"Someday somebody's gonna make you wanna turn around and say goodbye. 'Til then baby are you gonna let them hold you down and make you cry?"
-Wilson Phillips (Hold On)
"Hello, Dobby," I said politely, my excitement at seeing the elf showing all over my face.
"Oh, Miss Luna," he squeaked. "Dobby has been missing your frequent visits to the kitchens."
"I've been missing them, too," I replied honestly.
"Dobby," Harry interrupted quickly, "you can Disapparate out of this cellar?"
"Of course, sir, I'm an elf," Dobby answered with a shrug.
"Brilliant. And you can take humans with you?"
Dobby nodded. "Yes, Harry Potter, I can."
"Great, so what I want you to do is to grab Luna, Dean, and Mr. Ollivander and bring them to—to-,"
"Harry, we want to help you," I said.
"Yeah, we can't leave you here," Dean chimed in.
"No," Harry said, "you have to go. You have to bring Ollivander to safety and help him. Dobby, I want you to bring them to—er…"
"Bill and Fleur's," Ron chimed in. "Shell Cottage on the outskirts of Tinworth."
Dobby nodded again. He came to stand between me and Dean. I reluctantly turned and headed for Mr. Ollivander, reaching for his arm. I wanted to help the man, but I also wanted to help Harry. I couldn't have it both ways, though. "Mr. Ollivander, come on, you have to stand up." I grabbed both of his arms and pulled him to his feet. Supporting most of his weight, I slowly made my way to stand beside Dobby. "Whenever you're ready, sir," I said with a smile,
"'Sir'?" Dobby squeaked, smiling at me. "I always knew I liked you very much, Miss Luna."
"Okay, so Dobby," Harry said, "bring them to Shell Cottage and then come right back."
"Harry," I began, but he cut me off.
"We just need to get Hermione," Harry said. "We'll basically be right behind you, now go. We'll see you at Bill and Fleur's."
I looked at Dean, who gave me a shrug so small, I barely noticed it. I looked down at Dobby's outstretched hand before taking it. Dean did the same and at the moment he did, Dobby Apparated us away. The last thing I heard was another scream from Hermione and the last things I saw were Harry and Ron's blurry figures as I left three of my closest friends alone in Malfoy Manor.
"So, tell me again, what exactly did your grandmother do?" Seamus asked me as we headed quickly back to Gryffindor tower. Seamus had come early that morning and rescued me from the dungeons, a letter from my Gran clutched in his fist. Apparently, the owl that had delivered it had woken Seamus up and when he saw my empty bed, he assumed the worst.
"She said that she hit the Death Eater repeatedly with her bag, dropped Bludgers and hot wax on his face, put a body bind curse on him, and then stepped on him on her way out," I grinned, skimming my Gran's letter once more. On the way back to the tower, I had simultaneously read the letter and given Seamus a rundown of what had happened the night before filling him in on what my Gran's letter said.
"That's brilliant, Neville!" Seamus laughed.
"She's on the run, now," I said, scanning the end of the letter. I broke into a grin. "But she says that she's proud of me, that I really am my parents' son and to keep up the good work."
"That's great, Neville," Seamus said earnestly as we entered the common room. Sun was just starting to stream through the windows and I stood at one, thinking.
"What's wrong?" Seamus asked.
"Since they didn't get Gran, there's no way for them to make me behave," I whispered. The realization had just dawned on me. "What do you think they'll do?" I asked.
"They've run out of options," Seamus said. "They can't do anything else."
"They aren't going to give up just like that," I answered, shaking my head.
"They aren't going to kill you," Seamus said, trying to sound confident, but it came out sounding half like a question.
"They might," I answered, knowing that it was still an option. "Either that or they'll send me to Azkaban. Those are the only two ways they can make sure I don't cause any more trouble."
"Neville, that's crazy," Seamus said.
"Yeah, well, they're crazy," I said. "I'm not going to take any chances. I've got to go."
"Go where?"
"I've got to disappear."
"Disappear where, Neville?" Seamus asked. "You're going to go on the run? How are you going to lead Dumbledore's Army if you're on the run?"
I blinked at him. "I'm not much of a leader," I said.
"Are you kidding?" Seamus asked. "You, Ginny and Luna reforming the D.A. has been the best thing that's happened all year. It's what's kept us all sane. We could have done without the torturing of course, but you've done such a good job. If you leave, there will be no leaders left. The D.A. will fall apart."
"You could always lead it…" I suggested feebly. I said it just for the sake of arguing. The truth was that I loved running and being a part of the D.A. too much to leave it.
"Me?" Seamus snorted. "The D.A. should be run by the people it meant the most to. That's you, Luna and Ginny."
"Well, I can't stay here, or else the Carrows will come after me. I need to find a place to hide, at least, and I need to do it today. Soon, the Carrows will see that I found a way out of the dungeons."
