Getting into Hogwarts was far less difficult than they were expecting. Dumbledore had directed them to his brother, Aberforth, who owned the Hogshead. It was a dingy little pub in Hogsmead that they hadn't really been in before.
To Harry's surprise, Aberforth had simply spoken to a girl in a painting behind his counter and she had turned and walked down the path in the painting. Apparently, the girl was Ariana Dumbledore, the sister of Albus and Aberforth that had died young. She soon came back up the painted path, but she wasn't alone. In the next moment, the painting swung forward like a door to reveal a passage.
And Neville.
Neville's face was a bit bruised and he favored his right leg when he hopped down to the floor of the pub. Despite his obvious injuries, his face lit up with a smile when he saw his friends. "Hey!" he greeted excitedly. His eyes landed on Blaise and his breath caught audibly in his throat. Without further warning, he pounced.
Blaise stumbled a bit when he suddenly found himself with his arms full of Neville. He allowed his arms to settle around the other boy's back, noticing immediately that Neville was trembling.
"You're okay," Neville mumbled shakily into Blaise's shoulder, tightening his grip just a little. After a moment, he pulled back reluctantly though he didn't let go completely. "We heard you all broke into Gringotts and then escaped on a dragon. I was terrified for you," he added, his gaze straying back to Blaise.
"It's been a wild ride," Harry chuckled ruefully. "Can you take us into the school?"
"Oh!" Neville finally detached himself fully from Blaise, his face flushing. "Right. Come with me. Thanks Aberforth," he added to their host, earning a grunted response.
They all followed Neville into the darkened passageway with Vince and Greg bringing up the rear. Ron found himself walking between Hermione and Blaise, silently pondering the way Neville had clung to Blaise. For a moment, Ron had been annoyed, and it made him feel guilty. He was attracted to Blaise, but he was dating Viktor. Blaise deserved someone great and it would be really unfair to expect him to stay single to avoid making Ron feel weird about it. He'd been a little selfish with Blaise, and his friend was owed far better treatment.
"Neville seemed really happy to see you," Ron said quietly, doing his best to keep his tone light and teasing. "We could have been wearing dementor costumes and he probably wouldn't notice."
Blaise snorted, nudging Ron with his elbow. Somehow, that response made Ron feel better.
After a few minutes of carefully shuffling along in the dim light of their lit wands, they stopped. Neville pushed open a door to reveal the inside of the Room of Requirement.
Cheers erupted in the room as Draco and Harry stepped inside. The pack was there, scattered all over the place, dropping whatever they'd been doing to focus on the Alphas and Betas. There was a loud cry and then five of the pups barreled into Harry and Draco.
Draco dropped to his knees and opened his arms to gather the pups close. He pressed kisses to their heads eagerly. "Oh my babies, you've gotten so big," he sighed, his voice thick with tears. "Are you alright?" he asked, cupping the face of a second year Hufflepuff with a partially healed cut on his forehead.
"The Carrows are awful," Pansy said, guiding three students closer. "These are the youngest pups. They were a little afraid they wouldn't get to meet you."
The other pups reluctantly shifted aside to make room for the younger ones. One little girl had a Slytherin crest on her robes. Draco was grateful that the pack was still attempting to reach out to Slytherin house despite the risk.
"This is Draco, or Alpha Centauri," Pansy told the first years. She then gestured to Harry. "Obviously that is Harry Potter, or Alpha Orion."
Draco smiled sadly at the first years looking so uncertain. "I'm so sorry that we couldn't be with you," he murmured. "We wanted to be here."
"We had to be away from here so we could make the world safer for everybody," Harry added, crouching next to Draco. "But I bet the Deltas took really good care of you."
"It's not the same," pouted Emma, a second year Gryffindor. She brightened a little when Harry pulled her in for a hug.
"Okay pups," Ginny said motioning for them to move away. "Let's allow them to sit down and take a break. They look tired."
