Chapter Seventeen: Scary Thoughts and Scary Situations

“No” I turned, a small smile on my face, as Ginny spoke in an overly fierce voice. “Luna will take Harry, won’t you, Luna?”

“Oooh, yes, I’d like to” Luna said, hopping up happily while Cho sat down, looking rather disappointed.

“Slightly uncalled for, Ginny” I muttered, sidling up and bending to reach her ear. “I’m going with him”

“I’m not taking my chances” She mumbled and I quickly stifled a laugh.

“Well, no competition here, love, I’m all Jamie’s” I flashed her my ring, which I finally looked at. “It’s an arrow!” I stared down at my hand, barely hearing Ginny’s gasp.

“Are you serious?” She yelled, grabbing my hand and drawing everyone’s attention. “Jamie!” I moved away from her, smiling as Jamie appeared beside me. “You’re engaged! To Alicia!”

“Who else would I be engaged to, stupid!”

“That’s our cue to leave!” I said loudly, turning to Harry and Luna. “Neville, how do we get out?” He motioned for us to follow him and I blew a kiss to Jamie and Ginny over my shoulder, who were still arguing with each other about keeping secrets.

“It comes out somewhere different every day, so they’ve never been able to find it” Neville said and I could sense a flaw coming up. “Only problem is we never know where we’re going to end up when we go out” Neville shrugged, proving me right. “Be careful, they’re always patrolling the corridors at night” He warned and we nodded.

“Hey, sorry for shouting at you earlier” I said, touching his arm softly.

“It’s okay, Alicia, I’ve missed you yelling at me” He laughed and I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Alicia, hurry up!” Harry called and I scrambled up the steep staircase after them. “Get under here” He said, flinging the Cloak over us as we reached what appeared to be a dead end. I smooshed myself against him, hanging onto his arm. “Not that close, Alicia” He muttered, giving the wall a little push so that it melted away.

“For the first time in fourteen years, I’m terrified to be inside the castle” I whispered in his ear as he pulled out the Marauder’s Map and studied it, giving me a startled little look.

“We’re up on the fifth floor” Harry said, trying to calm me down. “Come on”

We walked in silence, keeping to the shadows even though we were under the Cloak, listening intently for any sounds that weren’t us. When an owl soared past the window, it’s dark shadow falling over us, I almost shrieked out loud, but Harry quickly covered my mouth, frowning.

“Sorry!” I mumbled, holding up my hands. “I’m sorry!”

“What’s with you?” He whispered, still frowning as we paused in the shadows. “One minute you’re amazingly happy, then you’re snapping at everyone, and now you’re terrified!” As he spoke, a thought flickered through my head, scaring me more than being in the middle of a school full of Death Eaters.

“It’s- it’s nothing… I’m over it now… Let’s go” I said, my voice shaking slightly from my revelation. We set off again, Luna pulling us out of the corridor we’d turned into and up a dizzying amount of tight stairs that led to a plain wooden door with a brass eagle-shaped knocker, which Luna reached out and knocked gently, the sound making both Harry and me flinch.

“Which came first, the phoenix of the flame?” A musical voice asked, coming from the knocker itself.

“What do you two think?” Luna asked, looking like she was thinking really hard over the question.

“What? Isn’t there a password?” Harry hissed, staring at her.

“Oh, no, you’ve got to answer a question” Luna answered absently.

“Because Ravenclaw house is home of the clever and wise” I mumbled. “What if you get it wrong?”

“You have to wait for someone else to get it right” She said cheerfully, smiling at us. “That way you learn, see?”

“The trouble is, Luna, we can’t really afford to wait for anyone else” Harry said quietly, his words rushed.

“And we’re Gryffindors- our traits are bravery, courage and chivalry, not brains” I added, glancing round nervously, making me look like a liar.

“No, I see what you mean” Luna said, suddenly serious. “Well then, I think the answer is that a circle has no beginning”

“Well-reasoned” The knocker said and with a sound like a soft sigh, the door swung open. We scrambled inside and I couldn’t help but look around in wonder. My eyes were drawn upwards, where stars where painted on the domed ceiling, and also found them on the midnight blue carpet. I noticed that the dark colour seemed to be the dominant colour, so I made my hair match automatically, letting the soft curls spill over my shoulders. Harry found the marble statue immediately, and he stepped out from under the Cloak, approaching it.

