Chapter 44
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world obviously belongs to JK Rowling and not me. Obviously.
… … … …
Neville stood there panting for breath while the others were almost too much in shock of him being there.
"Neville!" Leila squealed. "You look…"
"Like hell, I reckon," Neville grinned. "This is nothing, Seamus is worse."
Leila flung her arms around him and enveloped him in a hug. Neville cringed from his injuries as Leila suddenly gasped. She quickly released him and apologized; but Neville responded by gently wrapping an arm around Leila's shoulder. She smiled up at him. While she had been held captive at Hogwarts, he had continued to have faith in her; at least, for the most part. Neville was the one who helped her find another will to live after she had tried to drown herself. Draco suddenly cleared his throat which caused Neville to shift his gaze over to Draco. Neville immediately dropped his arm and a light blush painted his cheeks.
"Sorry, Malfoy, didn't see you there," Neville grinned.
"No, of course you didn't," Draco muttered.
"Can't say that I expected to see you here," Neville responded.
"I've only been on the run with them for four bloody months," Draco said sarcastically.
"Well, it's good to see you; all of you," Neville said.
Leila took a step away from Neville to further examine him. One of his eyes was close to being swollen shut, gouge marks covered his face, and he just appeared rather unkempt. Things were obviously still going terribly at Hogwarts for him. Honestly, she was surprised that he had made it this far into the school year, especially with the Carrows. She cringed remembering the last time she had seen him brutally punished: for arguing.
"Shall we get going then? They're going to be surprised to see you lot," Neville said.
"They?" Ron asked.
"You'll see," Neville smiled. "Hey, where's Ab?"
"Ab? Oh, you mean Aberforth? He went back downstairs," Hermione responded.
Neville nodded and walked across the room to the rickety staircase. He stood at the top and called down the stairs.
"Hey Ab, there might be a couple more people on the way," Neville shouted.
"Couple more? Couple more?" Aberforth shouted up the stairs. "What'd you mean a couple more, Longbottom? This lot nearly got caught because of the Caterwauling Charm and enforced curfew on the village."
"That's why they'll be Apparating into the bar," Neville continued.
"Longbottom," Aberforth groaned.
"Just send them down the secret passage when they get here, will you?" Neville called.
"Fine," Aberforth muttered up the stairs.
"Thanks a lot!" Neville called.
There was a moment of silence before Aberforth called again.
"Keep an eye on them. I don't know that I can save them a third time!"
Neville turned back around and grinned. He then walked across the room and stood in front of the hole behind Ariana's portrait and held his hand out.
"Ladies, first," Neville said.
Hermione and Leila looked to each other and giggled before each other them accepted Neville's hand to help them clamber up onto the mantelpiece and into the hole. Once inside, the girls waited for the boys to follow inside. Neville and Harry then wiggled past the girls so that they could lead them through the tunnel. Surprisingly, the tunnel looked as if it had existed for years with the stone floors and walls with brass lanterns.
"How long's this been here?" Ron questioned. "Don't remember this on the Marauder's Map.
"That's because it never existed until now," Neville responded. "The seven secret passage ways were sealed off at the start of the year."
"Not to mention the Death Eaters and dementors crawling the grounds," Leila added.
"That too; but this, this tunnel, is the only way in or out now," Neville continued.
"I assume they don't know about this tunnel?" Draco questioned.
"Nah, but never mind that stuff…Is it true?" Neville asked.
"Is what true?" Hermione asked.
"Did you lot break into Gringotts? Did you escape on a dragon?" Neville grinned.
"Yeah, it's true," Harry answered.
"It's everywhere, everyone's talking about it. Terry Boot, even got beaten up by the Carrows for yelling about it in the Great Hall at dinner," Neville beamed.
"You hear about that, yet you didn't expect me to be with them?" Draco questioned.
"Can't be sure what rumors are true about you these days. Let's just say they'll be in for a shock when they see you walk through the door," Neville responded.
"They?" Ron asked again.
"Like I said, you'll see," Neville chuckled. "But what I'm curious about is the dragon, what'd you do with it?"
"Inducted it into D.U.N.G." Leila said sarcastically.
"Dung?" Neville questioned.
"You know Hermione and her groups, we were just helping her come up with names. She was all for keeping the dragon as a pet," Ron said.
"Don't exaggerate, Ronald," Hermione snipped.
"We left him somewhere in the wild," Harry responded to answer Neville's question.
Neville chuckled as he continued to lead them down the corridor. Leila quickened her pace so that she overtook Harry. She really wanted to know how things were at Hogwarts. How things were since she and Draco left. She was also curious what people were saying about her and Draco, not that it mattered, but it would help them to prepare for the situation they were going to meet once inside Hogwarts.
