The Carrows' Calling
Disclaimer: None of this is mine, I am not J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Twenty
"Neville! The taboo!" Ginny shouted, fear in her voice. Neville looked at her as if she was crazy.
"What tab —ooh!" He clamped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide with panic, much like Ginny's. Ginny slowly got up, with Neville, from the sitting position they were in, and she walked over to the two wide windows beside the doors, looking outside of them with fright. She peered outside of them, willing for the room to transfer the view to right in front of the doors.
Outside of the two large windows of the Room of Requirement, stood Professor Carrow and Headmaster Snape. Their wands were drawn, ready for defense or attack, and seemed to be looking around the empty hall. Their mouths were moving and seemed to be in a furious conversation, but Ginny couldn't hear what they were saying.
Frustrated, Ginny snapped her eyes shut and concentrated as hard as she could. All of a sudden, Headmaster Snape and Professor Carrow's voices filled the room, blasting from what seemed to be invisible speakers.
Neville jumped back in shock, nearly falling to the floor.
"Sorry," Ginny said apologetically, looking back at him. He shrugged, chest slightly heaving, and pulled out his wand for what seemed to be reassurance.
"It's fine. Just gave a shock." He muttered, looking to be slightly embarrassed.
Ginny nodded, turning her attention back to the scene outside of the windows. Professor Carrow was hissing at Headmaster Snape, his back turned to him, the words becoming loud and clear in the room.
"Where are they?" He spat, turning around on his heels and finally coming to face Snape. "I am positive it came from here!"
Snape, on the other hand, seemed to be unmoved by the fact that they were looking for someone—he had a careless smirk on his face, and his posture suggested idleness. In fact, he seemed rather amused by Professor Carrow's antics.
"Perhaps in there," Snape said lazily, pointing with his wand at an empty classroom, at the end of the corridor. "You go. I shall search the other end."
Professor Carrow nodded, but with a foreign expression on his face. Upon further inspection, Ginny realised that he seemed slightly ticked off at the fact that Snape was giving orders to him. But Snape is Headmaster. Why would Professor Carrow dislike him? They're on the same side, aren't they?
Ginny couldn't work it out, and decided to just shrug it off. She watched as Professor Carrow parted ways with Snape, both heading opposite. She watched as Professor Carrow stalked of, grumbling under his breath. Ginny's eyes narrowed on Snape after, expecting to see the same sight.
However, before Snape left, he looked both ways frantically down the hallway, as if he was afraid of someone following him. Weird. Then, he left like he normally would; his robes flapping behind him, making him look more and more like an enormous bat with each step. He disappeared around the corner of the corridor and Ginny was intrigued. Snape's behaviour before seemed very peculiar, even more than usual; something was up. Ginny, before she could even think about anything, darted out of the Room of Requirement and followed Snape, heart thumping. She could hear Neville's whispers, gradually getting louder, saying, "Ginny, no! You idiot, what are you doing?" But she wasn't listening. At the moment, all that was on her mind was following Snape, to wherever he was going. She hurriedly placed a Disillusion Charm upon herself, hoping it was enough.
But once she got out of the room and started turning the corner, she felt a hand land on her shoulder. Ginny whipped her head around, her bright red fiery hair slamming into the person's face, wand immediately drawn.
Her shoulders drooped with relief. It was only Neville. Her wand was pointed at his face, poking into his cheek. Ginny immediately lowered her hand, embarrassed for acting so panicked.
"Neville?" She asked incredulously. He growled at her.
"Of course it's me. Who else would it be, going out to chase you like that?" His voice trembled with anger, his hands were clenched into fists. He wouldn't meet Ginny's eyes. She paused, not sure what to say.
"Neville Longbottom, I guess," she said finally, her eyes trained on the floor, focusing on the rough, now-ruined stone floor of the school. Though Ginny didn't notice it, for she was staring at the ground with shame, Neville's eyes softened, and a soft smile had began to grace his face.