“Wait for me!” I hissed, slipping out and hurrying to his side. “She’s so beautiful!” I gasped, my fingers hovering inches away from the marble face. “I think she had hair like mine” I murmured absently. “So black it looked blue”

“Alicia, shut up” Harry sighed, shaking his head. “There…” He nodded towards a delicate-looking tiara set among the statue’s curls, which looked uncannily like mine.

“That’s writing” I said, narrowing my eyes slightly. We both clamoured up onto the plinth, leaning close to the cold stone.

“‘Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure’” Harry read, running a finger over the etching gently.

“Which makes you two pretty skint, witless and witless” We both twisted round, lost our balance and crashed towards the floor, which made Alecto Carrow cackle even more as she pressed her fat finger to the Dark Mark on her arm twice- once for Harry, and once for me.

“Dammit!” I said angrily, pointing at her as Harry stumbled while scrambling to his feet. My Stunner merged with Luna’s and resulted in a tremendous bang, which sent Alecto sprawling across the dark carpet. “Dammit!” I repeated as the sound of footsteps echoed from above.

“I’ve never Stunned anyone except in our DA classes” Luna said with mild interest as I grabbed Harry’s upper arm.

“Luna, where are you? We need to get under the Cloak!” Harry hissed and Luna’s feet appeared as she hoisted the Cloak up. We scrambled towards her, and in a panic, I tripped on Alecto’s wand and put my hand straight through a glass-fronted cabinet.

“Er- ow” I gasped, diving towards Luna’s feet as the door that stood between us and the Ravenclaws burst open.

“Um, Alicia?” Harry whispered as the students surrounded the unconscious Death Eater warily. “Your hand’s bleeding pretty badly” I glanced at it and sighed.

“Great…” I gritted my teeth and pulled out all the glass I could, my eyes darting towards the students every now and again. Once I’d cleaned it as best as I could, I fumbled for the edge of my cloak, waiting for the right moment.

“I think she might be dead!” A First-year squeaked, bravely prodding Alecto in the bottom with his big toe.

“Oh, look! They’re pleased!” Luna said happily.

“Yeah… Great” I muttered, rolling my eyes as Harry swayed slightly, telling me he was sneaking a glimpse of whatever Voldemort was doing. Then, there was a sharp rap on the door, making the Ravenclaws fall silent and the three of us turn round slowly, so that the Cloak didn’t flap. I was still clutching the edge of my cloak, waiting to rip off a make-shift bandage.

“Where do vanished objects go?”

“I dunno, do I? Alecto? Alecto?” I recognised that uncouth voice- Amycus Carrow, Alecto’s dim-witted brother. “Are you there? Have you got ‘em? Open the door!” Terrified whispering broke out behind us, which was punctuated by squeals of fright as a series of echoing bangs made the door tremble. Several terrified students tripped over their feet as they raced back up the stairs. “ALECTO! If he comes, and we haven’t got Potter, or Daniels, or both of ‘em- d’you want to go the same way as the Malfoys?” His words reminded me of my promise to help Draco, which I had forgotten about. “ANSWER ME!”

The door shook under Amycus’s attack on it, but, thankfully, it stayed firmly shut. Under the cover of the bangs, I ripped a length off my cloak and wrapped it quickly round my torn-up hand, which had gone numb, and then caught wind of Harry’s thoughts.

‘Harry! You can’t attack him! The students will see you!’ He glanced at me as my thought rang through his head and I saw him back down slightly, even though his grip on his wand remained white-knuckled.

“May I ask what you are doing, Professor Carrow?” I felt my lips turn up in a dazed smile as Professor McGonagall’s voice drifted through the door during a pause in the Death Eater’s attack on the door, which started back up immediately.

“Trying- to get- through this damn- door!” Amycus yelled at her between bangs. This time, Harry’s warning sounded round my head.

‘We can’t do anything, remember?’

“Go and get Flitwick! Get him to open it, now!” The man demanded.

“But isn’t your sister in there?” I heard a barely detectable amount of coolness, mixed with distaste in McGonagall’s voice. “Didn’t Professor Flitwick let her in, earlier this evening, at your urgent request? Perhaps she could open the door for you? Then you needn’t wake up half the castle”

“She ain’t answering, you old besom!” Amycus yelled, ditching his attack. “You open it! Do it, now!”

