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For a very brief moment, McGonagall and my eyes stayed suspended; barely widened in contemplation of what could've happened.
"Professor," I was the first to speak.
"Miss Alton, I would suggest you go back to where you were hiding. I have to investigate this." She said.
"But professor, shouldn't I come with you? It could be dangerous." I took a step forward, so as to show her how earnest I was but for a split second she looked amused.
"I'm sure I will be quite fine on my own, Miss Alton, although your concern for my safety is touching."
She made to sweep forward, pausing again. "However, if by any means, there is imminent danger it would be unwise of me to leave you to wander the castle alone." She mused, back turned to me.
I waited with bated breath, hoping against hope that McGonagall would take me with her.
"Come, Miss Alton, an extra wand won't hurt." She opened the door for me to walk through, locking it behind us.
McGonagall and I walked towards the rough direction from where the scream had originated, taking the path of the Ravenclaw tower. The tower was much airier, the looming night sky visible from the long windows. I glanced at the budding stars wistfully; if I had been back in my own dormitory I would've been able to see them as well, with Hermione spouting off various trivia about the constellations.
Even as we closed in on the tower entrance, I could hear a familiar, vulgar voice, shouting at the eagle that allowed entry to the Ravenclaw Commons.
"Blasted thing, let me in! Alecto, for the last time; open the damn door!"
I flinched in spite of myself; in spite of the bravado that instinctively crossed my face as McGonagall drew forward, straightening to her full height. I would be okay, there was no way Carrow was going to get me again; I told myself.
"May I ask what you're doing, Professor Carrow?" McGonagall demanded.
"Trying to get through this damn door; get Flitwick, get him to open the door." Amycus grunted. His uncouth face was twisted, convoluted into an odd mix of panic, desperation and anger. His eyes narrowed when they landed on me, sneering at the sight of the bandage around my head.
"Isn't your sister inside? Why can't she open the door?"
"She isn't answering, you old bosom. You open it! Do it now!" He yelled.
"Certainly, if you wish it,"
I could feel confusion and rage bubbling within my teacher, her shoulders reluctant as she faced the Eagle. "Where do vanished objects go?" It posed.
"Into Nonbeing, meaning everything," came the swift answer…
"Nicely put," The eagle said before the door swung open.
Amycus nearly ran over McGonagall and me, his stubby hand grasping the edge and flinging himself inside, wand brandished. We followed curiously to see Alecto on the floor, motionless as a bunch of first years cowered away from Amycus's fury.
"What's the Dark Lord going to say? We haven't got him and a bunch o' first years killed my sister!"
"She's just stunned. She'll be fine."
"No, she blundering won't. Not when the Dark Lord gets a hold of her. She's gone and told him we've got Potter! I felt me mark burn!"
McGonagall and I immediately stared up at him, horror and anger now in our court. I took a few steps around the Common Room.
Why would Harry be here? What could he be up to? Wouldn't the room of requirement be a better hiding spot than the Ravenclaw Tower?
"…we will say the kids did it…he'd hurt them, good riddance; what's one or two less kids anyway?" Amycus muttered. I glared at him, feeling the children further shrink away.
"Yeah, that's great Professor. You go ahead and tell him that first years were more competent than your sister. He'd surely believe that." I snarled.
Over his shoulder, I caught Professor McGonagall scowl at me, but I ignored it.
Amycus was slow to turn, a leer on when he faced me.
"You, you better be watching your back, little girl. I will be coming for you as soon as I get my sister out of here. Maybe, it's time you serve a little detention. One that would keep you to your place for a long time," He hissed.
A better person would've worried about the implications but I stayed strong, sneering right back into his face. "Do your worst, pig face." I said.
"What did you just say to me?" Amycus raised his wand.
"Forgive me, Professor Carrow, but I will not allow you to blatantly threaten one of my students."
Amycus whirled to McGonagall now, who looked a little pale but glared right at him. "Excuse me? I don't need your permission. Your time is over, Minerva McGonagall, it's us in charge now and you'll do as we say or you'll pay the price,"
Amycus spat in Minerva McGonagall's face.
I didn't know how I did it. Maybe it was completely subconscious on my part, but one second my eyes were on Amycus's head, McGonagall's face severe as droplets of the bastard's spittle flew at her. Her face didn't crumple in disgust but something in me sure did.
