Ch. 15: Underage alliance

Oz looked at the door doubtfully. Its appearance on the wall made him think a bit too much about the Abyss to want to step through. However, as Harry opened the door, it revealed a cosy looking room with a fire merrily crackling in the fireplace and plush armchairs and sofas around it.

With the corner of his eye, he could see that Elliot and Leo were just as apprehensive of the mysterious room. Alice went and sniffed the door before announcing that it smelled alright, getting weird glances from the Gryffindors.

'We better get in before the next patrol comes,' Fred urged them, stepping into the room himself. Already arriving this far in the middle of the night, avoiding the teacher patrols, was quite a feat. Oz watched as absolutely nothing happened to the Weasley twin, but somehow he wasn't any more enthusiastic about entering into a room that could apparently appear and disappear.

'It's called the Room of Requirement,' Hermione said, probably noticing the hesitation of the exchange students. 'It's a one-of-a-kind place that not many people know of. We can comfortably discuss stuff and nobody can find us in this Room, because it replies only to one person, or group, at the time.'

'And it becomes what they wish?' Leo asked. Hermione nodded. 'And once we're inside, can we modify it?' he asked and got another nod. 'Can everybody modify it or just the person who wished it into existence?'

'As far as we know, once you're inside, it will respond to your wishes,' Hermione said. 'You don't even need to speak them, because the Room guesses your thoughts,' she added and an uncomfortable thought crossed Oz's mind. He exchanged worried glances with the other three, for the moment ignoring Ginny's question if everything was alright.

'Like wands that choose the wizard?' Elliot asked, voicing Oz's fear. 'I'm afraid we need to find another place if you guys want to discuss the moves of the Order with us,' he added, not even waiting for the confirmation of his statement. The twins grumbled in annoyance.

'Why?' Ron asked, looking like he didn't understand what was happening. 'The Room is the best place to discuss because it's comfy and we will surely not get disturbed. We can ask it to become a bedroom if we feel like it and we can ask it to bring us maps and stuff, if we need them. It's the only place like that in the whole castle, so it's not like we have that much of a choice either.'

Oz wondered what exactly Ron was expecting from them if he was talking about maps. Did he think they would plan an ambush on Voldemort? Did he want to stalk the Order on their little missions around London? Surely the Gryffindors couldn't be that eager to go into danger. He decided that their task would be even easier than he had ever expected.

'Well then we're out of luck,' Leo told Ron. 'We are not going in there and nothing can change our minds.'

'I don't understand,' Hermione admitted, looking at the four of them in turns. 'If you don't like this Room, fine: we'll find another place. But can we just get in and discuss that before the teacher patrol comes and discovers us here?' she asked.

'It's not about liking this Room or not. If this Room is anything like wand,' Elliot said and paused. 'It hurts me to touch a wand,' he admitted, forcing on a patient tone. 'Oz cannot even do that much. I don't want to experience how it would feel to be immersed completely in a magical field similar to one that a wand creates.'

Oz has been right not wanting to get into the innocently looking sitting room. He felt vaguely sick at the very thought of wands and he stepped away from the still open door, where Fred standing, looking somewhat confused. Hermione looked at Elliot for a long while and then nodded, saying that in that case they better move fast and find one of the unused classroom.

Harry unfolded his amazing map, which showed everybody in the castle: their positions, movements and real names. Oz supposed that one day Harry would realise that the map didn't say "Raven" or "Hatter" and he could only hope that it would say "Gilbert Nightray" and not "Gilbert Baskerville", but for now this hasn't become an issue. Luckily, the map said "Oz Vessalius" for him, sparing him an awful lot of uncomfortable explanations.

'There's a classroom down the corridor,' Harry said, showing them the map. Fred left the Room and closed the door, prompting it to disappear. 'We can get there quickly and I suppose that nobody will hear us because the teachers skip that corridor on their patrols,' he added, pointing at the small dot, marked as Minerva McGonagall, walking in their general direction.