Luna pacified the pups with a snack while the Alphas and Betas made themselves comfortable on cushions. The rest of the pack members settled themselves on the floor nearby. For several minutes, Harry explained what they'd been up to and the things that had happened to them. As expected, they'd been shocked and amazed to learn about Harry's new dragon companion. In turn, Seamus told the Alphas and Betas what had been going on at Hogwarts. And there'd been very little positive.
Alecto and Amycus Carrow were sadistic and cruel. The siblings enjoying tormenting students and encouraged purebloods to harm half bloods and blood traitors. Any students that refused to injure their classmates, were punished. Neville and Ginny had made it their mission to make life difficult for the Carrows. Their defiance only made the Carrows angrier and more volatile, but they didn't stop defending the innocent whenever they could.
"We might need to leave Neville in here for good," Pansy sighed. "At least until we think of something else. The Carrows would have killed him. He just doesn't know when to stop," she added, shaking her head despite the reluctant fondness in her tone.
"I'm not going to let them hurt students," Neville growled.
Blaise sighed and got to his feet, motioning for Neville to come with him. They moved to a secluded corner of the room and settled themselves on the floor. They sat facing each other, their knees brushing together. Blaise reached out to carefully grip Neville's chin and turn his head to get a better look at the small cuts and bruising. He shook his head and lifted his wand to begin gently healing the damaged skin.
Blaise swallowed nervously when he realized that Neville was gazing at him fondly. "You should take better care of yourself," Blaise murmured.
"Occupational hazard," Neville chuckled. His smile softened as Blaise's fingers drifted over his brow. "I really did miss you."
"I missed you too," Blaise responded, warmed by the affection in the Gryffindor's gaze. For so long, he's overlooked Neville and focused mostly on Ron. But Neville displayed a steadiness and maturity that Ron lacked at times. Maybe Neville was just what Blaise needed in a partner.
"So, maybe-" Neville paused, seeming to gather himself a bit. "Maybe you'd consider spending some time with me? I mean if- If you want to."
Ah, so shy Neville makes an appearance. Blaise found himself charmed by the nervous blush that spread across the others cheeks and nose. "I'd love that," Blaise answered simply.
"Really?" Neville asked, just a bit breathless. "What about-" His eyes darted to where Ron was sitting, but he couldn't bring himself to mention the name.
Blaise smiled ruefully, resuming his inspection of the marks he'd healed on Neville's skin. "I got some closure," he said quietly.
"I'm sorry."
Blaise sighed softly. He could hear the sincerity in Neville's warm tone. "It's fine," he muttered. "Ron does fancy me a little, but he loves Viktor. I'm truly happy for them and I want my own love story. Maybe this is the first step to finding it," he added with a little wink.
Neville's blush darkened but he grinned. "Maybe so," he agreed.
Blaise chuckled, setting down his wand so he could take Neville's hands. "Do you need any other healing?" he asked. He scowled when Neville looked ready to dismiss further concern.
"I got knocked about," Neville admitted. "I hit the wall pretty hard so my head hurts a bit. Twisted my ankle too."
Across the room, Harry and Draco watched Blaise pull Neville's foot into his lap to examine his injured ankle. Neville expression was nervous but still adorably smitten.
"They'll be good together," Draco whispered, smiling at Harry's quiet hum of agreement.
Luna approached the two Alphas holding an object carefully wrapped in cloth. "We found the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw," she told them, placing the bundle in Harry's hands. "Sometimes, the Room of Requirement becomes a place of hidden things. Items are placed there for safe keeping and mostly forgotten. It's full of nargles too," she added, forcing Draco to suppress an eye roll. "Neville was able to get the room to show us where the Diadem was."
"Nice one Neville," Harry called out, making the other boy laugh and wave his acknowledgement.
"What will you do with it?" Seamus asked curiously.
"It has to be destroyed," Harry replied. "Which leads to our next problem... I need to get into the chamber of secrets. I want to get basilisk fangs to destroy the horcruxes safely."
"How do you expect to get there?" Daphne asked with a frown.
"Draco is an expert at walking in shadow," Harry said with a grin at his love.