"Where were you going? Following Snape? What were you thinking?" Though those were his words, Neville had drawn his wand, seeming to be prepared to cast an Disillusion Charm upon himself. Ginny looked up at him, playing with her fingers, finding that it seemed to have become a habit.
"Yeah, well, he looked strange—even more than normal—and his behaviour was off. He went that way"—Ginny pointed to the corner—"I was wondering what happened," Ginny said, pulling her wand out, too.
"Wanna find out?" Neville said brightly.
He didn't wait for answer and Ginny watched as he left, casting a Disillusion Charm. Soon, Ginny wasn't able to see him. She could still make out a faint outline, but other than that, she couldn't see him. That's a relief.
Ginny followed suit and waved her wand above her head, feeling the slight ripple spread over her body from the spell. She looked down at her hand, glad to see that it had blended in with the grey stones of the floor. Ginny scanned the walls around her for the outline of Neville and found him back right beside her, his wand drawn. She smiled at him, hoping that he could see it, and hurried in the same direction Snape had left in.
Ginny followed the walls, twisting and turning, both of them rushing, until she found Snape, his robes flapping right behind him, making him, again, looking like an overgrown bat. His wand was tightly gripped in his hand and his greasy, stringy hair was flying up in the air from the speed he was pacing by. Ginny walked behind, struggling to keep up, making sure not to make eye contact, although she knew that he couldn't see her.
Snape walked down the halls until they came to the Entrance Hall, where he pushed the doors open. Why is he leaving the school? Ginny, by natural instinct, grasped her wand tighter, hoping that they wouldn't be heading the Forbidden Forest. She followed Snape out of the school, taking in a breath of the crisp, cool winter air. She hoped Snape wouldn't see the fog of her breath.
Turns out, she didn't have to worry about that.
She was just about to walk down the steps of the castle, when a loud, strong note rang into the air. Ginny's eyes widened in shock and panic, and gripped her wand even tighter, ready for a fight. Snape immediately turned to the area of the noise, his robes wrapping around him.
Ginny stared into his eyes, terrified. They were a pitch black, like the night sky above them, but, as Ginny looked closer, she realised something was different. There were small specks of green in those dark, dark, eyes. The emerald freckles made Snape's eyes look, say, more human, as if they were trying to tell someone that Snape wasn't what you thought he was—making you think as though he wasn't just a cold-blooded killer.
Ginny had never noticed anything of the sort about Snape, expect for his grumpy attitude and his favouritism in Slytherin students. What was she even doing?
His voice her cut out of her thoughts.
"Who's there?" He scanned the area around him, his wand leading way. Ginny heard him mutter some type of spell she couldn't recognise. She felt a slight tingle ripple through her body, as though she had been stripped of an outside layer of clothing.
As Ginny grasped her wand nervously, she realised that she could see her hand. She gaped at it in horror. Ginny looked up at Snape, who's face mirrored her's. An expression of slight fear appeared on his face, his eyes widening in shock. Shouldn't he be happy that he caught me?
As soon as it came, the expression disappeared and was replaced with a calm, expressionless face.
"Miss. Weasley, Mr. Longbottom. May I ask you what you are doing, after curfew, outside of the school?" His voice was deadly quiet, eyes blazing, and Ginny thought that she would rather him yell. She looked down at her feet, not able to met Snape's eyes. Neville didn't say anything either, but from where Ginny could see, he was looking the Headmaster dead in the eye, much unlike Ginny.
Perhaps Neville's boggart has changed too. And maybe, it was more than just that. He was braver, kinder, bolder. And, it was only then, did Ginny realise how much they had all changed.
She noticed after, that during her thoughts, still nobody spoke. An awkward silence filled the air, only getting more and more palpable as it stretched on, nobody wanting to speak first. Then, finally, Snape spoke—but, it seemed, not because he was getting uncomfortable—it was like a test, some sort of challenge—and, by the look in Snape's eyes, they had failed.
"Very well," he sighed, "Professor McGonagall's office." Ginny looked up from her feet, and saw that Snape had already waved them away, and turned around, walking down the steps of the school. Ginny stared at Snape's retreating figure, curious as to why they weren't getting detention, when she thought she had saw him cast a Patronus. It flew out of his wand, in the shape of a four legged animal. The wispy figure pranced to the edges of the school and then disappeared from sight around the corner.