"Is there anywhere in Hogsmeade that you can hide?" Seamus asked.
"No, Death Eaters are always on patrol," I answered, shaking my head. "And I can't go back to my Gran's house. They'll look for me there when they find out I'm gone."
There was a moment of complete silence as the two of us thought. "Oh, before I forget," Seamus said suddenly. "It's on somewhat of an unrelated note, but I forgot to tell you yesterday. Remember when you said you wanted to do some underground work for the D.A. and you wanted us to let you know if we came up with any ideas?"
"Yeah," I replied, somewhat impatiently. "Why, you have one?"
"Why not organize meetings in the same room as before? That secret one with the door that appears on the wall, you know? It worked well last time. The only reason Umbridge ever found us was because of that tattletale Marietta."
I blinked at him a few times. "Seamus, you're a genius!"
"What?" he asked flatly.
"I can hide there! I can hide in the Room of Requirement! It's designed to appear as whatever the user needs when they walk by it! If I walk by and ask for a suitable hiding place, then it'll give me one and I technically won't ever have to leave Hogwarts!"
"But what about the D.A.?" Seamus asked.
"I can run it from there. I'll still be in Hogwarts, like I said. Better yet, why don't we get everyone else to hide out there, too? We can use it like you said, for meetings and to do all our underground stuff, but I can hide in there as well."
"And, what, we're all going to drop out of school?" Seamus asked. "I mean, I hate it here now, but I still want to finish school. We're so close to being done."
"Whoever wants to can still go to classes, but instead of going to their dormitories afterwards, they'll come back to the Room of Requirement," I shrugged. "Although, personally, I don't see why they'd want to go to classes. We're hardly learning anything."
"True," Seamus said. "Classes aren't what's really important right now anyway." He looked up at me with a grin. "There are bigger things to worry about…like the D.A."
I smiled back. "So, how about I head there now and get the room set up and see what it decides to give us, and you can send messages to the rest of the D.A. and tell them what we're doing. Get everyone to come to the Room of Requirement straight away."
"Got it," Seamus said. As he reached into his pocket for his coin, I headed for the portrait hole. It swung open and I froze. The Carrows were standing just outside, clearly having been about to give the password.
"Ah, Longbottom," Amycus smirked, "just who we wanted to see."
I glanced back at Seamus, who was frozen in place with his mouth hanging open and his coin in his hands. I turned back to the Carrows. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm busy trying to bring people like you down, so goodbye."
Amycus lunged at me, but I darted away from him. Alecto grabbed my arm, but I poked her in the eye with my wand, which I thankfully and somewhat miraculously still had. She let go of my arm and I took off. I smiled as I ran down the hallway, Seamus's cheers of encouragement and the Carrow's shouts of rage echoing in my ears. After a few moments, I heard footsteps behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, my smile slipped off my face. The Carrows were chasing after me and quickly closing in on me. I hadn't prepared for this.
Now I was beginning to panic, but I kept running. The Carrows were shooting spells at me and I was dodging them the best I could. One grazed my cheek and I felt a sting before feeling the slow dripping of blood. One more injury to add to my collection.
"Crucio!"
I yelped and fell to the ground as the spell hit me. It only lasted for that split second, though. I don't think whichever Carrow had used it expected it to hit me. I jumped to my feet and continued to run, trying to think clearly. I couldn't go to the Room of Requirement. The Carrows would catch up to me in the time that I would take to walk past the wall three times. Besides, in the slim chance that I did manage to get inside, they'd know where I was. I could always hide behind a tapestry or a suit of armor, or even a secret passageway. If only I knew them as well as the Weasley twins or Filch, though. I just barely knew a few of them before, but now that I was under pressure, I couldn't think of a single one.
One thing that was in my favor was that I was beginning to wear the Carrows out. They were losing ground quickly now. I rounded a corner and desperately looked for a place to hide, eventually taking cover in an empty classroom to my right. I didn't know if the Carrows would check the room, so I again searched for a place to hide. In the end, I crawled under the teacher's desk, which just so happened to be the length of my body. I positioned myself flat underneath the underside of the desk, using my hands and feet to keep me in place. After that, I waited and prayed my limbs wouldn't slip and cause me to land flat on my face. I did not need another broken nose.
Just as I had suspected, the Carrows threw open the door and scanned the room. "I don't think he's in here," Alecto said.
"He could be under a desk," Amycus insisted.
"Do you see him under a desk?" Alecto asked impatiently. "He's not in here, now let's go. The longer we wait, the farther away he'll run from us."
I heard the door shut and I breathed a sigh of relief. I waited another minute before gently lowering myself from the underside of the desk and crawling out from under it. I tiptoed to the door and peeked outside. The hallway was empty. It was then that I noticed that my coin was pulsating heat, which was what it did when there was a waiting, unread message. Luna's was doing the same. Seamus must have sent out a universal message to everyone. I checked the messages on both coins before nodding in satisfaction and leaving the classroom.