"Neville, how've things been at Hogwarts?" Leila asked.
"Things got worse since you two didn't come back," Neville responded. "Much stricter if you can even imagine that; but we still hardly see Snape. The Carrows on the other hand are the same as usual."
"I can tell," Leila responded. "What happened?"
"Today's Dark Arts lesson had us practicing the Cruciatus Curse on first years," Neville spat. "I refused."
"What'd you say this time?" Leila asked.
"Asked the lady Carrow how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got," Neville chuckled.
"Blimey mate, there's a time and place for smarting off and I don't think that was it," Ron said.
"He's been smarting off all year," Draco said. "Said what I wish I could've said, even though I thought he was completely mental about it."
"You should've heard her this time," Neville said. "But the thing is, when people stand up to them it gives everyone hope. I used to notice that when you did it, Harry."
"But even at your own expense?" Hermione asked. "They could kill you."
"I don't think so. They don't want to spill too much pure blood. So they'll torture us a bit if we're mouthy, but they value purebloods too much to kill them," Neville explained.
"Didn't work so much in Luna's favor," Ron said.
"Luna? You've heard then? Snatched her from the train on the way back for Christmas…" Neville began.
"Luna's all right though, we've seen her…" Hermione interrupted.
"Yeah, I know, she managed to get a message to me," Neville grinned.
Neville pulled out a gold coin from his pocket: the fake Galleon they had used for Dumbledore's Army.
"These came in great, Hermione," Neville said.
"Hem, hem," Leila coughed in her Umbridge impression.
"And Leila," Neville chuckled.
"One of the few things they actually accomplished together back then," Ron said rolling his eyes.
"Don't you worry Ron, there was plenty of fighting that accompanied the making of those coins," Leila smirked.
"We weren't that bad," Hermione argued.
"Really?" Harry asked.
"All right, we were pretty bad," Hermione agreed.
Neville, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Leila chucked as they continued to go further down the tunnel; but Draco looked at them confusedly.
"Longbottom, what is that thing?" Draco asked.
"This was how we communicated for the D.A. Hermione and Leila crafted them back in fifth year, when your bloody Inquisitorial Squad was hunting us down. They worked brilliantly back then, but they've come in quite handy this year too," Neville responded.
"So that's how you did it," Draco chuckled.
"But this year it was stuff like Dumbledore's Army: Still Recruiting. Snape hated it," Neville grinned.
"So did the Carrows," Leila added. "But I do have to admit it was annoying waiting to get into the Great Hall because they were checking everyone's wand, even though I didn't have my bloody wand. Although, watching Filch try and get rid of it was priceless."
"Why all the talk in the past tense?" Harry asked.
"Because I'm currently holding my wand," Leila said sarcastically.
"Not you," Harry groaned.
"Ah, well like I said before, things got a little more difficult after Christmas. Leila's escape caused quite the stir and she wasn't there, Luna didn't come back after Christmas. Then after they tried to go after Gran, I had to disappear and Ginny after Easter The four of us were sort of the leaders," Neville said.
"I wasn't a leader," Leila commented.
"Sure you were. Just because you were more behind the scenes doesn't mean you weren't just as important," Neville said. "Stealing the Sword, that was your idea not to mention you took part in it."
While Harry continued to talk with Neville, Leila stopped for a moment. She tried to remember her part in stealing the Sword of Gryffindor, but she couldn't remember what part she played. Her fingers rubbed her temples.
"Neville, what was my part in the plan?" Leila asked.
Neville stopped and turned around. He looked at Leila with his mouth gaping. She had been such an intricate part of the plan, surely she was joking. Surely, she was just playing a game. But from the expression he read on Leila's face, she looked completely serious. Neville watched her for a moment trying to read her face better, but the longer he waited, the more Hermione, Draco, Ron, and Harry's faces grew concerned.
"You had to get Snape out of his office so that we could go in and steal the Sword," Neville stated.
"I did?" Leila asked.
"Don't you remember?" Neville questioned.
"N—no," Leila stammered. "Why can't I remember that?"
"Do you remember coming up with the plan?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, I was supposed to be tutoring Neville and Draco stepped away for a few minutes," Leila said.
"But no recollection of actually taking part in the plan?" Hermione continued.
"No, I don't remember anything about that. I think I'm missing some of my memories," Leila stated.
"But who would take your memories?" Ron asked.
"And why?" Harry furthered.
Harry and Ron both turned and looked to Draco who held his hands up in defense.
"Wasn't me, I swear," Draco said. "But I did run into her that night."
"You did?" Leila asked.
"Something's definitely wrong with her memory," Draco said.
"That makes me feel loads better," Leila said sarcastically.
"Sorry, I was just simply agreeing with your theory," Draco stated.