My wand was out in the other second, my lips forming the words of 'Sectumsempra' as I slashed the air in front of me.
The Death Eater didn't know what came at him. A sharp jag rushed through the air, invisible right until it hit him. Amycus's back ruptured, gashes forming across his skin which immediately began to gush crimson blood, staining his robes and filling the air with a coppery smell.
But I wasn't the only one who had a wand drawn.
"You shouldn't have done that." I heard, turning around to the familiar voice until it spat out a curse, "Crucio!"
Amycus's body lifted thrashing and clawing at the clothes he wore. The cruciatus curse burned through him, power surging through Harry as he tortured the man for insulting our teacher. He writhed in the air, his limbs spraying his blood everywhere until he flew back, slamming into an elegant bookcase, shattering the glass and dropping to the floor, gurgling.
There was silence after that.
"I see what Bellatrix meant…you really have to mean it." Harry said finally, grim.
"Potter…Alton, what on earth, what have you done?"
"He insulted you Professor." I said calmly, looking down at my former torturer. I didn't look at Harry.
"While that was very noble of you both, don't you realize…?"
"Yeah, I do. Professor, Voldemort's on his way."
"Oh, are we allowed to say his name again?" A shimmer crossed the air just behind Harry and there stood Luna, holding Harry's0 invisibility cloak.
McGonagall took a shuddering breath, falling into one of the chairs.
"You must flee. All of you, take Roselle with you, she isn't any safer here than with you." She whispered. I turned to her in concern, worried if she was going to have a heart attack.
"We can't. I can't. We have to stay. There is something we have to find. If I could just speak to Professor Flitwick…would you happen to know about the Diadem of Ravenclaw?"
I steadily ignored him, instead turning to Luna who smiled at me, the vague expression on her face giving way to joy as she skipped to me, entwining our fingers together. I sighed in the company.
"But the Carrows,"
"Won't be a problem, Professor," I glanced at Amycus, who was steadily pooling blood on the floor. "I doubt he'll live. We can handle the other."
"We can't just do that." Finally she stood, waving her wand. Amycus let out a groan, still coherent as he was brought near his sister. Ropes and nets sprang from the Transfiguration teacher, binding the two together.
"Professor, if Voldemort is coming, we have to get the students out of here. Use the Hog's Head passage, they can disapparate from there." Harry was saying.
"Fine, put the cloak back on. We have to alert the other heads of houses." McGonagall looked at the three of us for a second before turning, walking stiffly out of the room.
"I'll go with her. Have a nice talk," Luna murmured, her dreamy visage still as loose lipped as ever as she followed McGonagall.
I slowly turned to look at Harry Potter.
It had been months since I'd seen him, since Bill Weasley's wedding, when we had to flee as Death Eaters attacked the party. However, it still felt like an eternity.
His hair was longer, hanging to the back of his neck, sticking up as usual. His face had hollowed considerably, making it angular. Even though Quidditch had made his muscles grown, it didn't seem to do much good now. He looked positively ill.
But there were better changes as well…
His eyes were sharp, chin raised. An aura of immense power surrounded him now – despite magic.
Dear me, the boy had grown.
It took me a second to realize that Potter was looking straight back, sheepish as he bit his lip. "Hi," he lamely said.
"Harry Potter, you utter confounded fool!" I hissed, launching myself at him, with all intentions to strangle him. He ruined it somehow, catching me before pulling me into a hug.
It heaved the air out of my lungs, my own arms coming up to wrap around his neck as I basked in the comfort of warmth that only Harry Potter could share. His hands, chilled by being out and exposed to harsh temperatures seared, grasping at my shoulders to pull away, inspecting my face intently.
"Ro, are you okay?" he asked, eyes focusing on my head.
"Yeah, I'm peachy. I just got cursed yesterday but you know, all in a day's work." I shrugged it off as we broke apart, making to follow Luna and McGonagall. I held on to his hand as we ran a little to catch up.
"Who cursed you? Was it Snape?" I could hear the beginnings of anger in his voice.
"Nope, he rarely shows up outside of his office. Coops himself up in there and does all sorts of Death Eater lieutenant things, like flaying pixies or greasing his hair, I don't know."
Harry laughed. "I missed you, Rose."
"If you did, you'd have taken me with you."