The Room of Requirement was one floor up and two hallways down. I darted through the empty hallways as quickly and as silently as possible. When I reached the empty stretch of wall, I checked over my shoulder before pacing in front of it three times. I need a place to hide where the Carrows can't get in. I need a place to hide where the Carrows can't get in. I need a place to hide where the Carrows can't get in, I chanted in my head.
After the third time I walked by, the door to the Room of Requirement immediately began to form on the wall. I smiled. In my fifth year, the Room of Requirement felt like a home inside of a home; a home when Hogwarts didn't always feel like home anymore. It was the same thing, now, but this time it really was going to serve as a home, because I was going to be living there.
Once the door had completely formed, I opened it and stepped inside, a grin forming on my face. It was a small room, with Gryffindor decorations, a hammock, and even a small bathroom. It was perfect. Well, for now at least.
The door closed behind me and I went to sit on the hammock, gently swinging back and forth. Seamus and the others would be getting here soon and I had to have something to tell them, so I rested my head in my hands and squeezed my eyes shut as I started to think.
With a pop, Dobby, Dean, Mr. Ollivander and I appeared at Shell Cottage. I took a deep breath as I tried to regain my balance. I hadn't Apparated since last summer when I had practiced with Ginny. It had been nearly a year and I was back to being unaccustomed to the feeling. Besides, I still had a very weak Ollivander leaning against me. "Are you all right?" I asked him.
Mr. Ollivander feebly nodded his head. It didn't look like he was doing that great. He really needed a lot of rest, which thankfully, he could now get.
"Dobby must go back to get Harry Potter!" the elf squeaked. "You three are safe now."
"Thank you, Dobby," I told the elf. "You saved our lives."
"It was my pleasure, Miss Luna," the elf said before Disapparating.
I bit my lip. I wanted to wait outside for Harry, but I had to get Ollivander inside. "Dean," I said, "would you mind helping Ollivander inside? I want to wait here until Harry gets back."
"Luna, you can't stay out here," Dean said. "It's cold and you need to rest."
"I've been resting for months," I answered.
"In a cellar," Dean argued. "Come inside."
I shook my head. "I want to wait here."
Dean didn't answer right away, but he finally nodded and took Ollivander from me, leading him slowly back towards the cottage. I watched them go for a few seconds before turning to face the ocean and sitting down in the sand. I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as I waited. It started to drizzle, but I still didn't move. I loved watching the ocean, even though I hardly got to go anywhere near one except on the occasion that one of my trips with dad brought us to one.
"Luna," said a voice from behind me. I looked over my shoulder. Dean was back.
"Hello, Dean," I said.
"You should really get inside. I don't want you to get sick."
I shrugged. "I trust Bill and Fleur will be able to make me better in no time if I do get sick."
Dean sat down next to me. "Here, at least take my jacket." He shrugged it off and gave it to me. I took it and wrapped it around my shoulders. It was cold. The cellar had been cold as well, but at least we had blankets there. They were thin, but at least they were available.
"Is Ollivander resting?" I asked.
Dean nodded. "Bill brought him up to one of the guest rooms. They're going to help him bathe and everything."
"Oh, good," I answered.
"Are you sure you don't want to-?"
"I'm sure, but thank you," I said.
Dean nodded. He then sighed, shifted to the left and pulled something out of his right pocket. "This thing has been buzzing for the past half an hour or so."
I looked up to see him holding his Dumbledore's Army coin. "There's a message on it?" I asked curiously, sliding over to look at it. "What does it say?"
"It's from Seamus," Dean answered, his brow furrowing. "It says the D.A. is going to take refuge in the Room of Requirement from now on. It was a message for everyone to meet there." Dean looked up at me. "Seamus must have sent out a message to everyone even though not everyone's there. Did you get one?"
I shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I left my coin in my trunk before I was taken off the train." I paused. "Dean, may I borrow your coin for a minute? I'd like to send a message to Neville and let him know I'm okay."
"Sure," Dean answered, passing the coin to me. I took it gratefully and typed out a message.
Neville, it's Luna. I'm with Dean and I'm borrowing his coin. We're both alive and we're both safe. I'm not sure if I can tell you where I am, but it's very lovely. It's better than where I was staying before. I'll fill you in when I see you. I miss you so much. Love, Luna.
As I was handing Dean his coin back, there was a cracking sound. My head snapped up. Dobby was back with Harry, Hermione, Ron and Griphook. Ron was holding Hermione, who looked barely conscious. Griphook looked a little dazed, but otherwise okay. Finally, my eyes fell on Harry, kneeling in the sand and holding Dobby who had just collapsed into his arms. My breath caught in my throat. The poor little elf who saved our lives and had always been so kind to me had a knife sticking out of his chest.