'Uh, meeting McGonagall is not an option,' Alice muttered, also looking at the map. 'If she looks at me with that ugly expression one more time, I will kick her,' she promised. The twins immediately offered her three galleons if she did, but Hermione scolded them and glanced at the map once more before grabbing Elliot's hand and dragging him away, telling the others to follow.

Oz glanced at Leo and they shared a grin at how Elliot's cheeks coloured red when Hermione grabbed his hand in front of everybody else.

'And he's the one that's been making fun of how Raven managed the girls,' Leo whispered to Oz so quietly that nobody, and above all not Elliot, could hear. Oz snickered, already looking forward to all the possibilities of teasing that this blush opened.

They made it to the classroom without meeting McGonagall, much to the disappointment of the twins, who really wanted to see Alice kick her. Oz wasn't sure if it was their dislike for the teacher or desire to see people other than themselves in trouble. He was glad that Alice didn't get to kick the teacher because they couldn't really afford to generate even more enmity than Raven and Hatter already did.

As soon as the door to the classroom closed behind them, Hermione cast a spell soundproofing the room against accidental and intentional eavesdropping. Afterwards, they found some more or less comfortable seats, sitting down in a rough circle. Alice preferred to sit on the desk, like the twins, while the others pulled up chairs.

'So what do you guys want to know?' Oz asked. Upon the arrival of the students after the Christmas break, he had received a message from Harry, asking if they could meet and talk about the Order. Break had been overjoyed. 'We thought that you would be the best informed, since Hatter said that you were living in the headquarters of the Order,' he added, letting his curiosity speak.

'Yeah, but mom is making sure that we don't get to attend the meetings or anything,' Ron grumbled. 'And how is it that you know so much?' he asked.

'Because Raven and Hatter tell us everything,' Leo replied in a slightly mocking tone. 'Or, they do skip the boring details, but we know of the plans and ideas that the Order has, as well as the timing.'

'This is absolutely unfair,' George announced. 'No offence meant guys, but you come from some place that nobody knows a thing about and then you're let in on the biggest secrets? While we are trusted and tested and we are kept in the dark.'

'Because we're underage,' Hermione reminded him. 'I am impressed that Raven and Hatter tell you guys so much when it's obviously dangerous knowledge.'

'It's not like we're going to use it anyway,' Alice pointed out. 'We have no interest in betraying the Order and the only other thing we could do is to go and fight and we're not stupid enough to charge into danger, are we?' she asked. She probably meant her question to be rhetorical, but from the expressions Harry and the others shared, they might have been considering something rash.

'You are not allowed to use this knowledge that we will share with you to do anything dangerous,' Oz amended. Harry smiled at him brightly and said that he didn't need to worry and that they were not stupid.

'So what is in the Department of Mysteries?' Harry asked, not even pretending to go around the subject. It was exactly like Break had predicted and Oz hated what he was about to do, Break's instructions or not. He sighed.

'Many things, but there is one that Voldemort wants to have,' he said quietly. 'Well, that is what Raven had accidentally overheard Dumbledore saying so it's probably true, but we cannot promise you that,' he added, looking away from Harry and Ron who were practically vibrating with excitement.

'Skip the suspense, kid,' Fred called out in annoyance. 'We have enough of that when we try to eavesdrop on the meetings,' he added, getting nods from George and Ginny. Hermione was the only one who seemed to be having second thoughts but Oz wasn't surprised about that: she was, after all, the smartest of them.

'There's a prophecy that Voldemort would like to hear,' Elliot said, his tone as calm and cold as Oz knew his wouldn't be. 'What it is about, we have no idea although it's fairly obvious that Dumbledore knows. It seems to somehow concern Harry Potter and Voldemort's demise,' he added.

The green eyes, that had the same shade as Oz's, sparkled. There was a mix of emotions in them, ranging from anticipation to worry, and Oz looked at his fingers before he spoke again.

'The Order thinks that he will try to lure you in some way, into the rooms where all the prophecies are kept, so that you pick it up for him,' he said. 'They have been considering sending somebody else to draw Voldemort out and confront him, but they're afraid that he won't take the bait,' he added.