She felt angry with herself for not paying more attention, for she was strangely interested in what Snape's Patronus had been, and she swore she saw a whisper of… antlers?
Ginny looked at Neville and realised that he had already began to walk back into the castle. She quickly started jogging and caught up with him.
"Neville?" He didn't look at her, and simply stared in front of him, to his destination. Ginny, slightly frustrated, tried again. "Neville? Are you alright?"
He looked at her, but still didn't reply. Then, suddenly he spoke.
"We got lucky." His voice was bland and emotionless. It was like a robot was speaking.
"How?" Ginny asked, concerned but more curious.
"He could've gave us detention. You've had them plenty of times, haven't you?" Neville growled with a sudden outburst of anger.
Ginny stepped back from him, shocked and slightly scared. Neville's face was contorted in rage, his eyes were dark and seemed to burn with fire. His wand was gripped in his hand, knuckles white, and it was slightly pointed at Ginny but still somehow lowered. She stared him in the eye, trying to make sense of his fury. Neville's eyes had a clear anger to them, but as Ginny looked deeper, she spotted misery, regret, pain. But for who?
"I'm sorry, I didn't," Ginny stuttered. She opened her mouth to say more, when they were interrupted by a very, very familiar voice, calling to them from the other side.
"Mr. Longbottom. Miss. Weasley." Ginny wiped her head around, looking for the direction of which the voice had come from.
Professor McGonagall was standing in front of them, blocking the exit of the hallway, which led to the bottom of the Gryffindor Tower. Ginny could see behind her the tall, spruce door that she had entered many times before. It felt like a lifetime ago. Professor McGonagall was dressed in her familiar custom emerald green robes, and a witch hat propped on her head. Her hair was pulled into its severe, usual tight bun, except Ginny thought that she could see strands of grey among the usual long locks of raven black. Her arms were crossed angrily.
Neville was the first to speak. Just full of surprises these days.
"Professor McGonagall. We were just about to head for your office!" Ginny looked at him with surprise; Neville wasn't usually the first one to speak, and to get straight to the point like that, either.
The professor raised an eyebrow and cocked her head.
"I assume that you were also thinking of talking in the middle of the hallway?" Professor McGonagall said dryly. Neville didn't reply.
"Well, Professor, Headmaster Snape sent us to you," Ginny said suddenly, finding her voice and stepping up for Neville.
"Very well. Come with me," she said shortly, and left around the corner. Ginny turned to Neville, who shrugged, not really sure what to do either. Ginny decided to follow Professor McGonagall around the bend, and she did just that, without waiting for Neville. She was a little miffled at his behaviour.
Ginny caught sight of Professor McGonagall once again and walked right behind her. As they walked, she realised they were not heading for Professor McGonagall's office, but rather for unknown part of the castle, a place Ginny wasn't familiar with. Where are we going?
They rounded a bend once again and the professor halted at the door of what must've been some kind of classroom. She whispered a spell that Ginny couldn't catch (and even if she did, she doubted she would recognise it) and the door swung open. Ginny looked behind her for Neville; she knew that he had followed them, for she heard another pair of footsteps by her side earlier.
And there he was, standing with his wand grasped in his hand. Weird, why would he need his wand? Ginny had placed her wand back in her robes, as she didn't see any moment soon that she would need it. Perhaps she did. However, Ginny ignored it, and walked into the classroom behind Professor McGonagall.
They had entered what seemed to be a somewhat large room; though Ginny wasn't exactly sure; the room was quite dimmed, with no light coming in except from a small square window to the left. There were many rows of desks among the room, but they were very dusty, as if they hadn't been used in a long time. At the front of the room, there was a large black chalkboard that, too, was covered in a thick layer of dust. Standing to the right of the chalkboard was a desk.