Draco elbowed him lightly but smiled. "We'll take the invisibility cloak and the map," he said. "While we're gone, I'd like the Betas to evaluate the packs' training progress."
"Yes Alpha," Greg answered obediently, getting to his feet. The other Betas stood, ready to proceed.
Harry and Draco accomplished their goal without difficulty. Down in the chamber they found the remains of the basilisk and had gathered the fangs quickly.
Their return to the Room of Requirement was equally uneventful. They arrived to find the wolves demonstrating various spells when called upon. They all paused when they noticed their Alphas.
"How was it?" Pansy asked.
"Easy," Draco shrugged. "The Carrows are in their classrooms. A few students were around, but they're easy to dodge." He looked around at their pack with a pleased smile. "You lot seem to be doing very well."
"Nice, solid spell work," Blaise nodded proudly.
"They've made excellent progress," Hermione added.
Before Harry or Draco could comment, the door opened, making everyone turn around hastily. Snape stepped into the room, followed by Minerva McGonagall. Minerva's stern face crumbled as she rushed to Harry and pulled him into her arms. She hadn't been able to see him since the day he'd left with Draco and the Betas.
"Oh, my boy," she muttered, her voice thick with tears. "I'm so happy to see you."
Harry returned the embrace with a little sigh of relief. It felt as if something had abruptly loosened in his chest when the only mother he'd ever really known held onto him so tenderly. "I missed you Minnie," he murmured, relaxing against her. When she pulled back a little to look up at his face, they each had tears spilling over. He reached up and brushed her tears away lovingly.
After a few moments of indulgence, Minerva turned to pull Draco into a hug as well. "Remus and Sirius keep me updated and tell me how you are," she said, glancing back at Harry. "But, it's not the same as being able to lay eyes on you."
"I completely agree," Harry nodded with a little sniffle. "It's been far too long." He took a deep breath to settle himself and turned to Snape.
The current headmaster had remained by the door was being eyed warily by the students in the room. It was far to easy to view Snape as an enemy when students were being harassed and injured under his watch. He allowed the Carrows to revel in their reign of terror.
Harry took a step closer and held his hand out expectantly. Snape reached for it, his fingers curling around for a firm handshake. They released each other slowly and Harry eyed the other man pensively. "What's happening?" he asked finally.
Snape straightened his posture just a little, clasping his hands loosely behind his back. "The Dark Lord was pleased with my placement as headmaster and sent Alecto and Amycus to be professors," he explained. "I've needed to maintain my cover, but I do attempt to keep them from going to far. They delight in tormenting students that they find less than worthy."
Harry nodded, pursing his lips in displeasure as his gaze slid over his pack again. "Yes, I can see that in the state of my wolves," he said.
Snape's gaze didn't waver from Harry. "What do you require of me?" he asked firmly. "If this is not the path you wish me to be on, you need only ask."
Harry considered his former professor. It was true that Harry was angry that people he cared for had come to harm under Snape's leadership. However, Snape was simply doing what he could with the difficult position he was placed in.
"Professor Snape tried to keep the Carrows attention off of us when he could," Neville said helpfully. "It could have been much worse around here."
It meant a lot that Neville would speak up on Snape's behalf. Neville had plenty of reasons to detest the man.
For a few minutes, Harry was lost in thought, weighing his options. Draco stood patiently at his side, his eyes focused on Harry, but remaining silent. Finally, Harry seemed to come to a decision.
"For now, I want you to hold your position," Harry instructed, green eyes bright with determination. "I need a little time to get some things in order. Then I will remove the Carrows from this place."
"How will you do that?" Snape asked.
"By force. Not lethal force, of course," Harry amended with a half shrug. "Not unless I'm pushed anyway. When the time comes, the Carrows will be restrained and evicted from Hogwarts. Then the castle will be locked down and warded to protect those that remain."
"And until then?" Blaise asked worriedly, glancing at Neville.
"The Room of Requirement can act as a safehouse," Neville offered, slipping his hand into Blaise's. He glanced at the painting that hid the tunnel to the Hogshead from view. "We can also evacuate if necessary."