'He probably won't, because he will know that it's not me,' Harry replied, focusing everybody's attention on himself. Hermione hissed his name in warning, but he seemed to ignore her. 'Those prophecies, how do they look like?' he asked, but Oz had no idea, so he just shrugged. 'I can bet that they are small, transparent spheres and that the Ministry keeps them stacked on shelves from the floor to the ceiling.'

'Why would you say something like that?' Ron asked. Oz glanced at Leo, who was watching the exchange with some sort of cold amusement that was reserved for those who knew more than anybody should. Did he know the answer to Ron's question?

'I dreamt about it,' Harry replied. 'I dreamt about it and I dreamt that I wanted it, so it's true that Voldemort must want one of those transparent balls,' he added. Oz didn't like what that implied: was there a connection between Harry and Voldemort? It made him think about Echo and Zwei and it still hurt that he didn't manage to save the little girl. Or worse, it made him think about Alice and the Will of Abyss and that trail of thought led directly to a headache and doubts.

'You know what Voldemort thinks,' Elliot stated, eyes widening when Harry nodded. 'Did you tell your headmaster about it?'

'Ah, he knows,' Harry replied, waving his hand dismissively. 'He's been making me have lessons to close off my mind, but Snape is being a pain. But more importantly,' he paused and looked at Oz intently. 'I need you to tell me everything about the Department of Mysteries. I need to know how to get there and how to find the prophecy.'

'Harry,' Hermione protested, at the same time as Fred demanded if Harry didn't hit his head on something. Oz pursed his lips, amazed at how easily Break's plan worked and trying to hide it behind his worry for the student who had become his friend.

'You cannot go there,' he said. 'Voldemort is only waiting for that.'

'Of course, because if I can find out how to remove him, then he's done for,' Harry argued. 'He wants to know before I know, so that he can protect himself, but if I find it first, then I can-'

'Die there, ambushed by the Deatheaters,' Alice cut him coldly. 'I don't particularly care of course, but aren't you a bit too young to throw your life away?' she asked, matching Harry glare for glare.

'You said it yourself,' Harry said, turning back to Oz. 'You said that Voldemort will try to lure me to the Ministry. And you know what? One day he will succeed because he will, I don't know, kidnap Sirius and tell me that if I don't get the prophecy, he will kill him. And Sirius is the only thing I have left of my family and I am not going to let him die for me, so I will go and then I will be ambushed.'

'But if you go on a day when Voldemort is unprepared,' Fred muttered, trailing off. 'You cannot do it alone,' he added, obviously meaning to help Harry. Much to Oz's surprise, George immediately offered to go as well and so did Ron, Ginny and Hermione, although the latter seemed sceptic. The Gryffindors looked at them in expectation. Elliot looked away from Hermione's hopeful gaze.

'You don't expect us to go as well, do you?' Alice asked bluntly, looking at the students in turn. Ron glared at her.

'You don't have to,' Harry replied with a smile that reminded Oz too much of himself. 'But help us plan this thing,' he asked. Oz was about to open his mouth and protest, but Harry continued. 'You have access to the information and together we can make it safe. Together, we can eliminate Voldemort.'

'Raven can eliminate Voldemort instead,' Oz muttered in a feeble attempt to dissuade Harry from his plan. Elliot glanced at him questioningly, probably wondering what Oz was trying to achieve.

'Let's have a plan B then,' Harry replied, undaunted. 'If they manage to get rid of Voldemort before we put our plan together, then it's for the best and I will be very happy. But if they fail or if Raven cannot do it after all, then at least I will know how I can do it,' he added, looking at Oz hopefully and there was only one thing that Oz could say to that. After all, that was what Break wanted.

'Fine,' he said. 'We'll get you all the information we can, but you need to give us time,' he warned. 'We need to ask Raven and Hatter in such a way that they don't suspect anything and we have to give them time to get information out of the Order as well.'

'We're going to do it safely, so we can wait,' Hermione assured him. 'I'll find everything I can about prophecies in the library also, so that we know if there are any precautions to take.'

Harry smiled at them all.