"Great, just another thing to add to our ever-growing list of things to figure out," Leila muttered.
Draco reached for Leila and pulled him close to her. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to hold back the tears as she leaned heavily against Draco. Why did everything seem so connected? She felt like she should know this; that it was something that could be of use to them; but nothing was coming back.
"We'll figure this out, I promise," Draco whispered.
"Whoever took my memories was more than capable at magic, I don't think we will," Leila whispered back.
Draco swallowed hard. For once he didn't have a response for Leila. She was right. His promise was more of a comfort than actually thinking they'd be able to figure this out. Like Leila had said, they already had a lot on their plates: Horcruxes, Hallows, and now Leila's memories. Draco tried to process who was capable of such magic; but while they were at Hogwarts, Leila had so many enemies because assumed she had betrayed her brother. I could be almost anybody: teacher or student. Draco pressed a reassuring kiss against Leila's forehead as Neville urged them to continue. Draco held tightly on to Leila's hand as they continued to follow Neville. They were almost to the end of the long corridor when Neville suddenly stopped and grinned at them.
"Let's have a bit of fun, shall we?" Neville said.
Neville turned around and grinned as he rubbed his hands together. He held his palms out to them, silently telling them to stay back for a moment. As Neville opened the door, Leila looked up to Draco who looked nervous as he bit down on his bottom lip. Leila gave a gentle squeeze to Draco's hand who looked nervous as he deeply exhaled. Neville took a few steps into the light of the room they were about to enter. Where were they?
"Hey, listen up you lot!" Neville called. "Brought you a surprise."
"Not more of Aberforth's cooking, I hope," Seamus Finnigan called from inside the room. "Be a surprise if we can digest it."
Neville cocked an eyebrow at the people in front of him before he turned to allow the group behind to pass him. Harry walked out into the open first and was followed by Leila. Harry jumped down from the ledge and offered his hand to help his sister down.
"Blimey!" Seamus shouted.
Shouts of "The Potter twins" "Harry" "Leila" "Ron" and "Hermione" filled the room in excitement. Leila's heart filled with hope at the excitement in the room. The clapping and whooping continued from the Hogwarts students as Harry, Leila, Ron, and Hermione were engulfed with hugs, pounds on the back, ruffled hair, and shaken hands. Leila looked around the room to find hammocks and colored hangings. It was as if people were camping out in here. Suddenly, Terry Boot pulled her away from the group.
"I never doubted you, Leila." Terry whispered.
"Thanks," Leila muttered.
Overwhelmed by the joy in the room, Leila didn't notice that Draco still hadn't come into the room. In the corner of her eye, Leila saw Harry walking toward her. She gently patted Terry's arm before she took a few more steps closer to Harry. He leaned down to whisper in Leila's ear.
"We have a slight problem," Harry whispered to her.
"What is it?" Leila asked.
"He won't come out," Harry whispered.
"Why not?" Leila asked.
"Do you really need me to answer that?" Harry questioned.
Leila rolled her eyes at her brother before she walked back over to the portrait hole. She kindly tried to just smile and nod at the people who were begging for her attention as she walked through the crowd. When she finally maneuvered to stand before the portrait hole, Leila stood there with her arms folded across her chest. She looked up into the hole where Draco stood leaning against the wall. With her hand, Leila motioned for him to come on out, in the darkness, she could barely see him shaking his head no.
"Don't you make me come up there and drag you down here," Leila said sternly.
"I'd like to see you try," Draco scoffed.
Leila looked around at the people crowding around. They seemed more concerned about Neville, Harry, Ron, and Hermione that they hopefully wouldn't notice if she slipped away for a few minutes. She groaned before she climbed up the ladder back into the portrait hole. She found Draco slouched down to the floor with his arms resting on his knees.
"Draco," Leila hissed.
"Leila, I can't," Draco muttered.
"You can't what?" Leila questioned.
"I can't go out there with those people," Draco scoffed.
"And why not?" Leila asked.
"Because those people hate me. They'll never accept me," Draco responded.
"You did just fine with the Weasleys," Leila sighed.
"Yeah, well, the Weasleys are known for being kind," Draco muttered.
"I'll be right there with you. So will Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville. We can't change their initial reaction, but we can show them that you're not the person they think you are," Leila said. "It's okay to be scared."
"I am not scared," Draco argued.
"Could've fooled me," Leila stated.
"I've been nothing but a prat to those people in there," Draco continued.
Leila held out her hand to Draco and grinned.
"Then it's a good thing you're not much of a prat anymore," Leila teased.