“Certainly, if you wish it” I recoiled from the iciness in my Head of House’s voice, which was followed by a soft tap.

“Where do vanished objects go?”

“Into non-being, which is to say, everything” She answered smoothly.

“Nicely phrased” The remaining students sprinted for cover seconds before the door swung open and the Death Eater burst in, his beady little eyes falling onto his unconscious sister immediately.

“What’ve they done, the little whelps?” He screamed as McGonagall stepped over the threshold and stooped down to examine the witch. “I’ll Cruciate the lot of ‘em ‘till they tell me who did it- and what’s the Dark Lord going to say?” He clapped a hand to his forehead, standing over Alecto. “We haven’t got ‘em, and they’ve gorn and killed her!”

“She’s only Stunned. She’ll be perfectly all right” McGonagall said impatiently, getting to her feet. I noticed she didn’t reverse the jinx.

“No she bludgering well won’t!” Amycus bellowed at her. “Not after the Dark Lord gets hold of her! She’s gorn and sent for him, I felt me Mark burn, and he thinks we’ve got Potter and Daniels!”

“‘Got Potter and Daniels’?” McGonagall repeated sharply. “What do you mean, ‘got Potter and Daniels’?”

“He told us they might try to get inside Ravenclaw Tower, and to send for him if we caught them!”

“Why would Harry Potter and Alicia Daniels try to get inside Ravenclaw Tower? They belong in my house!” In those last five words, I heard the small amount of pride that was buried under McGonagall’s disbelief and anger, and felt a rush of affection for the professor.

“We was told they might come in here!” Amycus snapped. “I dunno why, do I?” I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying he didn’t know very much, and saw McGonagall’s sharp gaze sweep the room twice. “We can push it off on the kids” The wizard continued, looking suddenly crafty, and I felt sick. “Yeah, that’s what we’ll do. We’ll say Alecto was ambushed by the kids, them kids up there, and we’ll say they forced her to press her Mark, and that’s why he got a false alarm” I watched in disgust as he paced quickly, nodding at his plan. “He can punish them. Couple of kids more or less, what’s the difference?” It was only Harry’s shaking hand on my arm that stopped me from stepping forwards and hitting the Death Eater.

“Only the difference between truth and lies, courage and cowardice” McGonagall said, her face pale. I felt the sudden urge to hold her upright. “A difference, in short, which you and your sister seem unable to appreciate. But let me make one thing very clear. You are not going to pass off your many ineptitudes on the students of Hogwarts. I shall not permit it”

“Excuse me?” Amycus said quietly, stepping round his sister and getting offensively close to the professor. She didn’t back down, but looked down at him with a disgusted look on her face, earning my total respect forever. “It’s not a case of what you’ll permit, Minerva McGonagall. Your time’s over” he said, his voice still low as his face hovered inches from hers. “It’s us what’s in charge here now, and you’ll back me up or you’ll pay the price”

Then, he done the wrong thing- he spat straight into her face.

Harry and I both stepped out from under the Cloak, our fury ruling us at that moment. I whipped my bow off my back and notched an arrow in it so fast the actions blurred while Harry raised his wand.

“You really shouldn’t have done that” Harry said, making both adults spin round to stare at us. “Crucio!” Harry’s Unforgivable curse caused my arrow to miss and embed into the wall as the Death Eater flew, writhing and screaming, through the air before crashing into the cabinet I’d put my hand through earlier.

“You are so lucky that missed, you pathetic little man” I spat at him as McGonagall clutched at her heart.

“I see what Bellatrix meant” Harry said casually to me as I shot him an unhappy look. “You need to really mean it” I grinned, my hair turning into scarlet curls.

“Well, duh!” I laughed, rolling my eyes.

“Potter! Daniels!” She gasped, her eyes wide as she stared at us. “Potter- Alicia- you’re here! What- ? How- ?” We waited patiently for her to be able to form a complete sentence. I notched another arrow and kept it trained on the wizard. “That was foolish!”

“He just spat at you” I said, deciding that Amycus wasn’t going to be bothering us for a while and lowering my bow, turning to her.

“I- that was very- very gallant of you both- but don’t you realise- ?”

