Chapter 5 Families, Students and Teachers
Thanks to darrelldeam and alix33 for looking this over. All mistakes are my own.
Thanks for all of your supportive reviews. Here's a long chapter for you.
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"Dobby," Harry called his little friend.
"What can Dobby be doing for Harry Potter?" Dobby said when he popped in.
"Go and tell Mr. Weasley we're ready for him, please," the dark-haired teen ordered gently as he once again opened the portal.
"Dobby can do." And he popped away, returning minutes later.
Arthur, Molly, Muriel, Charlie and the twins came through, carrying bags. Molly immediately saw all the sad faces and asked, "What happened?" she fretted, dropping her bag at her feet.
"The first two raids went off well," Remus explained from the chair he sat in, running a hand through his hair and holding his shoulder as if hurt. "But that last one was bad. Molly, can you go and help the house elves. There are many wounded people here."
"Oh dear, I'll go and see what I can do," Mrs. Weasley said as she grabbed up her bag and scurried out of the room, dragging the twins and Muriel with her.
"So what now?" Harry asked as he rubbed his achy arm.
"Now we tend the wounded and try and get some sleep," Kingsley said, running a hand down his face. They lost ten of the people they were supposed to be rescuing in that last camp and he wasn't feeling up to arguing with a teenage boy. "Plus, we have to do something about that," he added, waving to the body on the floor.
"Right. I'll just go and see if I can help Mrs. Weasley," Harry said when he saw all the grim faces. So he took himself out of the room and wandered the halls on the upper floors. They were bustling with activity as the Weasleys ran from room to room to do what needed to be done. Harry didn't see Hermione, so she must either be asleep, which he doubted, or still in the library.
The dark-haired teen would poke his head into a room and ask whoever was there if they needed assistance. Molly asked for more linen, which sent him on a hunt for a closet. When he found it, he gathered as many as he could carry and started distributing them to the ones healing the wounded.
There was one Healer among the refugees and she went from room to room, barking orders and handing out potions and balms that the elves and Hermione had provided her. This went on for most of the night and everyone they could heal, was. The ones they couldn't help were made comfortable.
It was three in the morning when Harry stumbled into the nearest vacant room and fell to the bed still clothed, though he did put his glasses on the bedside table. He was out before his head hit the pillow.
Early the next morning, after a hearty breakfast cooked by the house elves and some of the refugees, the rescue team, Harry and Dobby once more convened in the ballroom. They were sitting around the table going over plans.
"So how are we going to do this?" Harry asked as he tried to get comfortable in his seat. He didn't get much sleep last night, it had been a tiring day, but he was still worried about everyone they hadn't rescued so far. In addition, he felt terrible for the deaths that had happened, but at least this time he wasn't blaming himself. Plus, his arm was aching from keeping the veil open yesterday. He wasn't looking forward to doing it again.
"We're going to send a Patronus to the ones we know. Then they'll open the portal on their end, we'll go through in case there is a fight, and guide the family here. Hopefully they'll know others that need refuge," Arthur explained, rubbing a hand down his weary face. It was going to be another long day, but needs must.
He, Molly and the twins, along with anyone who wasn't injured, had been up most of the night doctoring the wounded. Muriel was complaining about leaving her home and Charlie was at a loss as to what he was supposed to be doing, until Arthur told him the plans for today. The redheaded dad looked to his second oldest son and smiled at his courage. All of his children made him proud.
"What can Dobby be doing?" Dobby asked, bouncing in his elevated seat, ready to take on more action. He knew the Great Harry Potter would save people.
"Do you know any muggle-born families?" Kingsley asked.
"Dobby is knowing some from Hogwarts," the little guy nodded. Being a free elf gave him much more room to socialize and only muggle-born, and some of the half-bloods, would talk to him.
"When it is time, you can go to them and tell them the same message you took to the Weasleys yesterday," the dark-skinned Auror replied, glad for the help. He too looked like he hadn't slept. It had been a bad night; he mourned the people lost yesterday and could only hope today went better.