Draco looked up and gave Leila a look that read not funny; but he placed his hand in hers and stood up. He shrugged his shoulders up to his ears before he released them and took in a deep breath. Leila pressed a gentle kiss against Draco's cheek before she led him into the light and the edge of the portrait hole. For a moment they stood there looking out onto the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw banners while the excitement continued to surround Harry, Hermione, and Ron; until Seamus Finnigan caught sight of them. The Gryffindor boy's mouth gaped for a moment as he began to point at them.
"What's he doing here?" Seamus shouted.
Instantly, the group became silent for a moment before gasps and whispers erupted through the crowd.
"He shouldn't be here!" Michael Corner added.
"He's one of us," Ron interrupted.
"Got you Imperiused?" Seamus questioned.
"Draco's just as much a target as we are," Hermione said.
"Yeah, but he wasn't the one making our lives miserable for years," Terry Boot said.
"Not to mention he's one of You-Know-Who's loyal followers," Ernie Macmillan stated.
"He's been on the run with us for four months," Leila added.
"Probably on You-Know-Who's bidding," Pavarti Patil scoffed.
"Shut it!" Harry shouted.
But no one listened to Harry's shouts. His voice was lost over all the complaining and shouting about Draco. They group began to move forward until they were blocking the floor for Draco and Leila to get down. Leila looked over to Draco who had paled even more. Harry pushed through the crowd and climbed the ladder that led up to portrait hole. Neville placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. The group suddenly became quiet.
"Listen up you lot," Harry shouted from the ladder.
Neville, Hermione, and Ron pushed through the crowd so that they were standing just below Harry. All eyes were on Harry as he looked up to Draco. Draco glanced back at Harry as Harry nodded at him.
"I trust Draco Malfoy with my life…" Harry began.
Whispers once more began to swirl.
"I'm not finished," Harry shouted. "To say that Draco Malfoy and I hated each other would be an understatement, right Draco?"
Draco nodded his head.
"But then something happened to him, he changed," Harry continued. "That catalyst for the change being my sister; while I can't say that I've been particularly fond of the idea of him being with my sister, I can say that it's been good for him. He's proven himself on multiple occasions these past for months; saving my arse, my sister's, Ron's, Hermione's…He was given the opportunity to turn us in, but he didn't…"
"Where's your proof, Potter?"Anthony Goldstein shouted.
"My proof? He's standing right here, what more do you need?" Harry questioned.
"Something that gives us a reason to not chase him out of here and let the Carrows deal with him," Ernie Macmillan shouted.
Leila looked to Draco and sighed. She wrapped her hand around Draco's left arm.
"He does have proof," Leila shouted.
"Does he? And what is it?" Seamus questioned.
"Bellatrix Lestrange, his own aunt tortured him," Leila responded.
"Well, let's have it then," Seamus said.
Draco clenched his left fist as Leila looked to him.
"Show them," Leila whispered.
"No," Draco said shaking his head.
"Let them see that you can be vulnerable just like them," Leila said. "I hate to say this, but after everything you've done to them, you need to earn their trust."
Draco brought his right hand to the bridge of his nose and pinched it. He muttered to himself before he slowly began to roll up his left sleeve. His Dark Mark and his Blood-Traitor scar were completely visible on his arm. Another round of gasps rippled through the crowd. Leila couldn't tell what was shocking them more: the Dark Mark or the scar or even a combination of the two.
"They've deemed him a blood traitor, the worst of the worse. We've all been labeled that, why else would you be hiding out in here? We look after each other and who are we to deny one of our own?" Harry said. "Not to mention that I will personally vouch for him."
"As will I," Hermione added.
"Me too," Ron said.
"I'll vouch for him," Leila said.
"Bloody hell, I'll vouch for him while we're at it," Neville chuckled.
"Well well, who would've imagined the day Draco Malfoy was one of us," Seamus grinned.
"So now what?" Ernie Macmillan asked.
"Well, let's not kill them before You-Know-Who gets the chance," Neville commented.
The crowd slowly began to back away as Leila, followed by Draco made their way down the ladder. Draco quickly rolled down his sleeve before he awkwardly shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. Padma Patil, who was standing closest to Draco, took one look at him before she took one step away. Draco sighed as Leila gave him a reassuring glance. Neville walked over to the couple and held out his hand for Draco to shake. Draco looked to him unsure of what to do before Neville pushed his hand forward once more. Draco then pulled his right hand from his pocket and shook Neville's hand. The other's who were surrounding them seemed to take the handshake as the sign they were looking for, because a more relaxed look came over the group. Draco then looked around the room with a slightly confused look on his face.
"Where are we?" Draco asked.
"Room of Requirement, of course!" Neville said.
"Never seen it like this," Draco commented.
"Surpassed itself, hasn't it?" Neville grinned.
"The Carrows can't get in, right?" Draco asked.
"No, proper precautions were taken. No Carrow supporters can get in here, so the fact that you're even in here should mean something to the rest of them," Neville said.