He slowed, eyes moving to my face as we caught Luna's white gold hair at some distance. "You know I couldn't, Ro. There was your mother to consider…and Pamela." He whispered. "How are they? I didn't see Pam in the room of requirement."
So that's where he came from. If only I'd decided to stay in.
"Mum's in hiding. They tried to attack the Manor but Lady Alton is one tough old cookie. Put a couple Eaters down and vanished. The Potter watch hinted she might be somewhere in Germany. Pam is still in the good books. I want her to stay like that. The Carrows would've hurt her to get to me. After Ginny and Luna got taken, Neville and I've been handling things with the DA and Order as much as we could…but it hasn't been all easy."
I smiled wryly. "Sorry, I'm complaining."
"No," he said immediately…typical. "You've done great. Neville told me. I wanted to bring you but well,"
"But Dumbledore chose you three." I said softly.
Harry's hand dropped from mine and I heard a sharp intake of breath, as if he was going to say something but I was already beside Luna. It took him a second to catch up to us, giving me one last look before Luna and he vanished under the Cloak.
McGonagall and our hidden troupe managed two floors decent before footsteps echoed around the corner we were supposed to take. I gulped, casting a glance back at where Luna and Harry hid; making sure nothing of them could be seen as Professor McGonagall called out. "Who's there?"
"It is I," The shadows moved, revealing Severus Snape.
At first glance, if it had been Dumbledore, I'd have assumed he was up for one of his hot chocolates. However, surveying the greasy curtain of his hair and the black, dead eyes that glinted with no emotions, one would never say he had had anything warm in his life. His face was perfectly blank, wand at his side, I noted with severe dislike.
There had been a time when Snape had been a tolerable person to me, first sight proving to be deceptive as he proved himself a slimy slug of a person. The truth of what he was and what he had done in the past and was repeating now only reduced him further.
Snape's black eyes flickered over to me for a moment, standing beside my head of house. "Miss Alton, shouldn't you be in bed?" he questioned.
"Alton was helping me with a few things," McGonagall answered immediately, her voice crisp.
There was a pause as Snape and I eyed each other warily. We both had our wands out and even though I had more reason to have it out than him, I knew it nagged at him. He finally looked back to McGonagall.
"Where are the Carrows?" he asked quietly.
"Wherever you told them to be, I expect, Severus," said Professor McGonagall.
Snape stepped nearer, and his eyes flitted over Professor McGonagall into the air around her, as if he knew that Harry was there. I tensed slightly. Snape knew about the Invisibility cloak, if he even suspected that Harry was using it, we'd all be dead.
"I was under the impression," said Snape, "That Alecto had apprehended an intruder."
"Really?" said Professor McGonagall. "And what gave you that impression?"
Snape made a slight flexing movement of his left arm, where the Dark Mark was branded into his skin.
"Oh, but naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "You Death Eaters have your own private means of communication, I forgot." I chanced a quick look at her. Whatever happened to keeping your head down and not to provoke the Death Eaters?
Snape pretended not to have heard her. His eyes were still probing the air all about her, and he was moving gradually closer, with an air of hardly noticing what he was doing.
"I did not know that it was your night to patrol the corridors Minerva."
"I was simply escorting Miss Alton back. You have some objection?"
Snape looked into her eyes. I reacted quickly. "Seeing as Amycus Carrow is hell-bent on finishing me off, it was I who requested Professor McGonagall to come with me, Headmaster. I don't feel safe in Hogwarts anymore, you see." I said. Snape took a breath, keeping his eyes fixed on McGonagall. The bastard was using Legilimency.
"Have you seen Harry Potter, Minerva? Because if you have. I must insist-"
Professor McGonagall moved so fast, I started away from her. Her wand slashed through the air but the swiftness of his Shield Charm was such that McGonagall was thrown off balance. I immediately turned my own wand at him. "Incarcerous," I shouted but Snape, with the same blank expression deflected it easily. McGonagall got to her feet quickly and brandished her wand at a torch on the wall and it flew out of its bracket and became a ring of fire that filled the corridor and flew like a lasso at Snape-
Then it was no longer fire, but a great black serpent that McGonagall blasted to smoke, which re-formed and solidified in seconds to become a swarm of pursuing daggers. Snape avoided them only by forcing the suit of armor in front of him, and with echoing clangs the daggers sank, one after another, into its breast-
"Minerva!" said a squeaky voice.