“Yeah, we do” Harry said, his voice calm and reassuring. “Professor McGonagall, Voldemort’s on the way”

“Oh, are we allowed to say the name now?” Luna asked, a faint interest clouding her voice as she pulled the Cloak off, too. I caught McGonagall by the elbow as Luna’s appearance seemed to overwhelm her and guided her into a chair as she clutched at the neck of her dressing gown.

“It doesn’t really matter now, Lu” I said casually, as if we were discussing the weather. “He knows we’re here, so…” I shrugged, perching on the arm of the chair. I glanced at Harry, who gave me access to the part of his brain connected to Voldemort’s. “Close… Not much time, is there?” I sniffed, making him smile slightly.

“You must flee” I gazed at the woman beside me, an eyebrow raised slightly. “Now, as quickly as you can!”

“Have I been gone that long, professor? You act like you don’t know me” I said, shaking my head.

“We can’t” Harry said, taking a step forwards. “There’s something we need to do. Professor, do you know where the diadem of Ravenclaw is?”

“Oh, way to be subtle about it, Harry” I muttered, rolling my eyes at him, which he ignored.

“The d- diadem of Ravenclaw? Of course not- hasn’t it been lost for centuries?” She sat up a little straighter and I jumped up, unable to sit still for long, giving my injured hand a little shake to try and get some feeling into it. “Potter, Daniels, it was madness, utter madness, for you to enter this castle-”

“Well, you know me…” I said, grinning.

“Can you shut up?” Harry shot at me, and I held up my hands in surrender. “We had to. Professor, there’s something hidden here that I’m supposed to find, and it could be the diadem- if I could just speak to professor Flitwick-”

With the sound of clinking glass, Amycus began to come round, cutting Harry off. I raised my bow and aimed right between his eyes, but McGonagall beat me to it. Rising to her feet, she pointed her wand at him calmly.

“Imperio” He stood, shook glass off his robes, shuffled over to his sister, picked up her wand, moved towards us, handed it to McGonagall, and then handed his own over. I kept my bow aimed at him as he returned to his sister and lay down on the floor beside her. With a wave of her wand, the professor conjured a length of shining silver rope, which snaked round the Death Eaters and bound them together tightly. “Potter, if He Who Must Not Be Named does indeed know you and Miss Daniels are here-” She said, making me sigh.

“Ignore the person trying to lighten the mood, that’s right” I muttered as I lunged towards Harry, who swayed and almost toppled over. His hand clamped down on Luna’s shoulder and I grabbed his upper arm tightly, wincing at what he was going through.

“Potter, are you all right?” McGonagall said sharply, looking concerned.

“This is the normal now, don’t worry” I said calmly as Harry came back, blinking rapidly. “We’re seriously running out of time”

“Voldemort’s getting nearer. Professor, we’re acting on Dumbledore’s orders, we have to find what he wanted us to!” Harry said, an edge of impatience seeping into his voice.

“But we’ve got to get the student’s out while we’re searching the castle- it’s us two Voldemort wants, but he won’t care about killing a few more or less, not now…” I added more calmly, letting my voice trail off as I locked eyes with Harry, who finished the sentence in his head.

‘Not now he knows we’re hunting Horcruxes’

“You’re acting on Dumbledore’s orders?” McGonagall repeated, wonder in her voice and face for a second, before she drew herself up to her full height. “We shall secure the school against He Who Must Not Be Named while you search for this- this object”

“Is that possible?” Harry asked, getting distracted.

“I think so” McGonagall said dryly, raising an eyebrow. “We teachers are rather good at magic, you know” I snorted with laughter at her sarcasm, earning a very small smile. “I am sure we will be able to hold him off for a while if we all put our best efforts into it. Of course, something will have to be done about professor Snape-”

“Let me- ” Harry started, but McGonagall continued talking over him, glancing at me.

“And if Hogwarts is about to enter a state of siege, with the Dark Lord at the gates, it would indeed be advisable to take as many innocent people out of the way as possible. With the Floo Network under observation and Apparition impossible within the grounds-”

“There’s a way” I said quickly, making her pause in her lecture. “There’s a tunnel that leads from the seventh floor to the Hogs Head Inn, and it isn’t being guarded- well, except for the DA, but they don’t really count”

“Daniels, we’re talking about hundreds of students- ”

“I know, professor, but if the Death Eaters and Voldemort are concentrating on the school boundaries, they won’t be interested in anyone who’s Disapparating out of the Hog’s Head” I said sneakily, and her lips gave a little twitch to the side as I pulled the arrow out of the wall.