"They'll come around. I mean c'mon, most of them did spend the last seven years hating you," Leila commented.
"How is that supposed to help? It took Harry and Ron months," Draco pointed out.
"They hated you more?" Leila questioned.
"Not helping," Draco muttered.
Harry walked closer to them with a serious look on his face. Ron and Hermione followed after him.
"We need to get going," Harry said.
"What are we going to do, Harry?" Neville asked.
A lull came over the group as they eagerly listened for Harry's response to Neville. But Harry simply looked at Neville, unsure of how to respond.
"What's the plan?" Neville asked.
"Plan?" Harry repeated. "Well, there's something we –Leila, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and I – need to do. Then we'll get out of here."
There was no more excitement in the air. Instead the room looked at Harry in confusion.
"What d'you mean, 'get out of here'?" Neville questioned.
"There's something important that the five of us need to do," Harry stated.
"What is it?' Neville asked.
"I—I can't tell you," Harry said.
"Why?" Seamus questioned.
"Because…" Harry began. "Because Dumbledore left us a job."
"Well, we're in his army," Neville argued. "Dumbledore's Army. We'll do whatever it takes."
"It hasn't exactly been a picnic, mate," Ron said.
"I didn't say we expected it to be. Everyone in this room has proven loyal to Dumbledore – loyal to you lot," Neville stated.
"Except him," Seamus said pointing to Draco.
"But we are now," Neville argued.
"Look…" Harry began again.
"Harry, if you don't tell them, I will," Leila blurted out.
Harry looked at his sister incredulously. What was she thinking? Was she out of her bloody mind but the group was no longer focused on Harry. All attention was now on Leila as she stood looking to the sea of faces focused on her. She took in a deep breath. While she knew Harry was concerned for the others safety, she figured that if they played things coy enough they could appease both sides: compromising.
"Leila," Harry whispered.
"Why can't they help?" Leila whispered back.
"What?" Harry questioned.
"We need the help. Besides, we don't have to tell them it's a you-know-what that we're looking for." Leila furthered.
"Well are you going to tell us or not?" Seamus questioned.
But before either of them could say anything they were interrupted.
"Tell us about what? I do hope it's fascinating," a whimsical voice asked.
Harry and Leila's heads instantly snapped to look behind them. They found the tunnel door opened behind them with Luna and Dean crawling out of it. More cheers erupted from the crowd.
"Luna, what are you doing here?" Hermione questioned.
"That would be me, I told her that if you lot turned up I'd let her know. We all thought that if you came back it would mean a revolution. That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows," Neville answered.
'Of course that's what it mean," Luna smiled. "Is that what you were going to tell us about? How we're going to fight them right out of Hogwarts?"
"I'm afraid you've got the wrong idea…" Harry began.
"So, you're going to leave us in this mess?" Michael Corner questioned.
"No, of course not," Ron said.
"Then let us help! We want to be a part of this!" Neville hissed.
The noise from the portrait flinging open again, caused everyone's attention to shift once more. Leila's heart did a slight flop as she saw Fred walk first through the hole followed quickly by George and Lee Jordan. Fred climbed down the ladder and turned around, grinning at Leila. But his attention quickly shifted to Draco, which dampened his mood slightly as he nodded his head sullenly at the blonde. But the moment between the three was soon over as the cheering Hogwarts students began to welcome Fred.
"Don't worry, I'll be here all night ladies," Fred grinned.
Some of the girls blushed and giggled at Fred's statement. Leila felt a slight pang jealousy. She knew it was wrong. She had Draco, but she wasn't sure that she was ready to see Fred move on; especially not with some of these giggly girls.
"On a more serious not, Aberforth's getting a bit annoyed," Fred continued. "He wants a kip and his bar's turned into a railroad station."
Then it was Harry's turn for a shock as his ex-girlfriend Cho Chang walked through the portrait hole. She smiled at Harry as he numbly walked over to the ladder to help her down safely. Cho took Harry's hand as she reached the last few steps of the ladder.
"I got the message," Cho grinned.
Cho quickly released Harry's hand and reached in her pocket for the fake Galleon. With a slight blush on her face, Cho walked over to stand beside Michael Corner. George walked up to Harry and Leila, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders.
"So, what's the plan?" George asked.
"There isn't one," Harry said.
"Not yet," Leila retorted.
"Just going to make it up as we go along are we?" Fred questioned. "My favorite kind, what about you Georgie?"
"Couldn't agree with you more," George grinned.
Harry flung George's arm from around his shoulder.
"No, this stops now!" Harry shouted.
"Who pissed in his Pixie Puffs?" Fred muttered.
"I mean it! Send them back! This is insane!" Harry continued.
