Chapter 1: Lockdown

Faces wobbled and wavered like heat shimmer before Harry's eyes. Distantly, sounds both shrill and deep rose above the constant rushing in his ears. He vaguely recognised them as voices.

"Harry!"

"Come on, mate! Talk to us!"

"Is he OK?"

Thick, syrupy liquid entered his mouth and rolled down his throat. Slowly, awareness creeped outwards from his eyes and mouth, a gentle, cooling sensation that slid down raw tendons and traced every fried nerve ending. Where nothing had been, there was now a body below his head, lying against something hard, aching profusely.

"'m alright," Harry slurred, his hindbrain taking the reins to force words from lips that felt like cold dead slugs around his mouth. His voice sounded like someone had scrubbed his vocal cords with steel wool.

"No you're bloody well not," replied a tearful voice.

Another dose of what Harry now recognised as a medical potion took his self-awareness, which had been spreading through his body and mind like an octopus lazily stretching its limbs in all directions, and dunked it into some freezing cold water. An enormous gasp left his chest aching as the thick clouds hovering behind his eyes burned away like mist in the noonday sun.

Harry lurched into a sitting position, finding himself on the floor of Umbridge's office. His friends surrounded him, hands on his head and shoulders and gripping his forearm.

"What happened?" he said. His voice still sounded like he'd been smoking most of his life, but at least now he was making the decision to speak instead of blurting out blind reassurances.

Tear tracks lined Hermione's pale face as she looked back at him. "Umbridge was t-torturing you. We came here to contact Sirius, but Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad caught us. Don't you remember?"

Harry did remember, and the more he remembered the more he wished he hadn't.

"How… How did we…?" he said, blinking quickly, taking in the scene around him. Along with Hermione, there was Ron at his other side, Ginny, Neville, and Luna hovering worriedly – and a collection of robed figures on the floor.

"Warrington's not as hard as he thinks," Ron said with a mirthless smile, jerking his chin at one of the larger bodies. "Bet he thought it was good sport at first, rounding up Gryffindors. But when Umbridge was going at you, he went all shaky. I drove my fist into his nuts, which probably didn't make him feel much better, and managed to get his wand. After that, it turned into a bit of a standoff."

Ginny stepped forward, her vivid red hair plastered to her neck with sweat. "That was when I yelled 'Look, it's Dumbledore!' and pointed out the window."

Ron smiled broadly and pulled his little sister with one hand into a side hug. "Can't believe they fell for it. The twins are gonna piss themselves."

"It's all about choosing the right moment," Ginny said smugly. "Umbridge was wired so tight she stopped cursing Harry and turned around. Ron blasted her in the back with a Stunning Spell and hid behind Warrington when the squad fired back."

Grimacing, Ron touched a bruise on his arm. "Twat didn't make a good shield, but he made a bloody good distraction. Neville, Luna, and Ginny broke out while the squad was looking at me. It was over pretty quickly after that."

Harry knew the humorous retelling was for his benefit, to distract him from his residual pain, but that didn't stop his heart from warming at hearing how his friends had kept their heads and took control of the situation.

But that warmth did absolutely nothing to quell the rising tide of fury in his heart.

Once again, the students had been left to protect themselves. Once again, the authority that was meant to protect them had been used to hurt them.

And then, like rough waters calming into a still mirror, Harry's fury crystallised into a single realisation.

"I've had enough."

A single chime sounded from somewhere. With a puff of ash, the fire in the hearth, the same fire Harry had used to see if Sirius was at home, went out. Beyond that, nothing else seemed to happen.

"What was that?" asked Neville, looking around.

"Maybe the popcorn's ready?" Luna suggested loftily.

It was such a bizarre statement, so at odds with his newfound calm-fury, that Harry couldn't help but laugh as he struggled to his feet. Ron and Hermione supported him, the former handing him his wand.

Harry turned towards the dead fireplace and tried to raise his wand, but his hand was shaking too much.

"I've got it," Ron murmured, sending a jet of flame into the dry wood.

Harry went to retrieve some more Floo powder with his other hand, but again couldn't even manage to grasp it. This time Hermione came to his aid, tossing a pinch into the crackling flames.

Nothing happened.

"Floo's down," said Harry wonderingly.

"But it can't be down," Hermione said. "We used it just a few minutes ago." She tossed an even bigger handful of powder into the fireplace, but still nothing happened.

