Today’s the day, Lana thought as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her black curls rested on her shoulders, waiting to be put up. Her pale blue eyes, bright as a glowing prophecy, Cedric had said, were sleepy but eccentric at the same time.
With a yawn, she pulled her hair back and tied it up, letting the bangs fall out into her face. She slipped into the grey long-sleeved cotton shirt she’d worn the day she arrived at the Refuge. I came here in it, she thought, I’ll leave here in it. She pulled on her jeans and rushed out of the bathroom.
Everyone had gathered in the dining room. Dumbledore was standing, saying, “Severus will open the gates to let us in. We’ll hide in the darkness until the sun rises, and then raid the castle. Some of us will have to stay on the grounds to fight off the Death Eater guards Voldemort has swarming the place.”
“Albus, Cedric, Snape, Regina, and I will try to find Voldemort,” Sirius added, “Anybody else who makes it into the castle will fight off as many Death Eaters as they can.”
“What am I doing?” Lana asked curiously, drawing the attention from everyone else in the room.
Sirius looked up at her with a smile; not a mischievous one, or a sad one, or a bitter one, but a genuine, pleasant smile. “You will search for a way to flip the world back to… whatever world it is you say you come from.”
She nodded. “I can do that.”
“As I was saying,” Sirius said, “Lexi, Kendra and Jesse will stay here with Andromeda.”
“What if someone attacks the house?” Ron asked, standing beside his father.
“The wards around the building are strong,” Dumbledore replied, “Unless the attacker knows exactly where to look, they won’t be able to find this place. They could walk up and down the street for hours and not even see it. Everything here should be perfectly fine.”
“We need to start Apparating to the castle,” Sirius said, “Snape is already over there.”
“Right,” Dumbledore said, “We’ll go in small groups.” He looked to Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was seated at the end of the table. “Send a message to the other safe houses. They must know that we’re ready for battle.”
Kingsley said nothing; he nodded, stood, and left the room, pulling out his wand with one swift motion.
“Sirius, Lana and I must be the last to leave,” Dumbledore said, “Since we are the top three Undesirables. We must be hidden among the crowd.”
“We’ll go first,” Lucius Malfoy, who barely ever spoke during meetings, said. “My wife, son and I.” Wordlessly, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy both stood, and the three of them quietly left the room without looking back.
“Who’ll go next?” Sirius asked, scanning the room.
As the dining room cleared of people, Lana went to stand by Cedric. He’d been standing by Ron, who left with his family. The grim reality of what was happening had finally set in. “Five minutes,” she whispered, “That’s all we have. Five minutes before we’re thrust into battle.”
“I’d say to make the best of them,” Cedric said with a grim smile. “But you’d probably write me off as a cliché.”
She laughed humorlessly. “Yeah, I probably would.”
He looked over at her. “We’ll make it past this.”
“You sound so certain.”
“That’s because I am certain.”
She bit her lip. “The cocky ones generally go first.”
“I’m not cocky,” Cedric muttered, “I’m optimistic.” His eyes moved to the group waiting for him by the doorway and said, “I have to go now.”
“I guess I’ll see you on the battlefield,” Lana whispered.
He grinned. His eyes showed the sadness he was trying to hold inside, the worry. “Try not to get yourself killed.”
She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a passionate embrace. As he kissed the top of her head, she muttered, her voice muffled by his clothes, “I’ll make an attempt. No promises, though.”
His body shook with slight laughter and then he was out of her arms and moving towards the group.
Lana didn’t wave. She simply stared as they left, knowing that saying goodbye would only make her feel worse.
She stood in the dining room with Dumbledore, Sirius and Andromeda, silence ringing in her ears. “How long do we have to wait?” Lana asked after a moment. “Before we leave, I mean?”
“Not long, now,” Sirius replied, “By now there’ll be a crowd. The sun is starting to rise; we’ll arrive and the battle will have already started, most likely.”
“Is that going to interfere with the plan?” Lana asked.
“Probably not,” Sirius replied, “The idea for us is to get into the castle as quickly as we can. If we have to run from Death Eaters without casting a single curse, that’s all right; we just have to get into the castle.”
“What if we get attacked on the way?” Lana asked.
“Then we fight back while we run to the castle,” Sirius said, “The chances are we are going to be attacked on the way there, so keep your wand out at all times.”
“It’s time,” Dumbledore said. He looked to Andromeda, who was staring at the china cabinet distantly. “Stay inside and try to keep the girls distracted. You can’t keep them worrying about us; it isn’t good for them.”
Andromeda nodded. “Go. Be safe.”
Sirius pulled her into a one arm bear-hug. “I’ll be back for you, cousin.”
“I hope so,” she whispered, tears in her eyes.
When Sirius let go, he stepped to Lana, held out his arm for her, and led her to the front door, like he had the last time he’d brought her to Hogwarts. She almost wished that’s what they were doing; going to Hogwarts just to visit, not to raid it.
But I can never do that again, Lana thought as the light from outside burned her vision and she had to close her eyes for a moment.
She heard the pop that meant Dumbledore had already Apparated away, and then felt her own feet leave the ground.
YOU ARE READING
The Other Side: A Harry Potter FanFiction
FanfictionSeventeen year old Lana Herondale has been sent to London in order to “recreate her attitude.” She’s a rebel, she brilliant, and she’s insanely gorgeous. While following a strange man down a random street at night, she finds herself in this weird pl...