The crowd began to uproar as Leila yanked her brother by his arm closer to her.
"We don't know where it is; but we've got to find it…and fast," Leila whispered.
"Leila, I can't put them in danger too," Harry hissed.
"You won't be. No specifics," Leila continued.
Harry looked to Draco, Hermione, and Ron.
"Leila's right, Harry," Hermione added. "We need them."
"I agree with the girls," Ron said rather sheepishly.
"You don't have to do everything alone, Harry. I mean they are here; might as well use them for something," Draco said.
"You should've stopped after your first sentence," Leila said rolling her eyes at Draco.
"I'm not some sentimental sap," Draco muttered.
"Liar," Leila mouthed at Draco.
Draco rolled his eyes at Leila, as Harry appeared to be pondering over their conversation. In that moment, Leila took a quick glance over to Fred who was smiling as he was talking with Pavarti Patil. She quickly tried to shake away any emotions. She had let go of him, but why was this proving to be so difficult now?
"Fine," Harry whispered. "All right, Leila, go on."
"What?" Leila asked as she whipped her head back around.
"I said, 'go on,'" Harry said.
"Me?" Leila questioned. "Are you sure?"
"Unless you don't want to help…" Harry began.
"I didn't say that," Leila quickly interrupted.
Harry then nodded his head toward the crowd. Once again, Leila's breathing began to quicken; but she climbed the ladder so that her height wouldn't prove to be a factor in the group not listening to her. Neville noticed Leila standing on the ladder. The two made eye contact and Leila nodded at him. He nodded back in response before he put two fingers back in his mouth and whistled loudly. After a moment of confusion, all eyes were once again on Leila.
"There's something we need to find," Leila began. "Something hidden in the castle."
"Something that may help us defeat You-Know-Who," Hermione added.
"All right; what is it?" Neville asked.
"We don't know," Leila said.
"Where is it?" Neville continued.
"We don't know that either…" Leila said hesitantly. "I realize that's not much to go on."
"That's nothing to go on," Seamus quipped.
"Erm- well…" Leila began.
Leila suddenly froze. Now what? She and Seamus weren't exactly what you would call friends even before all of this. But then what Draco told Harry echoed through her mind. You don't have to do everything alone. Leila then looked to her brother and mouthed the word: help. Harry smiled slightly before he nodded his head.
"We think it has something to do with Ravenclaw," Harry continued. "Um, it'll be small, easily concealed."
"Any ideas?" Leila asked.
All eyes were focused on the Ravenclaws in the room: Padma Patil, Michael Corner, Terry Boot, and Cho Chang; but no one looked to the Ravenclaw who had a whimsical smile spreading across her face. Luna simply smiled from the armchair she was perched on.
"Well, there's her lost diadem…" Luna began.
"Oh bloody hell; here we go," Ron groaned.
"I just hope whatever she's talking about can't possibly get us killed," Draco muttered.
"I don't think the apple falls far from the tree on that one," Ron whispered.
"So in other words, our death is probably imminent?" Draco questioned.
"More than likely," Ron commented.
"Knock it off, both of you," Hermione hissed.
Besides, Draco and Ron's side conversation, no one else muttered a word.
"Lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Hasn't anyone heard of it? It's quite famous and Harry I told you all about it. Remember Daddy's trying to duplicate it…" Luna began.
"Yeah, but it's called the lost diadem," Michael Corner said rolling his eyes. "The lost diadem is lost. That's sort of the point, Luna."
"When was it lost?" Harry questioned.
"Centuries ago, they say," Cho answered. "There isn't a person alive today who's seen it. Professor Flitwick says the diadem vanished with Ravenclaw herself. People have looked for it, but nobody's ever found a trace of it, have they?"
The other Ravenclaws shook their heads.
"Excuse me, can someone tell me what a bloody diadem is?" Ron questioned.
"If you weren't going to ask, I was," Draco commented.
"It's a sort of crown, like a tiara," Cho explained.
"How the hell would I know anything about those?" Draco muttered.
"But this one of Ravenclaw's was supposed to have special magical properties to enhance the wisdom of the wearer," Terry Boot offered.
"Yes, Daddy's Wrackspurt siphons…" Luna began.
"And none of you have ever seen anything that looks like it? Harry interrupted.
But before Harry could get an answer, the door to the Room of Requirement from the corridor in Hogwarts opened and closed. A path cleared to reveal Ginny Weasley standing in the room in a purple jumper with a look of shock on her face. Obviously, she hadn't expected to be seeing them.
"Harry," Ginny said breathlessly.
Ron awkwardly waved from behind; but it was Harry who responded. The two only seemed to have eyes for each other.
"Hi there," Harry responded.
Harry and Ginny continued to look at each other; but Ron scoffed and shook his head.