I looked back, seeing Professor Flitwick and Sprout hurrying towards the dueling pair. Slughorn panted, trying to keep up with them.
"No!" squealed Flitwick, raising his wand. "You'll do no more murder at Hogwarts!"
Flitwick's spell hit the suit of armor behind which Snape had taken shelter. With a clatter it came to life. Snape struggled free of the crushing arms and sent it flying back. With a swift whoosh, I realized that it was coming straight at me.
I was about to raise my wand, yelling for a shield when something hurtled into me, throwing me to the side. A heavy weight lay on me, shielding me as the armor shattered against the stone wall. "Ro," I heard Harry's voice, gruff as he picked himself off of me, only to reveal Snape…in flight mode.
He hovered well over the floor, his black cloak fluttering behind him like bat wings. He hurtled through a classroom door and, moments later, we heard McGonagall cry, "Coward! COWARD!"
"What's happened, what's happened?" asked Luna. The cloak had shifted off of her when Harry tackled me, revealing her to the corridor as she wrung her hands a little.
Harry gripped my hand, yanking me to my feet as we raced along the corridor, trailing the Invisibility Cloak behind into the deserted classroom where Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout were standing at a smashed window.
"He jumped," said Professor McGonagall as we ran into the room.
"You mean he's dead?" Harry sprinted to the window, ignoring Flitwick's and Sprout's yells of shock at his sudden appearance.
"No, he's not dead," said McGonagall bitterly. "Unlike Dumbledore, he was still carrying a wand... and he seems to have learned a few tricks from his master."
I joined Harry at the window, squinting into the darkness until I caught, in the distance a huge bat like shape flying through toward the perimeter wall.
There were heavy footfalls behind us, and a great deal of puffing. Slughorn had just caught up.
"Harry!" he panted, massaging his immense chest beneath his emerald-green silk pajamas. His protruding eyes moved to me, "Rose! My dear boy... what a surprise...Minerva, do please explain...Severus...what...?"
"Our headmaster is taking a short break," said Professor McGonagall, pointing at the Snape-shaped hole in the window.
Harry buckled beside me, hand shooting to clutch at my shoulder. I grasped his wrist, holding him up as Harry smacked a hand on his forehead.
"Professor, we've got to barricade the school, he's coming now!"
I let out an expletive so bad that Slughorn and Flitwick squeaked, Sprout looked surprised and McGonagall looked at me with the look that clearly said that if things were different, I'd be in detention for a month.
"Very well; He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is coming," she told the other teachers. Sprout and Flitwick gasped. Slughorn let out a low groan. "Potter has some work to do in the castle, on Dumbledore's orders. We need to put in place every protection of which we are capable while Potter does what he needs to do."
"You realize, of course, that nothing we do will be able to keep out You-Know-Who indefinitely?" squeaked Flitwick.
"But we can hold him up," said Professor Sprout.
"Thank you, Pomona," said Professor McGonagall. "I suggest we establish basic protection around the place, then gather our students and meet in the Great Hall. Most must be evacuated, though if any of those who are over age wish to stay and fight, I think they ought to be given the chance."
"Agreed," said Professor Sprout, already hurrying toward the door. "I shall meet you in the Great Hall in twenty minutes with my House."
And as she jogged out of sight, they could hear her muttering, "Tentacula, Devil's Snare. And Snargaluff pods...yes; I'd like to see the Death Eaters fighting those." Harry and I grinned at each other.
I can act from here," said Flitwick, and although he could barely see out of it, he pointed his wand through the smashed window and started muttering incantations of great complexity. I heard a weird rushing noise, as though Flitwick had unleashed the power of the wind into the grounds.
"Rose," Harry said suddenly, grabbing my shoulders to turn me towards him. "I need you to go, gather everyone up in the room of requirement and meet me in the Great Hall. Get the Order here if you can. Take Luna with you." He said.
I nodded dutifully, turning to grab Luna's hand before fiercely grabbing his as well. "You better be careful, or I will kill you myself. I've been dying for a chance." I warned. Harry smiled ruefully. "I'll be careful." He promised.
Then Luna and I were running off towards the Room of Requirement.
I placed a hand against the corridor wall, the stones cool under my fingertips. Even as I breathed hard, the handle appeared first, the door melting through the architecture seamlessly. I turned it quickly, pushing Luna in first.