“There’s something in that” She agreed, pointing her wand at the Carrows.

“I’ve been known to have brilliant moments” I beamed, watching as a silver net dropped out of nowhere and hoisted the Death Eaters up into the air.

“Come. We must alert the other Heads of House. You’d better put that Cloak back on” McGonagall said, glancing over her shoulder at us as she marched from the room. Luna handed the Cloak to Harry, who threw it over us and we followed her quietly. I winced as I knocked my injured hand on the wall as we descended in tight circles and followed the three silver tabby cat Patronuses McGonagall had sent ahead of us.

“Wait!” I hissed after we’d gone down two floors, making the others halt mid-step, even the teacher. “We’re not alone” In response, Harry and Luna gripped their wands tightly, and McGonagall raised her as if preparing to duel.

“Who’s there?” She demanded, spinning round to peer into the darkness. I wrapped my fingers round Harry’s wrist, pinning him to my side.

“It is I” Even though I knew it was him, at the sound of his voice, hatred flowed through me thickly, seeming to blend seamlessly with Harry’s. Snape stepped out from behind a suit of armour, wearing his usual black, and mimicking McGonagall’s readiness to fight. “Where are the Carrows?”

“Wherever you told them to be, I expect, Severus” She snapped coldly, her eyes narrowed. Harry raised his wand, ready to attack, and I raised my bow as Snape’s eyes flitted over us as if he knew we were there.

“I was under the impression, that Alecto had apprehended intruders” Snape said slowly, still taking small steps forwards.

“Really? And what gave you that impression?” McGonagall said, raising an eyebrow. As if the response was automatic, Snape flexed his left arm slightly- he’d felt the Mark burn twice on his arm. “Oh, but naturally, you Death Eaters have your own private way of communication, I forgot” Snape ignored her, still moving closer as he scanned the air for any trace of us.

“I did not know it was your night to patrol the corridors, Minerva” Snape’s voice had taken on an odd tone, but I knew better than to try and see inside his head- it would just give me away. I started forwards, not daring to lift my feet off the floor in case my heels made a noise.

“You have some objection?” McGonagall became defensive, raising her chin slightly.

“I wonder what could have brought you out of your bed at this late hour?” A prickle of unease made me roll my shoulders and I knew what he was doing.

“I thought I heard a disturbance”

“Really? But all seems calm” He finally looked at McGonagall, but not her face- her feet. “I also thought I heard heels, but I see you are not wearing any” I met Harry’s gaze quickly, a guilty look on my face, but he shook his head quickly. Then Snape met McGonagall’s eyes. “Have you seen Harry Potter or Alicia Daniels, Minerva? Because if you have, I must insist that you- ”

McGonagall’s wand slashed through the air faster than I thought possible, but Snape’s Shield Charm was just as fast, forcing her back a few steps. She pointed her wand at something above us, and we managed to duck out the way as the torch spat flames into the air where we’d been standing, which turned into a massive ring that flew at the wizard. He flicked his wand and it became a large, black snake, which McGonagall blasted into smoke and then into lethally sharp daggers. Snape pulled a suit of armour in front of him just in time for the weapons to sink into it. I raised my bow, aiming carefully.

“Minerva!” Professor Flitwick’s voice caught my attention and I glanced over my shoulder to see him and professor Sprout sprinting towards us, a panting professor Slughorn just behind them. “No! You’ll do no more murder at Hogwarts!” He squealed, raising his wand and aiming. Snape’s make-shift shield came to life with a loud clatter and seemed to give him a bone-crushing hug, which he managed to wriggle out of, sending it flying towards us.

Harry grabbed me from behind, forcing me to the side as it crashed against the wall and shattered. Snape turned and fled, three out of the four professors tailing him closely. I tore off after them, leaving Harry and Luna behind me, and passing Sprout quickly.

“Alicia?” I heard her say as she stumbled slightly. I sprinted past her, my heels loud against the stone floor and past Flitwick.

“Miss Daniels!”