"Maybe it's some kind of fail-safe," said Ginny. "You know, in case students rise up, take down Umbridge, and try to march on the Ministry."

"Two out of three's not bad," said Ron.

"Sirius is still in danger," Harry growled. "I wanted to check if Kreacher was lying, but now…"

Before anyone could reply, the door opened. Six wands were immediately raised as Professor Snape stepped into the room. His sallow face betrayed more surprise than Harry had ever seen on it as he surveyed the stunned bodies of the Inquisitorial Squad – and his fellow teacher.

"Did you contact the Order?" Harry demanded. His wand was shaking badly and he doubted he could cast so much as a Tickling Jinx, but he figured the other five wands probably made up for it.

Snape blinked slowly. His hands were empty and he clearly hadn't expected to walk into a fight.

"Yes, Potter," he said. "Your godfather is safe and sound at headquarters."

Sighs of relief escaped several students in the room, but Harry only narrowed his eyes.

"How can I trust you?"

Snape sneered. "Because I am dissuading you from running off into what is certainly a trap. Think it through, Potter. The Dark Lord wants you dead above all else. Are you easier to kill here, in the safety of Hogwarts, or panicked and unguarded in a place you are barely familiar with?"

"Safety?" repeated Harry, eyeing Umbridge's body.

"She used the Cruciatus on Harry," Neville spat, and Harry was surprised and heartened to see he was absolutely livid.

Snape's eyes betrayed a flicker of actual shock, yet he said, as if on autopilot, "Compared to the Dark Lord's tender mercies, I assure you, Potter, this counts as safety."

"I want proof Sirius is safe," Harry demanded.

"I'm willing to overlook much that has occurred in this room due to the conduct of my fellow member of faculty," said Snape, "But I will not bow to the demands of students. If Gryffindor has any points left after tonight, I will be surprised."

Harry breathed hard. "Points? You think I give a fuck about points right now, while Sirius's life might be in danger?"

"Language, Potter. I have told you the truth. Your godfather is safe."

"Prove it! If you're so set on dissuading me, then give me something to go on!"

Snape glared down at him. "You will keep a civil tongue –"

And it turned out Harry could cast just fine after all.

Snape was blown backwards in a flash of blue light, through the door and into the hallway, tumbling in the air to land on his face. Ignoring the shocked exclamations of his friends, Harry staggered into the hallway on legs of jelly and kept his wand on Snape.

"Proof. Now."

Snape raised his head and Harry saw with no small amount of satisfaction that the man's nose was broken.

"Potter," he said harshly. "Nothing less than your expulsion will keep me from –"

"I didn't ask for your threats!" Harry roared. "I said PROOF!"

He felt his friends emerge behind him and he expected to feel a tug on the arm or a murmured word of caution and restraint – but none came.

Snape at last seemed to realise Harry was far past his breaking point and in unknown psychological territory.

"I used a Patronus," he ground out. "They can carry messages, if you tell them to. I sent one to Sirius and he responded. His Patronus is distinctive. Only he could have sent it."

Without taking his wand off Snape, Harry turned his head slightly. "Can any of you manage a Patronus right now?"

"I might, if you hit him again," said Ron.

"I'm tempted, believe me."

Snape just glared up at them.

"I can do one," said Luna. A moment later, a silvery hare bounded into being.

"Ask it to send a message to Sirius asking if he's alright. Tell him to reply quickly in as many ways as he can manage."

Luna did so, and her Patronus rose towards the ceiling before shooting off in a blur of light, disappearing completely.

"I'll let you know if you're off the hook," said Harry, and without waiting for a response, he stunned Snape cold.

There was silence in the corridor as they looked down at the second member of faculty they'd overcome in one night.

"This is all getting a bit wild, isn't it?" Ginny said with a forced chuckle.

"It'll get wilder before the night's over," Harry warned.

Ginny met his eyes bravely. "Good."

While they waited, they brought out the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge and lined them all up in the corridor. They searched them for wands and potions or anything else they could use to escape, and, at Harry's urging, bound them each in conjured ropes.

"What potions did you guys give me?" asked Harry.

"Oh – just some pain-relief ones, the first I could think of," said Hermione. "I summoned them from the Hospital Wing – I half didn't expect it to work, but I suppose if someone's trying to get pain relief quickly, Madam Pomfrey would have set things up so they could get it."

