Ana woke up to voices. At first there was only one, but then there were more. Who could possibly be talking? The clock on the wall read two in the morning. Ana focused and listened more. There was nothing distinct she could make out, really. Not until she heard something very faint, but more than clear enough to send her sprinting out of bed: "Dumbledore's Army!"

They were in another dimension of the room of requirement, in the old meeting room. But how to get there… Ana had no time to waste. But there was an inescapable obstacle. The chain on her ankle. Ana sighed and stared at the heavy iron links. Snape had told her the chains weren't jinxed. She remembered reading something about another mute witch sometime in the seventeenth century who mastered the art of not only speechless magic, but also discovered the possibility of wandless magic. Although it had never been achieved, the witch, whose name now escaped Ana, had nearly succeeded. Perhaps having been mute her whole life would finally hold an advantage…

She grasped the chain in her hands and stood up beside her bed. After letting out a loaded sigh, Ana closed her eyes and formed a strong word in her head: portus. In the back of her mind she was picturing mirrors, old and cracked. Discolored. Stone pillars and lots of books on defensive spells. She was remembering the room…

After a moment the cold metal in her hands flashed with a feeling of warmth. That was it! There was hardly time for a breath before she felt an uncomfortable pulling sensation behind her naval and the room was spinning. Before she knew it she was collapsed on the floor. When Ana opened her eyes there were students standing all around her, very few whom she recognized, and one was shoving his way through.

"What the bloody hell was that?"

A face came into her line of vision. It was Neville Longbottom, of all people. Relieved, Ana allowed a smile to come across her face, noting the slight tremor from the lack of using those muscles for months on end. Finally, something good was going to happen.

Somehow Ana fell asleep and when she was woken again, Neville was the only one there. When he noticed she was awake he gave her a tired smile. "I sent everyone off. We've got to get you out of here. Do you have any idea who's running this school?"

He handed her a pencil and a parchment. Ana took it and wrote in shaking scrawl, 'Yes. It's okay. Snape did what Dumbledore told him. He brought me from the Malfoy mansion. Been trying to figure out how to get me out without Voldemort knowing. I couldn't wait anymore. I heard you. Made chain a

port key.'

Neville read the note and nodded. He scooted back from her a bit and aimed his wand at the chain at her ankle. "Cover your face."

Ana did that and there was a loud bang. There was some dust settling when she looked again, and her ankle was free.

"Someone might have heard that. We should get you out of here."

Ana furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head in confusion. Where would they possibly be going? Neville stood and offered his hands, which Ana took. "When I started hosting meetings for the army I started out by imagining the old room, but with an escape route into Hogsmeade. Actually there are two, but let's take this one. It's smaller and more secure."

Ana didn't have any time to try and relate her confusion. Neville had grabbed her hand and they were racing toward a tapestry in the back of the room. When they reached it he pulled it aside and there was a long dark hall behind it, which they started barreling down. After running for nearly ten minutes, Ana was about to keel over and collapse when they suddenly stopped. It was pitch black and there was no way to know how small a space they were even in. But judging from the closeness of the air it wasn't very much room around them at all.

Neville was scratching at something above them. Is sounded solid, even though at some point the passageway had noted the ground soften and the air take on a scent of earth. There was a knocking sound. Three raps followed by a pause and another three raps in quick succession. After waiting a moment there was a creaking and the space was filled with light. A hand reached down from above where the light originated from and Neville pushed Ana forward. She reached her hand up and grasped the one that was dangling there like the hand of an angel. Once she was holding tight, Ana was pulled up into a room with many chairs and tables, all coated with a thick layer of dust and grime. She looked back down at the hole where she saw Neville's face half lit and half in shadow. He said quickly, "Take care of her, sir. She's been through a lot."

The man let the trap door down with a thud and kicked the corner of a worn carpet over where the opening had been. And Neville was gone. Now Ana looked up to the tall man who had lifted her into this dark room lit by only a few lanterns. And when she did she gasped. She didn't need to know who Neville had handed her off to. The likeness was so striking there was no doubt in her mind.