“Move” I yelled, taking aim at Snape’s back as a classroom door was blown off its hinges. McGonagall glanced back and dived to the side as I let loose with deadly aim, the arrow slicing through the air and hitting his shoulder. He stumbled, giving me time to reload. Then, he did something I didn’t expect- he ran straight across the room and dived through the window. I automatically lowered my bow, racing to the window and looking down. Nothing.

“There!” McGonagall said, stepping up beside me and pointing to the sky. I took aim again, but then yelled in frustration as he got out of range.

“Alicia, my dear!” I turned to look at professor Flitwick, but noticed my bloody arrow strewn on the floor. “How- ?”

“Coward! COWARD!” McGonagall cried suddenly through the window, making me jump.

“What’s happened, what’s happened?” I heard Luna say from far down the corridor.

“Professor Flitwick, professor Sprout, it’s nice to see you again” I said stiffly, picking the arrow up and giving them strained smiles. “Well, maybe if the situation wasn’t as terrifying, it could be better”

“My dear, it’s always a pleasure” Sprout said, giving me a surprised smile.

“He jumped” I said bitterly, motioning to the smashed window, as Harry and Luna skidded to halt in the doorway behind the two confused professors.

“You mean he’s dead?” Harry sprinted past me, repeating my mistake and looking down as Flitwick and Sprout yelled in shock. Obviously three wanted teenagers in one place was a bit of a surprise.

“No, he’s not- yet” I said bitterly, using the bloody arrow to point at the bat-like shape flying towards the perimeter. “He still had his wand, and his master’s been teaching him new tricks… I’d love to shoot him out of the air, it would just make my day” I said murderously, glaring after him. Heavy footfalls and loud panting made me turn round as Slughorn finally caught up.

“Harry! Alicia! What a surprise… Minerva, do please explain… Severus… What…?” He said eventually, massaging his chest and completely ignoring Luna.

“Our Headmaster is taking a short break” McGonagall said, copying my bitter tone as she pointed to the window. Just then, Harry crashed sideways into me, his hands pressed firmly over his scar. I cringed away from him for a second, before hurrying to support him.

“Minerva! Our time limit just shorter! He’s coming now!” I shouted, trying to ignore Harry’s immense pain, but the contact seemed to make it worse. Using her name seemed to shake her out of her bitter thoughts.

“Very well. He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named is coming” She said, turning to the others. Flitwick and Sprout gasped while Slughorn groaned. “These two have work to do in the castle on Dumbledore’s orders. We need to put in place every protection of which we are capable, while they do what they need to do”

“You realise, of course, that nothing we do will be able to keep out You-Know-Who indefinitely?” Flitwick squeaked. I opened my mouth to say something, but professor Sprout beat me to it.

“But we can hold him up”

“Thank you, Pomona” McGonagall said, a grim look passing between them that I didn’t want to understand. “I suggest we establish basic protection around the place, then gather our students and meet in the Great Hall. They should be evacuated- ”

“Those who are over-age and want to fight should be able to” I cut in quickly, my voice like steel, making sure nobody argued with me. “As well as every member of the DA”

“Agreed” Sprout said immediately, surprising me. She was already turning towards the door. “Minerva, I shall meet you in the Great Hall in twenty minutes with my house” She jogged towards the exit. “Tentacula. Devil’s Snare. And Snargaluff pods… Yes, I’d like to see the Death Eaters fighting those” She muttered to herself.

“I can act from here” Flitwick said, moving to the window that he could barely see out of.

“Professor” Harry said suddenly, causing everyone to look at him. “Professor, I’m sorry to interrupt, but this is important. Have you got any idea where the diadem of Ravenclaw is?” He asked, approaching Flitwick as he waved his wand in ways that would have killed my hands instantly.

“Protego horribilis- the diadem of Ravenclaw?” He squeaked. “A little extra wisdom never goes amiss, Potter, but I hardly think it would be much use in this situation!”

“We’re not interested in wearing it” I said loudly, making the tiny wizard glance at me.

“Do you know where it is? Have you seen it?” Harry continued.

“Seen it? Nobody has seen it in living memory! Long since lost, boy!” Harry thanked him, his face contorted with desperate disappointment.

“We shall see you and your Ravenclaws in the Hall, Filius!” McGonagall said, motioning for us to follow her. We reached the doorway as Slughorn found his voice.