"They helped. A lot. Snape was right about one thing." Harry rolled a shoulder and flexed his fingers with a wince. "Wasn't as bad as when Voldemort did it."

Hermione burst into fresh tears and Ron put a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Bit of a grim bloody comparison, mate."

Neville scowled at Umbridge. "I think she'd fit in well with the Death Eaters."

Harry studied his friend curiously. Then it hit him. Neville had witnessed someone he cared about under the Cruciatus Curse – the same curse used to deprive him of functioning parents. It was doubtful Neville could conceive of a greater evil from his perspective. It certainly explained the hard glint in his eye.

Without warning, a burst of silver light erupted from the floor in front of Harry, and suddenly there was a big ghostly dog sitting there, looking up at him.

Harry – I'm fine, came Sirius's voice. It's a trap. Don't leave the castle. By the time you get this, I'll be on Hogwarts grounds. I'm planning to Apparate there so you know I'm okay. Again, don't leave the castle.

A surge of relief flooded Harry's every limb and he would have collapsed if Ron and Hermione didn't grab him. He turned and stumbled back into Umbridge's office, heading for the window. He tried to heave it open but it was stuck. Ron tried next but it remained firmly in place.

"Umbridge probably spelled it shut after one of the twins' pranks," said Ginny over their shoulders.

"Let's go to the Entrance Hall," Harry said suddenly. "We'll meet him on the doorstep."

"Sirius just told you not to leave the castle," Hermione said sternly as they left the office.

Harry waved a careless hand towards the unconscious professors. "Does it really seem like I'm in a particularly obedient mood tonight?"

Nobody had a rebuttal for that, and together they made their way down to the Entrance Hall. From the Great Hall nearby came the usual clattering of cutlery and conversation as students celebrated the end of exams. They had no idea what had happened – what was going to happen.

The huge double doors of Hogwarts were locked shut. No matter what spells they tried or how hard they pushed, it wouldn't budge.

"They don't normally lock up this early, do they?" said Ron. "I'm sure we've snuck out much later than this."

"It's just like Umbridge's window," Hermione muttered, frowning at her wand as though it had failed her.

Ginny knocked on the door a couple of times. "Maybe it's one of those Educational Decrees? There are so many I can't even remember half of them."

"Could be." But Hermione didn't sound convinced.

A tapping sound came from the other side of the door, copying Ginny. They stared at the bare oak for a moment. Ginny knocked again. The tapping replied.

"That must be Sirius," Harry said, grinning.

"Oh!" exclaimed Hermione. "Do you think he knows Morse Code? We can communicate through taps both short and long, allowing us –"

The Patronus dog burst through the door, making Hermione shriek.

"Guessing that's you, Harry – I take it you can't get the door open?"

Harry smiled at the dog. "Luna? Would you mind being my messenger?"

Luna smiled as well. "I'd be happy to. I do love this spell."

What followed was a conversation with many delays as each side needed to cast a new Patronus for every reply.

"Are you alright?" sent Harry.

"I'm fine, but – bloody hell, this is weird – it's like a strong wind or current is sucking me backwards. Just walking here was like trekking through waist-deep snow, and flying was impossible."

"What does it mean?"

"I think…" Sirius's voice paused thoughtfully. "I think it's the castle. It's decided to lock itself down and shove off anyone who tries to approach. If the old wardstones were still up, I wouldn't have even been able to make it into Hogsmeade."

"Wardstones? Sirius, what are you talking about?"

"Ancient stuff, Harry, from the Founders time. Hogwarts was built to be a school, yeah, but it's also a castle. There were old defences built into its foundations in case bad guys came a-knocking. We learned about it when we made the Map."

"So those defences have been turned on somehow?"

"That's what I'm thinking. Only, it's been so long since they've been needed, there's only the basic ones left. Otherwise, like I said, I wouldn't have been able to get into Hogsmeade, let alone the castle grounds."

Harry exchanged looks with his friends. "So how do we turn them off?"

"Hell if I know, Harry. Only Dumbledore could tell you that. Listen, it's getting harder to stay here. The castle sees me as an intruder and it's trying to shove me away. But before I go, I'm going to try something a bit risky. Go up to the Astronomy Tower – it might be the one place that isn't completely sealed off yet."

Luna fiddled with her wand. "I assume you'd like to send a message telling him that taking risks is the opposite of what you want him to do?"