"Six months she hasn't seen me and it's like I'm Frankie First-Year," Ron began. "I'm her own brother."
"She's got lots of those though," Seamus grinned. "There's only one Harry."
"Shut up, Seamus," Ron hissed.
"Told him he had a girlfriend," Draco chuckled.
"That was second year you prat," Leila said rolling her eyes.
"Call 'em as I see 'em," Draco grinned. "Them, us…"
"Now you can shut up," Leila said through gritted teeth.
Neville shook his head before he interrupted the chaos beginning to form in the Room of Requirement. He noticed Ginny standing there breathing heavily. Ginny was supposed to be their ears inside Hogwarts tonight and she knew only to come back early from her shift in cases of emergencies.
"What is it, Ginny?" Neville questioned.
"Snape knows. He knows that Harry was spotted in Hogsmeade," Ginny stated.
All eyes turned on Harry, Leila, Draco, Hermione, and Ron.
"And things keep getting better," Draco muttered.
"We need to come up with a plan," Hermione said.
"Because those always work so well," Ron said sarcastically.
Suddenly the portrait hole door swung open again.
"Are you sure this is right, Arthur?" a female voice called in the dark.
"Zees, doesn't look right," another female voice echoed.
"I don't know, Molly," Arthur called. "Kingsley, is this the right place?"
Into the light appeared Kingsley who nodded before he called back to Arthur. Kingsley didn't even use the ladder, he simply jumped down from the portrait hole. Following Kingsley was: Remus Lupin, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasely, Fleur Weasley, and Bill Weasley. Arthur made sure to help Molly down who instantly ran to Ron and wrapped her arms around him, kissing his cheek.
"Mum, this is embarrassing," Ron groaned.
"I haven't seen you in months, Ronald Weasley," Mrs. Weasley reprimanded.
"But you see me now," Ron said cheekily.
Mrs. Weasley took a step back from Ron and gave him a pointed look before she patted his cheeks with her hands and pressed one more kiss against her son's cheek. Ron was bright red after this experience; but he quickly escaped over to his brother Bill. Mrs. Weasley greeted Hermione and Harry before she walked over to Leila. Leila looked at the woman she considered her second mother hesitantly. Did Mrs. Weasley hate her after everything that had happened, especially between her, Fred, and Draco? But any doubts were quickly silenced as Mrs. Weasley enveloped her in one of her usual bone-crushing hugs.
"Oh my girl," Mrs. Weasley sniffled. "I was so worried about you."
"You were?" Leila asked timidly.
"Of course," Mrs. Weasley continued. "And look at you, skin and bones; again. When this thing is finished, the first thing I'm doing is feeding you; all of you."
Mrs. Weasley placed a gentle kiss on Leila's forehead as she held onto the small girl for a few moments longer. As Mrs. Weasley held onto Leila, Draco tried to walk away from the awkwardness; but before he could get far, Mrs. Weasley let go of Leila and quickly wrapped Draco up in one of her hugs. Draco hadn't been prepared to receive a hug from her, so he stood there awkwardly with Mrs. Weasley hugging him.
"Draco," Mrs. Weasley said softly. "You brave boy."
"What are you talking about?" Draco asked.
"Fred's told us about what you did. What you've done for my family. I don't know how I can ever thank you," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Honestly, I didn't do much," Draco muttered.
"You're a good boy. A little confused at first, but you just needed a push in the right direction," Mrs. Weasley said.
"Mum, don't suffocate the poor bloke," Fred said walking up to Mrs. Weasley.
Mrs. Weasley gently patted Draco on the cheek before she released him. Draco took a step closer to Leila who only walked away toward her brother. Leila knew that this was it and they had things to accomplish before things turned ugly.
Author's Note: Let me just say oh boy, the fact that this is like really the end is staring to kick in. Kinda scary/ kinda exciting. Just as another reminder, I do have a twitter where I have been posting spoilers for this story. Cpjjgj at cpjjgj23. Anyway, thanks everyone for following/supporting my story. It may not be the biggest story, but I can see that it's someone's favorite. (To paraphrase Mark Schwahn) I really appreciate all the kind PMs and reviews to what you like about Leila. As an author, it makes me feel great knowing that what I write is coming across as I wanted it to. So thanks!
Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape: I'm glad you can read my sarcasm. There are some people who really can't tell that I'm not serious. Sadly, people think I'm a serious person, but really I'm only serious when I have to be. Haha.
TheEvilPinkCupcake: It was a question out of curiosity? Lol. I'm so glad that you loved everything about the story. And as you most likely read in the author's note, there will be a sequel AND a prequel. Both of which have been started. Hope you're excited for them.