Professor McGonagall walked up to it and gingerly pulled open a drawer. A fume of dust spewed up in her face as she covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed. Ginny, because of the dust cloud, couldn't see what was inside of the mysterious drawer, but she could make out what seemed to be a small stone, set inside a beautiful, velvet box, which was strangely open. Unlike the entire rest of the room, this box was not dusty.
There seemed to be a little slip of paper on the lid, but before she could read it (from the dust she doubted she could anyways), Professor McGonagall had closed the box, sending more dust spraying into the air. She then walked over to the window ledge, placed the box on it, and, after, taking the stone out. She walked back over to the musty desk and slipped the stone inside the drawer once more, closing it with a quiet snap. This action intrigued Ginny. Why didn't she just take the stone and put it in the desk in the first place? Why walk all the way to the windowsill and back? Why is she doing all this anyways?
Professor McGonagall's voice roused her out of her thoughts.
"I will need your assistance," she said, with a reluctant grimace. Ginny glanced at Neville to see if he was as puzzled as she was, and saw that he was staring straight ahead, right at the end of the deserted classroom, at the old stones of the castle. Neville had on the faraway look that seemed to be his default emotion these days.
"Both of us?" asked Ginny finally, wanting clarification.
"Yes. Both of you." Professor McGonagall frowned. "But before I begin, I need you to promise me something." Ginny looked at Neville again, and found that he was watching Professor McGonagall with suspicion.
"Promise you what?" Neville asked. Professor McGonagall sighed and pinched her nose.
"I really hate to ask you of this," she said, not answering Neville's question. "I want you to promise that you will follow my exact orders. Even if I ask you to leave this classroom without me, I expect you to do that. Understand?" She paused, then decided to speak again.
"I want a oath. On your magic."
Ginny looked, horrified, at Professor McGonagall. An oath? On my magic? She searched the professor's face, looking for any sign of joking. Professor McGonagall looked very serious, even more than usual, if possible. She isn't joking.
Neville was gaping. "An oath? On our magic? To leave you in here?" Neville said, his voice raising a pitch with each word. "Are you crazy?!" His arms were up and he was making dramatic hand gestures.
Ginny gaped at him in shock. Neville Longbottom, yelling at a teacher?
And not any teacher, but Professor McGonagall herself!
When Ginny had first met Neville, she had thought for sure that he was a Hufflepuff. But now, she was sure that he belonged in Gryffindor. She didn't know if it was Neville, or her who had changed.
Well, there's no doubt he's one of us now. Thank Merlin for that, too. Ginny's head glanced back and forth between the two like a tennis match. Neville was breathing heavily, arms crossed. Professor McGonagall simply stood there, with a calm, stony look on her face as if Neville had never spoke in the first place.
"Yes. I want you to swear upon your magic that if anything happens and I order you to leave without me, you will do so. If not, the door is right there," Professor McGonagall said, sternly. Neville glared at her but didn't say anything. They were trapped, and he knew it. He seemed to be steeling himself for whatever was coming next.
"Your word? Then we shall begin," Professor McGonagall said, looking straight at Ginny. She nodded, not really sure of what to say. Ginny trusted Professor McGonagall. She hoped it was a correct decision.
Ginny pulled out her wand and waited for Professor McGonagall's next instruction. Neville did the same and silently waited for the professor to speak.
"Swear it." Ginny looked at Neville, who gave her a helpless shrug, and at the same time, they began.
"I swear upon my magic to leave this room without Professor McGonagall if she orders us to. I will listen to every instruction without complaint."
As soon the words had left Ginny's mouth, a long strip of golden light came from her words, slowly wrapping around her body, encasing her in golden light. The same happened to Neville, except for the fact that the light that had left his mouth was an entrancing, bright blue. Professor McGonagall gave a small, grim smile before clasping her hands together.
"Very good. Shall we begin?" She asked, and walked to the front of the classroom without waiting for an answer. Ginny and Neville followed nevertheless, and got to the desk. Ginny noticed that there was a very familiar design etched into the old, dusty wood.
It was the Hogwarts symbol. The lion, the snake, the badger and the raven were all carved on the simple piece of wood, displaying the words Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.
