chuckled.
"Bloody hell," Ron muttered.
"It's not so bad really," Alexa shrugged, "The only people in real danger are the ones whose friends and relatives on the outside are giving trouble. They get taken hostage. Old Xeno Lovegood was getting a bit too outspoken in The Quibbler, so they dragged Luna off the train on the way back for Christmas."
"She's all right, we've seen her—"
"Yeah, I know, she managed to get a message to me," Neville said, pulling his fake Galleon out of his pocket. "These have been great," said Neville, beaming at Hermione. "The Carrows still haven't rumbled how we're communicating, it drives them mad. We used them to coordinate things, graffiti, pranks. Snape hates it."
"He hates it so much some of us can't leave the Room," she said, giving Neville a look. He nodded, sobering.
"The Carrows seemed to know that I was behind a lot of it, so they started coming down on me hard, and then Michael Corner went and got caught releasing a first-year they'd chained up, and they tortured him pretty badly," he looked back at them, "But it didn't scare people off. If anything, it made them angry. With Alexa there's always a safety net, and I think that made people brave. She can get in and out of the castle when nobody else can, and we've sent a lot of the younger students into hiding that way. A lot of us live in the room now."
"You live in the Room of Requirement?" Harry asked, brows pushing together.
Neville nodded, "We might have hung Filtch up by his ankles from the ceiling-that's what he likes doing with the kids he catches making a mess, he's become a real favorite of the Carrows. That's when they decided there was only one way to stop me, I suppose, and they went for Gran."
"They what?!" said Harry, Ron, and Hermione together. It was getting spooky how they kept doing that.
"Yeah," said Neville, panting a little now, because the passage was climbing so steeply, "well, you can see their thinking. It had worked really well, kidnapping kids to force their relatives to behave, I s'pose it was only a matter of time before they did it the other way around. Thing was," he grinned, and Alexa couldn't help the smile that crept up onto her face, "they bit off a bit more than they could chew with Gran. Little old witch living alone they probably thought they didn't need to send anyone particularly powerful. Anyway," Neville laughed, "Dawlish is still in St. Mungo's and Gran's on the run. She sent me a letter," he clapped a hand to the breast pocket of his robes, "telling me she was proud of me, that I'm my parents' son, and to keep it up."
"Cool," said Ron, grinning.
"Yeah," said Neville happily. "Only thing was, once they realized they had no hold over me, they decided Hogwarts could do without me after all. I don't know whether they were planning to kill me or send me to Azkaban, either way, I knew it was time to disappear."
"But," said Ron, looking thoroughly confused, "aren't—aren't we heading straight back into Hogwarts?"
"'Course," said Neville, "You didn't think we'd give up that easy, did you? You'll see. We're here." He led them down the short flight of stone steps and pushed the door open.
"Look who it is! Didn't I tell you?"
As Harry emerged into the room beyond the passage, there were several screams and yells: "HARRY!" "It's Potter, it's POTTER!" "Ron!" "Hermione!" The three seemed befuddled and overwhelmed by colored hangings, lamps, and many faces. The next moment, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were engulfed, hugged, pounded on the back, their hair ruffled, their hands shaken, by the fifty plus people who called the room home.
She could understand why they were overwhelmed, the Room had expanded itself to truly enormous proportions. Multicolored hammocks were strung from the ceiling and from a balcony that ran around the dark wood-paneled and windowless walls, which were covered in bright tapestry hangings: with the gold Gryffindor lion, emblazoned on scarlet; the black badger of Hufflepuff, set against yellow; and the bronze eagle of Ravenclaw, on blue; the silver serpent of Slytherin, sticking against green; and finally the deep purple of Camp Jupiter and New Rome, emblazoned with a gold laurel and the letters SPQR. One section of the room was curtained off, being used as a makeshift infirmary, another featured a heavily padded floor, where they taught Defense, both magical and physical. Doors lead to the bathrooms and showers. There were bulging bookcases, a few broomsticks propped against the walls, and in the corner, a large wooden-cased wireless.
"Surpassed itself, hasn't it? The Carrows were chasing me, and I knew I had just one chance for a hideout: I managed to get through the door and this is what I found! That was towards the beginning of the year, but as time went on a lot of us found the need to have a safe space. Pomfrey wasn't allowed to patch us up so we started our own infirmary," Neville gestured to the curtains, "We started holding D.A. meetings again, learning and teaching ourselves how to fight-Alexa taught us how to fight the muggle way too-and then it kind of became our own bunker, a lot of us live here now."