“My word…” I looked at him, taking in his large, pale, sweaty face. “What a to-do! I’m not at all sure whether this is wise, Minerva. He is bound to find a way in, you know, and anyone who has tried to delay him will be in most grievous peril-”

“I shall expect you and the Slytherins in the Great Hall in twenty minutes, also” McGonagall said sharply. “If you wish to leave with your students, we shall not stop you”

“But if any of you try to take up some sort of resistance against us, remember that we’re fighting to kill” I threatened, making him give my bow and me a shocked look.

“Alicia! My dear girl- !”

“Alicia is right, Horace” McGonagall snapped, giving me a quick bow of her head. “If you attempt to sabotage our plans, or try to take up arms against us, we duel to kill”

“Minerva!”

“The time has come for Slytherin House to decide upon its loyalties” She said, cutting off his shocked remark. “Go and wake your students, Horace” With that, she turned and ran through the door with Harry, Luna and me right behind her. “Piertotum- oh, for heaven’s sake, Filch, not now- !”

“Students out of bed! Students in the corridors!” He shouted, hobbling into view. I saw Harry snatch the Cloak off the floor and shove it into his pocket.

“They’re supposed to be, you blithering idiot!” McGonagall shouted at him, and I wondered vaguely how long she wanted to call him that. “Now go and do something constructive! Find Peeves!”

“P- Peeves?”

“Yes, Peeves, you fool, Peeves! Haven’t you been complaining about him for a quarter of a century? Go and fetch him, at once!” Filch left, muttering under his breath. “And now- piertotum locomotor!” Statues and suits of armour burst into life around us, and I guessed it had happened all over the school from the distant crashes and screams. “Hogwarts is threatened! Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!” They stampeded past, yelling and making a lot of noise. I grinned at her, giving her thumbs up. “I’ve always wanted to use that spell” I laughed heartily as we continued down the corridor.

“Harry- take Luna and get the others to the Hall” I ordered and he glanced at me. “I’ll meet you in there- tell Jamie I’m fine” I added and he nodded. “Professor- you’re the figure of authority round here, get to the Hall and I’ll get the Gryffindors” She gave me a shocked look. “I think it’s time our Headmistress was reinstated”

“V- very well” She stammered and I had the weird image of her hugging me. “The password is Dragon Root” We parted at the next staircase- McGonagall going down, Harry, Luna and me going up. We ran in silence until it came to parting again.

“Behave” I demanded, hugging Luna hard and kissing Harry’s cheek. “Say hello to everyone for me- and I mean everyone” I didn’t give them a chance to ask, turning and taking the stairs two at a time.

The empty corridors echoed the sounds coming from the floors below, making it all seem surreal. The familiar route to Gryffindor Tower took a little amount of time, and I skidded to stop in front of the Fat Lady, who was snoring loudly.

“Hey!” I shouted, tapping my foot impatiently. “WAKE UP!” I yelled and she gave a startled snort.

“Where did you come from?” She asked, frowning at me.

“Never mind- it’s a long story” I said, glaring. “Dragon Root” She swung open and I moved aside quickly for a statue of Godric Gryffindor to climb out. I glanced at him over my shoulder, shrugged and scrambled inside, heading straight for the boys staircase. “UP! GRAB YOUR WANDS! GET UP! DOWNSTAIRS! COME ON! UP, UP, UP! GET UP!” I yelled, kicking open the doors as I passed them. “WAKEY, WAKEY! HURRY UP! GET UP AND GET DOWN TO THE COMMON ROOM WITH WANDS, NOW!”

“Alicia?”

“Alicia Daniels?”

“Daniels?” I ignored the voices and charged up the girls’ staircase, repeating myself.

“UP! GET DOWNSTAIRS! WAKEY, WAKEY! UP, UP, UP! THERE’S NO TIME TO DO YOUR HAIR! GET YOUR WAND AND GET DOWNSTAIRS! GRAB A CLOAK OR A DRESSING GOWN! WHAT PART OF NOW DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?”

“What’s going on?” Someone called across the room, the entire house crammed themselves into the Common Room as I climbed onto a table.

“Where did she come from?”

“Alicia!”

“Alicia!”

“HOLD IT!” I yelled angrily, holding up a hand and creating purple sparks above me. “All houses are being called to Hall for an emergency meeting!” I said clearly, glancing round at them.

“Why?” Someone yelled from the back. “Has Sirius Black broken in again?”