"Can you pop to where they are?" Kyle asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and sipping the tea that was set out on the table. Just about everyone had a cup in their hands, trying to wake up enough to get this done.
"Dobby can and Dobby will be happy to help," Dobby said with a quick nod.
The group planned for about an hour, trying to decide how they were going to coordinate the rescues. Who they were going to bring first? Who was more important, (and that caused some arguments)? Who would be able to help them get others? It took that hour to hash it out, but they finally settled on a schedule.
The first family brought in was Bill's, mostly because he was a curse breaker. He, Fleur and Ron came stumbling in, carrying what they could. Bill quickly went to his dad and established his need to be in the party. Fleur was taken to Molly by Tippy, so she could offer her wand.
Ron came up to Harry and clapped him on the back. "Harry, there you are, mate," were the first words out of his mouth, like Harry had been the one to run off. "Alright?"
"Like you care," Harry snarled, moving away from the redhead. "You left us, in the middle of a war, you just left, and all because you were hungry. Didn't you think that maybe we were hungry too?" He was more upset about the accusations and that this git had hurt Hermione.
"Don't be like that, Harry. I'm sorry, okay, but you know how I am," the other teen stated. "Besides, I was just as angry at you, but I calmed down." He rubbed the side of his nose in confusion. Harry was supposed to forgive him; he always had in the past.
"Yeah, I know how you are," Harry sneered, not giving an inch.
"Look, I said I'm sorry," Ron tried again.
"Just go find something to eat. I have work to do," the dark-haired teen waved him away. "Oh, and you might want to go and see Hermione, at least she seemed upset that you were gone." He hoped the girl didn't forgive him, but he knew Hermione loved the boy, so it was probably a futile wish.
"Fine, be a prat," Ron said, having given his apology twice. His face turned red and he stomped out the room in search for Hermione or food, Harry couldn't tell.
"You really should forgive him," Mr. Weasley said sadly as he came up to the teen. He hated it when his family fought, and he considered Harry part of that family.
"I'll think about it, but right now I'm just too angry," Harry stated. Then he turned back to the task of keeping the portal open.
The rescuing of the rest of the families when off without incident. They came through the portal alone, in groups or pairs, carrying what they could. Adults, children and some pets, ventured through the portal, many were scared, but most seemed to be in good health. Now, there were more people to tend the wounded and help the elves. Over seventy magicals and fifteen muggles came through. It had been a bit of work guiding the muggles through the repelling ward, but with gentle nudging, they came along. Everyone was full of questions and wonder. Harry directed them to either the elves or the library.
Harry was right, hours later his arm felt like it was going to fall off. He did trade with Tonks a couple of times, but she was busy helping Molly. The rest of the Order was going through the gateway as guards, so they were busy also. The poor house elves were run ragged, but they didn't seem to mind. Ashliegh never showed up in the ballroom and Harry figured he was in the library helping the researchers. Hermione was going through the books like it was exam time.
It was late afternoon and they had gotten everyone they could. Now it was time to rescue the students and teachers. They all gathered once more and Harry had Dobby pop to the RoR to tell McGonagall they were ready and how to open the archway. When the portal opened children and teens flooded through, dragging their trunks behind them or carrying their things in backpacks, one teen even had all of his stuff in a sheet. Harry recognized Ginny, Neville, Lavender, Seamus, Dean, Luna and a few others. He was pretty shocked to see Slytherins among the students.
The students all gathered in the back of the ballroom and talked excitedly among themselves. Some tried to approach Harry to find out where they were, but he told them to hold off until everyone was here. The group he recognized stood by his side, telling him what had been happening at Hogwarts.
Then a large group of house elves started piling in, much to Harry's astonishment. He had no idea how they were here, he thought they were bound to Hogwarts. They were also burdened with boxes or sacks. They looked around the room, eyes wide with wonder, and then they started popping away. Harry didn't know if they were exploring or if they just knew where they were needed.