"And the Carrows can't get in?" asked Harry, looking around presumably for the door.
"No," said Seamus, grinning through his swollen cheeks, "It's a proper hideout, as long as one of us stays in here, they can't get at us, the door won't open. It's all down to Neville. He really gets this room. You've got to ask it for exactly what you need—like, "I don't want any Carrow supporters to be able to get in—and it'll do it for you! You've just got to make sure you close the loopholes! Neville's the man!"
"It's quite straightforward, really," said Neville modestly. "I'd been in here about a day and a half, and getting really hungry, and wishing I could get something to eat, and that's when the passage to Hog's Head opened up. I went through it and met Aberforth. He's been providing us with food, because for some reason, that's the one thing the room doesn't really do."
"Neville stop being so modest, you're brilliant," Alexa nudged his shoulder with her own.
"Tell us what you've been up to, though," said Ernie. "There've been so many rumors, we've been trying to keep up with you on Potterwatch," He pointed at the wireless. "You didn't break into Gringotts?"
"They did!" said Neville. "And the dragon's true too!" There was a smattering of applause and a few whoops; Ron took a bow.
"What were you after?" asked Seamus eagerly
Harry opened his mouth to respond when suddenly his eyes went blank, growing wide. His face was still for only a second before he swayed, his skin gone icey white. Ron grabbed him and held him up as Harry's face twisted into an expression that could only be described as agony.
"His soul looks wrong," she muttered to Neville. Her friend's eyes went wide, but Harry seemed to pull out of whatever fit he was having, sweat dripping down his temples.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Neville was saying. "Want to sit down? I expect you're tired, aren't—?"
"No," said Harry. He looked at Ron and Hermione, and they seemed to be communicating without words. Alexa did not like it.
"We need to get going," he said, and Alexa narrowed her eyes.
"What are we going to do, then, Harry?" asked Seamus. "What's the plan?"
"Plan?" repeated Harry. His voice was weak as he spoke,"Well, there's something we—Ron, Hermione, and I—need to do, and then we'll get out of here."
Nobody was laughing or whooping anymore.
Neville looked confused. "What d'you mean, 'get out of here'?"
"We haven't come back to stay," said Harry, rubbing his scar, "There's something important we need to do—"
"What is it?"
"I—I can't tell you."
There was a ripple of muttering at this: Neville's brows contracted. "Why can't you tell us? It's something to do with fighting You-Know-Who, right?"
"Well, yeah—"
"Then we'll help you."
"You're not planning on fighting," Alexa accused, "We've got a whole army on standby, an army we've spent months preparing-not just the one you see here but people waiting all around the country, and you're going to run off and disappear again." There was muttering behind her, and Neville, normally the one to mediate her temper, only looked at Harry in disappointment.
"You don't understand," Harry said, eyes growing wide, "We—we can't tell you. We've got to do it—alone."
"Why?" asked Neville, crossing his arms.
"Because. . . " Harry seemed to be fumbling for words, "Dumbledore left the three of us a job," he said carefully, "and we weren't supposed to tell—I mean, he wanted us to do it, just the three of us."
"We're his army," said Neville. "Dumbledore's Army. We were all in it together, we've been keeping it going while you three have been off on your own— "
"It hasn't exactly been a picnic, mate," said Ron.
"Because being here has?" Alexa snapped. Neville looked at her and she quieted, crossing her arms.
"I never said it had, but I don't see why you can't trust us. Everyone in this room's been fighting and they've been driven in here because the Carrows were hunting them down. Everyone in here's proven they're loyal to the cause."
"Dumbledore is dead. The war moved on. We've all been getting ready for a fight," Alexa continued, "We've just been waiting for your cue. It seems that was a mistake."
"Look," Harry began, but he was interrupted when the door behind them opened.
"We got your message, Neville! Hello, you three, I thought you must be here!" Luna Lovegood and Dean Thomas emerged from the tunnel. Seamus gave a great roar of delight and ran to hug his best friend.
"Hi, everyone!" said Luna happily, walking over and hugging Alexa warmly,. "Oh, it's great to be back!"
"Luna," said Harry distractedly, "what are you doing here? How did you— ?"
"I sent for her," said Neville, holding up the fake Galleon. "I promised her and Ginny that if you turned up I'd let them know. We all thought that if you came back, it would mean revolution. That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows."
"Of course that's what it means," said Luna brightly, "Isn't it, Harry? We're going to fight them out of Hogwarts?"