“Sirius Black was innocent of all the crimes he was charged of, and if I ever catch someone bad mouthing him, I’ll personally see to your painful deaths- am I understood?” I threatened, and the room fell silent. “Good. Yes, I know, it’s quite a shock to see me back and all that, but we have a very precise deadline we’re working against- I need you to get to the Hall without being complete idiots”

“Where’s professor McGonagall?”

“She’s busy” I said, waving it away quickly. “Right, if I tell you something, will you listen to me and do as I say?” I shouted as muttering started. “While I’ve been gone, I’ve learnt a lot of things that you can’t learn here- one of them is how to survive” I said into the silent room. “I had to be prepared to kill to stay alive, so I won’t hesitate if you mess me about! I don’t want to scare you, but I’m losing my patience!” There was a moment’s pause, where the only sound was breathing. “I need everyone to go to the Hall, without being complete idiots, where you will be told what is going on. If you’re still having trouble understanding me, let’s say I’m your temporary Head of House, appointed by the Headmaster himself” I lied, flashing my fake Mark to the room. “Now, follow me”

It worked. They followed silently, falling into two lines. I felt bad about lying to them- they were my family away from home. The crowds of scrambling students seemed to part for us, and I felt eyes fall on my fake Mark. We reached the Hall and I walked straight past the Gryffindor table, which the students filled silently, and headed for the High Table, which was filling with teachers.

“H- how’d you get them to behave like that?” McGonagall frowned, taking in their sombre faces.

“Lies, threats, and a Dark Mark” I said awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. She frowned at me and I sighed. “I know, I know… as soon as they sit down, I’ll tell them the truth”

“Good” She said, turning away from me.

“Hang on- I’ll need a professor’s support! They just see Ali, the girl who was always top of the class- I’m not her anymore” I said quickly and she gave me a long look, which lingered on my bow.

“That, Miss Daniels, is obvious”

“The Centaurs taught me how to shoot” I explained, even though I knew she already knew.

“Come along- we’ll tell them quickly” She led me to the head of the table, and every face turned to us. “Alicia was told to bring you here as a favour to me. There is a situation where I couldn’t collect you myself. I admit, her methods need a bit of work, but Gryffindor house is the first house organised, and I’m proud of her for that” She called, granting me a small smile. “As for the threats she may had made, I’m sure she didn’t mean them”

“Nah… Well, except for that one about Sirius- sorry” I added innocently, catching her raised eyebrow.

“You can still trust Alicia, as she is still a member of this house” With that, she motioned for me to follow her back to the High table. “Have we learnt what threatening our house-mates does?” She asked, tugging on one of my black curls.

“Yes, professor” I grinned, my hair turning scarlet.

“Alicia?” I froze mid-step, dropping my bow, and McGonagall carried on without me. “Is it true?”

“It depends on the rumour” I whispered, not turning round and closing my eyes tightly. “I heard that the lower school Divination teacher argued with the Death Eaters that had taken over the school about his daughter- is that true?”

“Yes” Was the only answer I got. “Is it true that the lower school Divination teacher’s daughter dropped out of school to break into the Ministry of Magic, barely escaped from Death Eaters just after Christmas, got captured by Snatchers, was tortured by Death Eaters, escaped said Death Eaters, broke into the wizarding bank and escaped on the back of a dragon, only to return to the place she had left, where she then attacks two of the Death Eater teachers in the Common Room of a house that wasn’t hers, and then shoots the Death Eater Headmaster in the shoulder, all while holding off the greatest Dark Wizard the community has seen in centuries?”

“Sounds about right, yeah” I said weakly, making him chuckle. “Although you missed out the part where she gets her friends in danger a couple of times because of her short temper, she nearly dies in the attempt to escape the Death Eaters- twice, she brings a war down onto the school… What else?” I turned, throwing myself into Firenze’s arms. “Oh yeah, she got engaged and she thinks she might be pregnant” That made him pause, lean back and stare at me. “Wait for it, that’s just the tip of the dung heap for the daughter’s story yet!” I said, glancing up into his pale blue eyes. “She has visions of the future, see? So nothing can surprise her- but when she’s has a vision showing her scenes from the war that’s slowly starting round her, ending in her dead body, she decides that the pregnancy scare is just that- a scare”

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