"There's no point," said Harry, turning towards the stairs. "He'll just do it anyway, so we might as well go along with it."

For some reason, that made the lot of them break out into sniggers. Harry frowned over his shoulder, but they didn't say a word.

The Astronomy Tower offered a perfect view of the darkening landscape as the sun fell deeper and the shadows grew longer. Lines of telescopes aimed at the sky stood on the rim, closer to the edge than any Astronomy student had ever wanted to be.

The open air was cold and Harry's legs ached from the walk upstairs. They'd stopped by Umbridge's office to check on their detainees, then moved them into the office and re-stunned them to prevent any interruptions.

"What's his plan, do you reckon?" said Ron, shivering in place. "He said flying was impossible."

"No idea," Harry said with a shrug. "I imagine –"

But they never found out what Harry imagined, because one of the telescopes abruptly transformed into a small box covered in wrapping paper.

Harry lunged at the box with the abandon of a puppy diving for some fallen chocolate. His friends' words of caution had barely left their mouths when Harry tore open the package and found a small, square mirror inside.

The others gather around, their admonishments forgotten in the face of curiosity.

"What do you s'pose he means by this?" asked Ron.

"Take a good, hard look at yourself, Harry," Ginny said in a deep voice. Hermione laughed.

"There's a note on the back," said Neville.

Harry flipped it over in his hands.

This is a two-way mirror. I've got the other. If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it; you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to talk in yours. James and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions.

"No way," he breathed. Eagerly, he turned the mirror to his face again, and said, "Sirius Black."

Instantly, the grinning, handsome face of his godfather appeared where Harry's reflection had been moments before. The group cheered.

"How on earth did you get this to me?" said Harry, delighted. "What did you do to the telescope?"

"Switching Spell," Sirius said proudly. "Can't fly closer on a broom, can't Floo, can't open the door, can't send an owl – but a well-aimed Switching Spell on one of those telescopes and we're in business!"

"Where are you now?"

"I went back to headquarters after landing the spell. The castle was getting more and more tetchy about my presence, so I figured I'd let it be for now. You alright in there?"

Harry nodded. "Brilliant, now. Well, except for being trapped in the castle with a pair of teachers we stunned."

Sirius barked a laugh. "Who?"

"Snape and Umbridge, who else?"

Sirius clapped his hands together. "Yes! Nice work, Harry. You'll be in the shit for this, but trust me when I say they both had it coming."

"Hold on," said Hermione, squeezing next to Harry so she could see Sirius. "You couldn't send an owl?"

"Nope. It's like I said, the whole place is trying to keep everything out."

"What do we do?" asked Harry.

"No idea. These defences haven't been activated in centuries, there's no telling what kind of effects they'll have. I'll contact Dumbledore and send him your way as soon as I can. Until then, well, it kinda looks like you're running the school."

With that, the mirror went blank and Harry saw only his face staring back at him.

"We're running the school?" whispered Neville.

"We can't be, we're only students," Hermione protested. "One of the other professors will be in charge."

Ron shrugged. "Dinner's almost over. Let's go tell Flitwick what's going on. He's probably the best teacher left."

Hermione agreed eagerly, and Luna, Ginny, and Neville looked to Harry.

"…We'll see what Flitwick has to say," he said reluctantly. Thought were coalescing in his mind that needed an outlet that perhaps Flitwick could provide.

They went downstairs and pushed into the Great Hall. A great tide of chatter greeted them. Students were standing between tables, leaning over them, clustering in groups, or just looking around with confusion. A moment later, Harry saw why.

The Staff Table was empty.

Harry led his group along Gryffindor's table.

"Dean! Seamus! What's going on?" he said over the din. The boys were talking with some older Gryffindors and a couple of Ravenclaws.

"Harry, you lot! There you are!" said Dean. "Where've you been?"

"Dealing with Umbridge," Harry replied tersely. "Where are the teachers?"

"Vanished!" Seamus said excitedly. "Just there one moment, gone the next!"

Harry turned to exchange looks with the others.

"When did that happen?" asked Hermione, chewing her lip.

"Maybe half an hour ago?" said Dean. "There was this weird chime and suddenly the Staff Table was empty.

Ron gave a low groan. "Bloody hell. It would be too much to ask for that chime to be different from the one we heard in Umbridge's office, wouldn't it?"