Finally the adults ran into the room; McGonagall, Flitwick, Pomfrey, Hagrid and a few others that Harry vaguely recognized. "You may close it now, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, peering at the young man she had been so worried about. He looked a bit skinny, but other than that appeared to be healthy.
Harry dropped his arm and started rubbing it to ease the pain. "Is that everyone?" he asked, looking at all his friends and teachers.
"Yes, everyone considered an enemy of He Who Must Not Be Named is here. I had the house elves get them out of their rooms last night. Since the castle is technically under siege, I, as Deputy Headmistress, ordered them to come to safety. Mr. Longbottom figured out how to use the room to get into the dorms, so we didn't need to sneak through the halls," the transfiguration teacher said. She looked and sounded exhausted. "There were some students who could not pass the portal and we stunned them and left them behind," she finished sadly. She hated the fact that people could be turned to the Dark so young.
"I'm glad the wards worked, Professor. The last thing we need is enemies here. And good on you, Neville," Harry praised, clapping his friend on the back and making the boy in question blush lightly.
"It was nothing," the sandy-haired boy waved it away. There was a new air about him that stood out, like he was a leader of some sort. Harry was glad his friend had come into his own.
"It was not 'nothing', Mr. Longbottom," snapped McGonagall, glaring at the seventh year Gryffindor. "If it had not been for you, we would still be fighting Death Eaters in the halls of Hogwarts." Her lips thinned at that comment, and she cursed Snape with every fiber of her being. Those Carrows were heinous creatures, and if Snape had not killed Dumbledore the students would not have been tortured. Blast that man to the deepest bowels of damnation.
"So you guys got out okay? No battles or fighting?" Harry asked, hoping to ward off any arguments.
"We had to stay up the whole night," Neville said, and the smaller children looked fearful at the memory. "They did like Umbridge did and tried to blast the wall, but I knew how to make the room impenetrable. It wasn't hard, like I said it was nothing," he stated firmly.
"Mr. Longbottom," McGonagall started to reprimand him again.
"Right," Harry interrupted, not wanting to hear it. McGonagall glared at him, but he shrugged it off. "This is Halstead; it was built by Merlin for times like these." He raised his hands when the questions started bombarding him. "Ask Ashliegh," he said loudly, and the group quieted, "I'll introduce you later, but he's a ghost that is bound here. You can probably find him in the library. Anyway, here is where we're going to hole up for now. There's plenty to do here. There's wounded to be tended and gardens and livestock to be taken care of, though you better ask the house elves if they need your help first. There is a whole new castle and village to be explored. Those who want to help Hermione research, she's in the library. I'm also going to ask the teachers and the Order to prepare us for battle. Not dueling, but down and dirty fighting. So take the rest of the day to rest, explore, study and do whatever you want, but tomorrow we train," he finished and those that had been in the DA cheered.
The students started to disperse, the teachers all gathered to one side. Daphne Greengrass approached him, though she seemed reluctant. Harry wondered how McGonagall knew to take some of the Slytherins. He knew she had no ill intent or she wouldn't have been able to come through the veil.
"Potter," she greeted with a nod of her head.
"Greengrass," he answered, "I'm surprised to see you here."
"I begged McGonagall to take me and my sister away from the castle weeks ago. Her hands were tied until last night. Things in the dorms were getting dangerous and everyone whose family remained neutral in the last war was being bullied to join the Dark Lord. Those that didn't were cursed. I feared for our lives. I guess the other Slytherins did the same," Daphne explained with her proud chin held high, then her face morphed into dismay. "We need to rescue my family," she said in a pleading voice.
"Do you have a house elf you can call?" he asked, glancing at the empty window.
His friends looking on with concern, even though she and the other Slytherins passed the ward, that didn't mean years of distrust would just fade away. The last few months hardened that suspicion.
"Yes," she nodded, hope filling her eyes.
"Call them here."