"Listen," said Harry panic evident in his voice, "I'm sorry, but that's not what we came back for. There's something we've got to do, and then—"
"You're going to leave us in this mess?" demanded Michael Corner.
"No!" said Ron. "What we're doing will benefit everyone in the end, it's all about trying to get rid of You-Know-Who—"
"Then let us help!" said Neville angrily. "We want to be a part of it!" There was another noise behind them, and Ginny was now climbing through the hole in the wall, closely followed by Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. Ginny gave Harry a radiant smile and Alexa almost had to laugh at the dumbstruck expression on his face.
"Aberforth's getting a bit annoyed," said Fred, raising his hand in answer to several cries of greeting. "He wants a kip, and his bar's turned into a railway station." Harry's mouth fell open. Right behind Lee Jordan came Harry's old girlfriend, Cho Chang. More faces poured in behind her, Alexa recognized Anabell from the first day of school on the train. She guessed the others that followed her were all muggleborns, come to claim their school back. There were close to a hundred people in the room now.
"So what's the plan, Harry?" said George.
"There isn't one," said Harry, still seeming disoriented by the sudden appearance of all these people.
"Just going to make it up as we go along, are we? My favorite kind," said Fred.
"You've got to stop this!" Harry told Neville. "What did you call them all back for? This is insane—"
"We're fighting aren't we?" said Dean, taking out his fake Galleon.
"The message said Harry was back, and we were going to fight! I'll have to get a wand, though—"
"You haven't got a wand—?" began Seamus.
The room had erupted into chaos and Alexa and Ginny exchanged a look. Hand on her hip, Ginny raised her wand, and a nearly deafening boom shook the room. All parties were silent.
"We're fighting." Alexa turned to Potter, daring him to protest, "Whether it's what you came here for or not, tonight is the night," Alexa's voice rang clear through the room, met with cheers. "We had already called them here before we found you. Hogwarts isn't just yours, Potter. We've been fighting just to survive here for months, and we're going to take back the castle. We all have a right to fight for our homes and our loved ones. How can we help you with the task Dumbledore gave you?" she asked.
Harry stared at her, open mouthed, eyes wide.
"You don't have to do everything alone, mate," Ron said, nudging him. Harry swallowed hard, and snapped out of his trance.
"There's something we need to find," Harry said. "Something—something that'll help us overthrow You-Know-Who. It's here at Hogwarts, but we don't know where. It might have belonged to Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of an object like that? Has anyone ever come across something with her eagle on it, for instance?"
He looked hopefully toward the Ravenclaws smattered about the room.
"Well, that's her lost diadem. I told you about it, remember, Harry? The lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Daddy's trying to duplicate it," Luna spoke up from where she was perched on the arm of Ginny's chair.
"Yeah, but the lost diadem," said Michael Corner, rolling his eyes, "is lost, Luna. That's sort of the point."
"When was it lost?" asked Harry.
"Centuries ago, they say," said Cho, "Professor Flitwick says the diadem vanished with Ravenclaw herself. People have looked, but," she appealed to her fellow Ravenclaws. "nobody's ever found a trace of it, have they?" They all shook their heads.
"Sorry, but what is a diadem?" asked Ron.
"It's a kind of crown," said Terry Boot. "Ravenclaw's was supposed to have magical properties, enhance the wisdom of the wearer."
"Yes, Daddy's Wrackspurt siphons—" But Harry cut across Luna. "And none of you have ever seen anything that looks like it?" They all shook their heads again. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and his own disappointment was mirrored back at him. Alexa could only wonder at why the diadem was so important to them, but her mind quickly strayed from the thought.
Cho spoke again. "If you'd like to see what the diadem's supposed to look like Ravenclaw's wearing it in her statue in our common room."
"I know it's not much of a lead," Harry said, looking between the crowd and his friends, "But I need to go see the statue."
"I can take you," Cho said, rising.
"No, Luna can take him," Ginny said rather fiercely, cutting the other girl off.
"Oooh, yes, I'd like to," said Luna happily, and Cho sat down again, looking disappointed.
"How do we get out?" Harry asked Neville.
"Over here." He led Harry and Luna into a corner, where a small cupboard opened onto a staircase. "It comes out somewhere different every day, so they've never been able to find it," he said. "Only trouble is, we never know exactly where we're going to end up when we go out. Be careful, Harry, they're always patrolling the corridors at night."
"No problem." said Harry. "See you in a bit." With that, he and Luna vanished through the cupboard.