Professor McGonagall walked around the desk and placed her hands on it, similar to what she usually did when teaching.
"Today, we are going to be strengthening the wards of Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said, as if she was teaching a lesson and not performing dangerously advanced magic.
She ignored the shocked and confused looks of both Neville and Ginny, and continued. "You have certainly noticed the taboo of You-Know-Who is present, even in Hogwarts, haven't you?" Professor McGonagall said, eyes glinting as if they had shared a secret joke. However, it diminished quickly, and was replaced by the same stern expression.
"I will require one of you to grasp hold of the wards before they are transferred to me. The other will be controlling the hold of the wards. At your age, you will not be able to control and hold the wards at the same time." She explained. "Who will be doing what?" Ginny turned to Neville.
"Which one will you do?" She asked, her voice in a slight whisper—although she wasn't sure why.
"Why does McGonagall need us to do this in the first place?" Neville replied, ignoring Ginny's question, in the same tone. Ginny shrugged.
"I'm not sure. You ask her," she said. Neville nodded (which surprised Ginny again—Neville wasn't the one to ask questions, especially to such a strict professor) and turned back around to face Professor McGonagall.
"Professor, just a question, why do you need us? Couldn't you have done it with Professor Flitwick, or, y'know, Professor Sprout?" Neville asked, the anger that was once in his voice gone, replaced with curiosity.
Professor McGonagall sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She took off her square spectacles and placed them on the dusty desk.
"Professors Flitwick and Sprout are currently occupied at the moment," Professor McGonagall clipped out, her tone making it clear that the subject was closed. Neville raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything (which Ginny was thankful for).
"Now, who will hold the wards and who will control them?" The professor said, changing the subject.
Ginny spoke before her mind could think it through. "I will hold the wards," she declared.
Neville looked at her in shock. His eyes were saying "I should be the one doing the dangerous stuff!" Ginny gave him a comforting look, ignored him, and stepped forwards. She was leaning against the desk now, closer to McGonagall, who spoke.
"Miss. Weasley. I didn't chose you for nothing, but are you sure you want to do this?" She leaned closer to Ginny, looking her straight in the eye. For a moment, Ginny simply observed Professor McGonagall's eyes, watching the swirls of emotion and wisdom the green orbs held.
Ginny swallowed nervously, but nodded. "I am sure."
Professor McGonagall backed up and sighed once more. "Of course you are," she muttered. "Mr. Longbottom, I presume your answer is the same as Miss. Weasley's?"
Neville nodded, practically radiating determination. "Yes."
"Then we shall begin." Professor McGonagall pulled out her wand and murmured something under her breath. A long strip of light, very much like the one that had left Ginny's mouth for the oath, came from the end of Professor McGonagall's wand. It wrapped itself around itself, again and again, until it became a tall column of bright, golden light. For a moment, it just stood there, its light glimmering the entire room and sending off sparks.
Professor McGonagall said something again, and another strip of light left her wand, this time green. It coiled itself around the golden column, then turning it green. The green of the light vaguely reminded Ginny of the Killing Curse, but not quite so—just enough for her to feel slightly wary. Professor McGonagall then walked slowly around the light, examining it. It seemed to be fine, as she nodded absentmindedly
"Miss. Weasley, would you please take hold of the light, as we may say?" Ginny looked at McGonagall with confusion. Take hold of the light? "Just grab the light. It will stay," Professor McGonagall clarified, as if she had read Ginny's mind.
Ginny looked at Neville for support. He nodded and gave a small, reassuring smile. Ginny smiled back. She then walked up to the column of green light, not sure if it would be able to be solid. She reached out and her fingers touched the light. To her surprise and astonishment, she was able to hold it.
It felt warm and cold at the same time, as if the green was cold and the gold was warm. Ginny slowly wrapped her hands around the pillar. Her fingers could touch each other around the light and Ginny felt as though if she tried to lift it, it would drop and drill a hole into the ground.