AbominableSnowman23: I'm so glad that you see in Dreila, what I wanted people to see in them. Yes, Theo, he will have an interesting role I upcoming chapters.
Marlene: Nah, you don't come off bossy. Just excited to read another chapter (and then in my own mind I start to freak out about if it's going to be a worthwhile chapter or not. Haha) I'm glad that you can picture Leila, I really tried to make her real as possible. She's kinda based off, me, but I suppose many writers do that with their OCs. While this story may end, I've already started writing what's next. :D As for the Patronus, we'll just have to see what's going up with Draco. He will have a chance to see if he can make one coming up.
xX Mizz Alec VoluritXx: Thanks for the review! You should look back to chapter 26, I think, if you still don't remember the flashbacks. While I won't give anymore spoilers about who is going to die, I can tell you that Theo is going to play a bit bigger role in the upcoming chapters. So, hopefully you'll enjoy it since you're such a Theo fan.
Dream lighting: Thanks for the review! It is a bit sad that it's almost over, but don't worry; Leila will still be written even after this specific story is done. So here's another chapter, and I hope you continued to enjoy it!
LeilaxDraco Fan: I'm really happy that what I did with Draco and Leila translated from my mind to the computer screen. You flatter me, comparing me to JK Rowling. She's far better than I am, but thanks for the compliment! I never would've guessed that English isn't your first language! So, I'm happy to help your vocabulary. :D Leila's next journey has already been started on my computer! As for the ferret, I had to do that! Haha. Even though I haven't written the earlier years yet, I kind of wanted a bit of foreshadowing for when I do get around to them. Hogwarts didn't exactly react kindly to Draco, at least not those in the RoR; but how will the rest of Hogwarts act still remains. There is probably at most another ten chapters left to this story; but it all depends if I decide to put in more breaks or not. So thanks for the heartfelt and kind reviews! :D
Nadi: Aw, thanks for not feeling you have to take a red pen to it. I get the gist of writing and grammar. The only thing that throws me off really is commas and semi-colons; but that's what I have a beta reader for, right? Haha. I really tried hard to make the characters true to who they are in the book and yet realistically different, like Draco. I'm sorry you lost your inspiration to write…if you even do start writing again and you'd like some help, here's the personal invitation.
Hollis Annalise: I'm glad you're excited! I'm glad that you liked the Patronus! In my backwards thinking, I wanted something that would foreshadow Leila/Draco even before they were with each other…even though I haven't written it yet. Haha. I'll try and stay strong; but I must confess, I'm excited for what's coming next.
xxxRena: I'm glad that you love it! I kinda always figured they were perfect for each other, even though there are times when they probably didn't want to admit it. They really have a true love, but I think even that is probably a scary thing to admit. They're only human after all.
HermioneandMarcus: Thanks! Here's another chapter!
Luli Cullen! Thanks for the review!
Nikki-W94: Thanks, but don't be sad. There will still be more Leila to come even after this story is done. They all would risk their lives for each other, something which took time to happen with Draco in the mix; but they're finally to that point, but will it stay that way?
Anna: If you'd like to make a banner, that would be cool because I guess I can't visually figure it out. So, there's a request for an attempt? Lol.
The Wilde Rose: Final battle is soon *breathing quickens* We'll see what I can do with fillers. I'm sure there will be filler moments, but whole chapters…oh boy! Lol. As of now, the next story picks up not too long after this one will end. (well, besides the epilogue) Also, I've started a fourth year story too…so, plenty of Leila to keep you somewhat satisfied. We'll have to see if I can get to anything else. And don't worry about being a cpjjgj hog, it makes me feel wanted :P I also loved the ferret thing. In my backwards mind, it was foreshadowing Draco/Leila even though I haven't written that yet…if that even makes sense. I think there were plenty of twists this chapter. So, thanks for keeping awesome!
Guest: I have written parts of the epilogue already…so I know where it's going…haha.
XxShadowhunterxX: Thanks for the reviews to the last 2 chapters! You really rock! Thanks for comparing me to Jo. So flattering, even though my writing nowhere compares to hers. I'm not going to give anymore hints to who dies, but there is more than just the canon. As for the ferret, yes! I'm glad so many people have caught that tiny detail. In a way (even though I haven't written it yet) it was foreshadowing Draco/Leila. As for Theo, well, expect to see his role change in upcoming chapters.
Maeve Epans: I'm glad that you're still here and still reading. No, of course Draco didn't get the ferret reference; but then again, he probably would like to forget his own ferret incident. I'm glad they seem like a realistic couple. That's exactly what I was going for. Thanks for the review!
Amber Rose Black: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm not spoiling anymore of the deaths! Lol. Just know that they will happen. Thanks for the review!
RHatch89: I'm glad that you like this story! Hope you read the one before it!