"What in the world?"
The room was packed, far more crowded than it had been when I'd left. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Remus Lupin were looking up at me, as were Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, Bill and Fleur, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
"Rose, what's happening?" said Lupin, taking several steps up to meet me.
"Voldemort's on his way, they're barricading the school. Snape escaped and Harry's off doing hero work. How did you get here though? I was about to call you all."
"We sent messages to the rest of Dumbledore's Army," Fred explained. "You couldn't expect everyone to miss the fun, the D.A. let the Order of the Phoenix know, and it all kind of snowballed."
"What do we do first, Rose?" George asked.
I took a calming breath, remembering that I was still a leader for the DA. I looked at Lupin and he nodded encouragingly.
"The teachers are going to evacuate the younger students. We have to meet them in the Great Hall." I said my voice unexpectedly strong. "We will fight."
There was a great roar and a surge toward the stairs, the mingled members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army, and Harry's old Quidditch team, all with their wands drawn, heading up into the main castle.
"Dean," I called, raising my hand and he struggled over. "Take Luna, stay with her." I ordered, handing her over just in case I couldn't take care of her.
I looked around the room. Only few people remained; namely the Weasleys, struggling with Ginny.
"You're underage!" Mrs. Weasley shouted at her daughter as I hurriedly came over to them. "I won't permit it! The boys, yes, but you, you've got to go home!"
"I won't!"
I watched perplexed as the two Weasley women squared up. Ginny looked quickly at me, her glare softening as she looked for company. I bit my lip.
"Mrs. Weasley, Ginny is an asset." I began, much to her triumph when -
There was a scuffling and a great thump. Someone else had clambered out of the tunnel, overbalanced slightly, and fallen. He pulled himself up to the nearest chair, looked around through lopsided horn-rimmed glasses, and said, "Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I - I -"
Percy spluttered into silence. Evidently he had not expected to run into most of his family. There was a long moment of astonishment, broken by Fleur turning to Lupin and saying, in a wildly transparent attempt to break the tension. "So- 'ow eez leetle Teddy?"
Lupin blinked at her, startled. The silence between the Weasleys seemed to be solidifying, like ice.
"I - oh yes- he's fine!" Lupin said loudly. "Yes, Tonks is with him- at her mother's -"
Percy and the other Weasleys were still staring at one another, frozen. I blinked multiple times. The last I'd seen of Percy was when Harry had tugged me away to tell me that he'd sided with the Ministry against us. I didn't know if I was as okay with his presence as I wanted to be.
"Here, I've got a picture." Lupin shouted, pulling a photograph from inside his jacket and showing it to Fleur and me, a tiny baby with a tuft of bright turquoise hair, waving fat fists at the camera.
"I was a fool!" Percy roared, so loudly that Lupin nearly dropped his photograph and I jumped. "I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, and I was a – a -"
"Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron," said Fred.
Percy swallowed.
"Yes, I was!"
"Well, you can't say fairer than that," said Fred, holding his hand out to Percy.
Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. She ran forward, pushed Fred aside, and pulled Percy into a strangling hug, while he patted her on the back, his eyes on his father.
"I'm sorry, Dad," Percy said.
Mr. Weasley blinked rather rapidly, and then he too hurried to hug his son.
I looked away, giving them their privacy to smile at Lupin. "It's good to have you back professor." I mumbled.
"It's good to see you too, Rose. What you have done with the Army…I can't say I'm not proud." He slipped the photo back into his pocket as I turned to Mrs. Weasley.
"Molly, how about this," said Lupin. "Why doesn't Ginny stay here, then at least she'll be on the scene and know what's going on, but she won't be in the middle of the fighting?"
"I-"
"That's a good idea," said Mr. Weasley firmly, "Ginny you stay in this room do you hear me?"
Ginny did not seem to like the idea much, but under her father's unusually stern gaze, she nodded. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Lupin headed off to the stairs as well.
I watched them go, taking Ginny's shoulder when I realized that some people were missing. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"
"They must have gone up the Great Hall already," Mr. Weasley called over his shoulder.
"They said something about a bathroom." said Ginny.
I blinked at her in confusion. "A bathroom…?" I queried.
"Rose, come," Lupin called softly.
I threw one last look at Ginny, hugging her with one arm. "Stay here and stay safe Weasley." I drew my wand, rushing after the members of the Order.
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