"Lipsy."
A small elf popped into the room and immediately attached itself to the Slytherin girl. "Oh, Missy Daffy, Lipsy has been so worried for yous," she wailed.
Most of the teens' jaws dropped with shock, they didn't know that some house elves were actually adored by their families, well not Slytherin families. The Longbottoms treated their elves in an aloof manner, that's how Neville was taught to treat them by his gran.
"Lipsy," Daphne said gently as she disentangled the elf, "I need you to pay attention. This boy here is going to give you some instructions and I want you to follow them," she softly ordered, pointing to Harry.
The elf turned to the teen indicated and perked her ears up.
Harry gave her the same instructions he had given Dobby. She nodded and popped away.
"Neville, can you open the portal please? My arm is killing me," Harry said sheepishly still rubbing his arm.
"Sure, Harry, tell me how," the other teen said, and they walked to the window and soon enough the veil was open. About five minutes later a couple walked regally through, Lipsy trailing behind, and went to their daughters, who were standing near Harry.
"Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass," Harry greeted. "Welcome to Halstead. If you go and talk to Professor McGonagall she can point you to where you need to go." He waved his hand to where the teachers were now talking to the Order.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Come, children, let us see what we can do to help." And with that the Greengrass family moved off.
Harry turned to his friends once more and said, "I'm so glad we got you out. We heard some horror stories about what was happening in Hogwarts. Coupled with what you just told me, I was afraid for you." He eyed them as if looking for wounds.
"It was pretty bad," Ginny said, shuddering at the memory of the Carrows' punishments. Snape was a very harsh headmaster, but she also saw times when he'd stop the penalties, which confused her greatly. She kept it quiet for now. She'd talk to her dad, later.
"Well, you're safe now," the dark-haired teen said, rubbing her arm in comfort.
"Harry," came Luna's wistful voice, "will we be rescuing all our families?"
"Go and talk to Mr. Weasley or Kingsley, looks like they're the ones running the rescues," he answered as he noted the two men take up different sides of the window like they were going to use it, giving the frightened girl a hug. "Neville, your gran is already here," he looked at the taller boy and got a nod in return.
Luna nodded into his shoulder and then moved away. "I'm glad the nargles have left you, now if you could only rid yourself of the wrackspurts," she whispered and then went to see what she could do about bringing her father here.
Now that there were more adults here, Harry didn't need to stay. "Let's go and see if we can find a place to train," he said to the group around him.
Just then a happy Hermione and mulish Ron came into the room. "Oh, Harry, isn't it wonderful? We've gotten so many people away from Tom," she said as she threw herself into his arms, practically bouncing with joy. "I've acquired so much information from the library and everyone you sent had been ever so helpful. We're going to win this war, I just know it." There was pride shining in her eyes, though it was shadowed with sadness that her parents weren't here. However, she knew they were safe in Australia; she'd worry about them when the war was over.
"Yeah, it's great," Harry agreed as he pulled away, giving her a big smile, and then he glared at Ron, who was staring the two friends like they were doing something wrong. "What?" he snapped.
"Oh, honestly, don't tell me you two are still fighting," she said, looking between her two best friends. She was hoping this would not be a repeat of the other day. She didn't want Ron to disappear again.
"We wouldn't be if he weren't such a prat," Ron snarled, cutting a mean look to Harry.
"No, we wouldn't be if you didn't think of your damn stomach all the time," Harry retorted back, leaving off the jealous look for now. He didn't want to upset Hermione, though that seemed a wasted effort, judging by the look on her face.
"Woah, what's going on here?" Neville jumped in, placing himself between the two boys. Ginny, Dean and Seamus looked on confused.
"Why don't you ask Ron? Ask him how he left us because he was hungry. Ask him how much he actually helped with our quest. Ask him why he left us in the middle of a bloody war. Ask him about his jealous accusations, because I'm done talking to him," Harry said as he turned away from the redhead.