Harry nodded his approval. "It won't be long now," he assured the wolves. "Focus on keeping safe and practicing your spells. The pups are to have an escort at all times when they are outside of this room."
"We'll be here every couple of days," Draco said, smiling at the excited expressions from the youngest members. "We'll make sure that all of you are well looked after."
Harry and Draco turned back to Snape, unsure of what the dour man's response would be. To their surprise, he nodded his acceptance. "Whatever you think is best," he said simply.
"But, you're the Headmaster," a second year Hufflepuff blurted out, obviously confused by Snape's easy compliance.
Snape looked down at the boy. "But they are the Alphas," he answered, gesturing to Harry and Draco.
"So, you're part of the pack too?" the child reasoned, still looking uncertain. He looked at the Alphas for confirmation.
"Headmaster Snape is a gamma," Harry replied. "So are Professor McGonagall, Sirius, Remus and Mrs. Malfoy. Like advisors, but they're still part of the pack."
Harry's explanation seemed to lift a burden from many of the wolves. He could see the young ones relaxing a bit, and suddenly he realized how frightened some of the students may have been to be in the presence of a man that seemingly allowed them to suffer at the hands of the Carrows.
"Professor Snape is loyal to me," Harry assured everyone while Snape nodding his agreement. "He is one of us. He just needs to appear to be on Voldemort's side. You don't need to be afraid of him."
He felt terribly guilty for not explaining Snape's role to the wolves. But they could move forward with the knowledge that the Headmaster could be trusted.
"We should probably head back," Harry said regretfully. "I need to work with Saphira this evening."
"That's his pet dragon," Ron said helpfully, grinning.
"That bit about the dragon at Gringotts was true?" Pansy shrieked in shock.
"It is," Vince told her. "Harry, Draco, Hermione and Blaise escaped the bank on a blind albino Dragon. And, of course, Harry took her in like a stray crup."
"Harry James Potter," Minerva admonished in exasperation.
"She's so sweet Minnie," Harry insisted, his gaze fond. "She's affectionate and follows commands."
"And she's protective of Harry," Draco added.
Minerva still looked a bit peeved but she refrained but chastising her son. There were moments that she feared that he'd be as eccentric as Dumbledore at times, but she just couldn't fault his loving heart. Instead, she shook her head at him. "Try not to get yourself eaten," she said lightly.
"Don't worry," Harry chuckled. He stepped over to hug her tightly. "We'll be on our way, but we'll be back in two days. I'll contact you before we come so you can join us here," he added, glancing between Snape and Minerva.
The rest of the pack was reluctant to let them leave, but they understood. Hugs and encouraging were exchanged as Neville opened the tunnel to walk them back. Pansy pressed a kiss to Vince's cheek, making him go red, and then offered a coy wave before moving away to help Ginny console the disappointed pups.
Neville kept his fingers entwined with Blaise's as they led the way through the tunnel. Once they climbed out into the Hogshead, they were reluctant to let go. Luckily the others were glad to give them a moment. Aberforth moved to his storage room while the others stepped outside to wait, leaving Neville and Blaise alone for a moment.
"Please be careful," Neville implored quietly.
"You too," Blaise responded. He reached out and tugged Neville closer. They were near the same height so they fit against each other comfortably without one of them being forced to strain their neck. Not that Blaise was giving that much thought as he leaned in and pressed their lips together gently.
Neville let out a happy hum, one hand coming up to cup Blaise's jaw and deepened the kiss. Thoughts of the war faded in that blissful moment. But eventually they parted to catch their breath.
"I'll see you soon," Neville murmured.
Their lips met again and they parted only to meet once more, their tongues stroking together. Blaise's body felt warm and seemed to buzz with affection and excitement.
"You're amazing," Blaise panted into Neville's mouth, pressing their bodies together..
Neville laughed quietly. "Just come back to me soon," he urged softly.
Blaise nodded and pressed a final kiss to Neville cheek before leaving the pub. When he stepped outside, his found his friends all wearing amused expressions. "Shut up," he huffed, earning snorts of laughter from the others.