Then, suddenly, the light gave out a sharp zap that ran up her arm, feeling like electricity had shot up. Ginny jumped back, and let out a small cry in pain, dropping the column of light. It fell to the ground, and Ginny jumped once more as it shattered as if it was an actual pillar. She watched with slight guilt as the light sprayed into the surrounding areas, and then slowly disappeared, as though salt dissolving in water.
Ginny fell back on the ground, rubbing her arms as the pain set in. It felt as though they had been burned inside and out, and the skin of her arm was slowly peeling down, revealing slightly pinkish skin underneath.
Almost immediately, Professor McGonagall was by her side, kneeling on the ground, face scrunched with worry.
"Are you alright, Miss. Weasley?"
She had her wand pulled out in a second, and she was scanning Ginny quickly, inspecting for injuries.
"Yes Professor. I'm fine," Ginny said, getting up and brushing off her pants, still a bit shakily. Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow, skeptical, but didn't say anything. She got up as well, and looked at Ginny, once again checking for injuries.
"Are you sure?" she asked again, and continued when Ginny confirmed she was yet again. "I was surprised you could've gotten that far with the wards, it took Headmaster Snape quite a few times just to place a hand on them," Professor McGonagall said after. Ginny thought she could hear a little bit of pride leak into her professor's words, and felt some herself, too.
"Well, I dropped them," she said, abashed. "But I felt a shock. Was that supposed to happen?" Ginny asked, gesturing to the still dissolving bits of shattered light.
Before answering, Professor McGonagall quickly looked over her shoulder for a moment, as if she thought someone had entered the room. She turned back to Ginny quickly after.
"It happens every now and then, when you desire to improve the wards," Professor McGonagall replied, giving a small sigh. "Let's try it again. Mr. Longbottom, why don't you give it a go?"
Ginny looked at Neville. He was standing behind Professor McGonagall, who had turned to face him, but with a strange expression on his face. He spoke before Ginny could think further about it.
"Do I do the same thing? As Ginny?" Professor McGonagall nodded and raised her wand. She turned to face the desk with the Hogwarts emblem on it, and muttered something under her breath. Another long strip of golden light left the end of her wand and wrapped around itself, forming the same tall, beaming column. Professor McGonagall said something again, and another strip of light left her wand, this time green.
This time, as Ginny looked closely, she saw there was something a little different about it—the green was less of the shade of the Killing Curse, and more of the shade of Harry's eyes. Harry… I wonder how he's going right now. Ginny quickly shoved the thoughts about her ex-boyfriend away, she needed to focus.
She watched as the green coiled around the gold, and formed the same thicker column of light. Professor McGonagall nodded to Neville and he walked forwards.
Slowly, he began to grasp the light and Ginny knew that he was feeling the same thing she did. But this time, even before he could even wrap his fingers around the column, it gave out the same zap and Neville fell to the ground, light shattering into a million pieces, as it did before. Ginny rushed over to him and pulled him up.
"You OK?"
"Yeah," Neville said a bit sheepishly. "It just gave me a bit of a shock."
Professor McGonagall walked over to them with concern written over her face.
"Mr. Longbottom, Miss. Weasley, are you both alright?" Ginny and Neville nodded. Professor McGonagall sighed yet again, and pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked reluctant for something.
"I shall give it a try. Remember, if I tell you to leave, you must do so, even if it means that you leave me here," Professor McGonagall warned, and muttered the same spells for the third time. The column of light appeared in front of them, hovering right above the Hogwarts school symbol. Ginny watched as Professor McGonagall was just about to walk up to the column of light and grasp it, when the door slammed open and a chilling voice spoke.
"Professor. Such an honour to see you again."
Author's Note:
Thank you so much for reading, it means so much to me! Thank you to all that have reviewed, and those that have added this story to their favourites, and following! Unfortunately, I have decided to go on a short hiatus, for I have many, many exams and I need to catch up on my writing. Hopefully this hiatus won't be long, perhaps just a week or two. I'm really sorry about this, I hope to post next, next Sunday. For now, stay tuned for the next chapter! And keep the little cliffhanger in mind.
-Zigostia