"While you're at it, ask Harry how he only cares about himself. How he's always seeking adventure and always goes without a plan, dragging me and Hermione with him. He doesn't care if we get hurt or die," Ron accused. "Ask him how he's trying to steal my girl."
"Ron," Hermione admonished, "that was uncalled for. Everyone knows Harry cares. He saved your dad's and your sister's life. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't care. He doesn't drag us anywhere; we always volunteer to join him. And what do you mean trying to steal your girl? Harry and I are just friends." She looked at Ron's sour face and couldn't understand where these accusations came from.
"You're taking his side—again?" Ron questioned, pointing an accusing finger at Hermione, who flinched as if slapped. "You always take his side. I thought maybe we had something, but you're only thinking about Harry Bloody Potter." And with that he stormed away, leaving a crying Hermione in his wake.
Harry whirled around when the accusations started and saw the tears on Hermione's face. He went to comfort her, but she moved out of the way. "No, no, don't give him ammunition," she said, wrapping her arms around her chest. Ginny hugged her instead and the two girls walked out of the room. Harry just hoped that Ginny could comfort his friend.
"Wow, you two really are fighting, aren't ya?" Seamus asked, speaking for the first time. Dean had wandered off in search of his parents. Seamus knew his were out of the country.
"It's not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last. Come on, let's go and see what Halstead has to offer. I haven't had much of a chance to explore. If Merlin built the place, who knows what it holds," Harry said, shaking way his anger.
The three boys were met by the twins, who were coming down the hall. "Harrykins," George said, coming up to his side. "Sorry we didn't get to talk last night, but we were helping Mum with the injured."
"Yeah, we couldn't do much more than fetch and carry, but I'd like to think we made a difference," Fred added, putting his arm around Harry's shoulder.
"Now that there are more people here, Mum sent us to go and explore, but I think it was more that she wanted us out of her hair," George said as he got a mischievous look in his eyes, and he shared that look with his twin.
"We're going to see if we can find a place to train," Harry told the two, and he started down the hall, after shrugging Fred's arm off.
"Smashing idea," George said, falling into step next to him.
So the five males explored the castle, they decided to leave the upper floors alone for now and went to the first one. Just like Ashliegh said there were many sitting rooms, small libraries and parlors. They decided that these weren't what they were looking for, so the teens took themselves to the ground floor and searched there. Larger sitting rooms and parlors were found, not to mention the ballroom, which was teaming with adults. They did find two large dining rooms and the kitchen, which was bustling with house elves making dinner. They asked for a snack and received some chocolate chip biscuits and milk. After they ate, they took themselves outside.
They found a courtyard in the back, surrounded by a low stone wall. It had some old wooden and cloth dummies set up in a space that looked like a place to train. The dummies were old and rotted, but they figured that with McGonagall here it wouldn't be difficult to conjure up new ones. There was a weapons shed to the right, and the swords, bows and arrows and shields it held were all rotted, rusted or corroded. That was okay, there really wasn't much time for that kind of training. Harry reckoned that the house elves that were here before weren't in charge of the equipment, and Tippy just didn't have the time.
It was getting dark, so they went back into the castle and went to the basement. Down in the dank halls they found three potions labs, and a few storage areas to the right of that floor. To the left, were some dungeons. The cells were small, stone and had no windows. There were iron bars on the front of them, the locks looked new and there were keys in an office down the hall.
"I wonder what they needed dungeons for," Seamus said as he looked around at the row of cells.
"Yeah," Neville said, taking in the cold, dimly lit area, "I'd imagine that with the wards there wasn't any violence."
"We only put up those wards yesterday," Harry explained. "Before that there was only something like muggle-repelling wards, though it worked on magicals too. Ashliegh said only those who needed the fortress could find it. The only place charmed against ill intent was the ballroom."
"Oh," was the collective response.
"Still, these cells don't seem too sturdy, well, I mean for a magical," George observed as he rattled one of the doors.