"Maybe a tad," Neville said, patting Ron's shoulder consolingly.

Harry turned slowly, surveying the hall. Prefects were doing their jobs, keeping order as well as they could and comforting confused younger students, but the larger student body was in disarray – there was nobody to turn to, nobody to ask for help, nobody to provide the clarity and structure that students, no matter how they denied it, desperately needed.

"I think you need to say something," Luna whispered in his ear. He nodded numbly. This was all getting a bit out of control.

"Can you guys stand with me?" he asked.

Ron scoffed. "Can't believe he just asked that," he said, elbowing Neville.

"Embarrassing," Ginny agreed.

They made their way to the top of the Great Hall and stood on the dais before the Staff Table. A few students watched them with interest, but most were absorbed in their own conversations and speculation.

Harry tapped his wand on his throat. "Sonorus."

After taking a deep breath, he said, "Attention, everyone." His voice resounded through the room, sounding to each student as though he was speaking in their ear. Heads turned, speech puttered out, and Harry discovered once again that he hated having thousands of eyes on him.

"You might have noticed some weird things happening this evening," he said plainly. There was scattered laughter and he found it reassuring. "Well, it's about to get weirder."

With one final look back at his friends for courage, he faced the Great Hall.

Harry cleared his throat. "There's no easy way to say this, but we've overpowered Umbridge, Snape, and the Inquisitorial Squad, and we're taking over the school."

He had been prepared for silence, for laughter, or jeers and mockery from his fellow students as he made such a ridiculous announcement.

He wasn't prepared for three-quarters of the room to erupt into cheers. Gryffindors were jumping up and down, Hufflepuffs were high-fiving, and even Ravenclaws looked relieved. Only the Slytherins remained still, exchanging mutters and stony looks.

"No, really, this is quite serious," Harry managed. "The castle is in lockdown, nobody can get in or out."

The cheering continued unabated.

Harry glanced at his friends for help, but they just shrugged.

He raised his voice to be heard over the crowd. "It seems like ancient defensive wards have been activated somehow. We're working on it, but until we can figure out what happened, it looks like we're on our own."

A red spell shot towards Harry, only missing because Ron yanked him out of the way. There were a few screams and the cheering sputtered out quickly and some students ducked under the tables or hid behind friends.

The source of the spell didn't remain a mystery for long.

"He's admitted to attacking teachers and students!" yelled Theodore Nott, a weedy-looking Slytherin in Draco's year.

Of all people Harry thought might break the silence that followed, he didn't expect Neville to step up alongside him, a furious look on his face.

"Umbridge used the Cruciatus Curse on Harry," he said, voice trembling with barely-suppressed rage. "Anyone who supports her now will soon join her – stunned and tied up – right here and now."

Hundreds of eyes flicked between Neville and Harry, perhaps noticing how worn and weathered Harry appeared, and then to Theodore Nott, waiting to see how he would respond.

"This is absurd!" Theodore shouted. "When the other professors come back, they'll punish anyone who went along with Potter's lunacy!"

Harry touched Neville's shoulder and stepped forward to take the reins again. "Those same professors, as much as I like some of them, have allowed the students of this school to endure horrific punishments at Umbridge's hands. How many first years have been forced to carve words into their own hands? Do you really think people who would allow that to go on without saying a word have our best interests at heart?" He raised his arms to either side, looking across the crowd. "We're not letting their politics hurt us anymore. We're taking back our school from the negligent, the cruel, the absent, and the petty. I say we stay in control until the adults who are supposed to be looking after us get their shit together!"

A wall of sound smashed against Harry, nearly knocking him backwards. The applause was deafening. He hadn't really been thinking while he spoke, the words just came to him, picking up speed and vehemence as they went.

Another spell shot forth from the Slytherins, and this time Neville and Luna stepped forward to block it.

And this time, a nearby Ravenclaw replied with his own stunner, knocking the Slytherin down.

There was a brief pause, like the inhalation before a yell, then pandemonium erupted.

Haven't uploaded anything in a long while so I just felt like it.

This was born of a prompt which I won't bother reproducing here. If you've read this far, you get the gist.

In canon, Harry gets the mirror much earlier in the book, after Mr Weasley gets out of hospital. I realised this too late, so we're going with "Sirius kinda… forgot to give Harry the mirror."

Let me know if your interest is piqued!