"Yeah, what's keeping them from just Apparating?" Fred agreed, looking at the bars that were shaking by his brother's hand.
"They are magic nulled," Ashliegh stated as he floated down from the roof.
"Really?" Harry asked excited as plans started forming in his head.
"Yes, they were for criminals. The village was quite populated at one time, and people are prone to get into mischief. In addition, every now and then someone on a quest who wasn't exactly evil, but was not kind would stumble into the village. They were kept here until they could take the test," the ghost explained for the new teens.
"We can use this," Harry whispered to himself, though the others heard him.
"How?" Neville asked, getting his friend's attention.
"What? Oh, I mean we can trap the Death Eaters and see if we can't get them in these cells, since there are a lot of people here who won't kill them," the dark-haired teen explained.
"How would you get them though the wards?" Seamus asked, rubbing the back of his head.
"I haven't thought that far," Harry confessed, "but I'm sure there's a way." He glanced at Ashliegh to see if the ghost would tell him, but the apparition simply gave him a blank look back.
"If you say so, Harry," Neville said and the group set off to explore more of the basement, until Ashliegh spoke.
"I have come to take you to dinner," he stated, as he glided down the hall leading to the stairs.
"Wow, is it really that late?" Seamus asked, looking at his watch. It was just going on eight. "It's later than I thought."
"Yes, the house elves prepared a rather large meal. It will be taken in the dining rooms, for those that can walk," the spirit said, leading them to the dining room set aside for the younger people. Only the teachers would be joining them.
They got there and looked around in awe. It had changed from what they had seen just a short time ago. Now the room was expanded and had two long rectangular tables on each side, with a smaller one in the middle. Benches were there to sit upon, though the smaller table had chairs.
McGonagall stood in the middle and addressed the children. "All of those younger than fourteen will sit on the table to the right. Those older will sit to the far left. We professors will sit at the one in the middle. Enjoy your meal," she stated and then watched the chaos as the teens followed the instructions. Those younger than eleven were eating with their parents.
It was a simple meal of meat, vegetables and potatoes. There was milk, tea or water to drink. Everyone finally found a seat and started to serve themselves.
Harry, Neville, Seamus, Dean (who had finally broke away from his family), the twins, Luna, Hermione and Ginny were sitting at the far end, near the door. Ron was at the other end and it appeared that no one was talking to him. Gossip had spread about how he had deserted Harry, and he was being shunned, but he didn't seem to mind as he shoveled food into his mouth.
"Are you okay, Hermione?" Harry asked from the opposite side of the table.
"No, but I will be. Thank you for asking," she answered quietly as she looked up. Her eyes were puffy from crying and her hair was disarrayed like she had pulled on it.
"What happened?" George whispered to Harry, Fred leaned in to hear.
"Ron is being a prat," was all he said.
"Right, well, we'll be talking to Ronniekins," Fred said, looking down at his younger brother with a glint in his eyes.
"Right you are, brother of mine," George nodded as he dished up some meat.
The subject was dropped from there and everyone started telling about what they found in the fortress. Many had explored the village and were amazed at how well the houses were preserved. A few braver souls walked the wall surrounding the keep. Hermione cheered up as she talked about some of the history she'd read.
The talks went on until dinner was done, there was no dessert that night, and McGonagall once again rose. "Students will be housed on the upper floors, until your families decide where they will be staying. You will be divided by age and you will be sharing rooms. The house elves have taken your things to your assigned room and will guide you to where you will be sleeping. They are out in the hall as we speak. You will treat them kindly, or you will feel my wrath," she added with a very stern look.
The children and teens all got up and went to the hall. The contingent of house elves was standing there holding signs with names on them. Harry, Seamus and Neville were rooming together, according to the sign Dobby held. It looked like Ron and Dean were sharing with a Ravenclaw their age. They went to their room, which only sported three twin sized beds and their trunks, bid each other good night and fell asleep.
Harry's last thought was, Tomorrow we train, or so he thought.