The Potion Princess

The Fall of the DA

Snape comes to the common room about an hour before curfew. He doesn't say anything, just looks around the room with an expression of distaste before pulling a few of them free- Audra, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Blaise, Emmeline, and a handful of others.  They aren't told any specifics, just that the Inquisitorial Squad needs a few more hands for the task tonight.

In truth, the Inquisitorial Squad has been expanded to include most Slytherins, but it's a position that Audra had been able to avoid, up until now.  Part of her resents Snape for taking away that particular accomplishment, but most of her is just curious to see what made Umbridge so happy she's practically squealing like a child faced with a mountain of birthday presents.  "We've got them!"  She waves a hand at the spread of papers layered across her desk, all of them detailing the many attempts and failures of tracking Potter's clearl dangerous, extremely secret, society.  Knowing why she was here and being helpless to stop it made a sick feeling curl up in her stomach.  "We're finally going to catch them, red handed!"

Umbridge didn't even blink when she saw Audra there, just gave her an indulgent smile and pinned a green Inquisitorial Squad badge across her chest, patting her on the shoulder afterwards like she was being congratulated on a job well done.   "Filch, Blaise, and I will be the ones to invade the meeting.  Now, the rest of you each split up and take an area, stop anyone you think might associate with things like that."  Her voice made the back of Audra's hand tingle, like every cell of her body was trying to warn her that this person in front of her was a very bad woman.  "Perhaps it might be best if you position yourselves around the pathways to the house dormitories.  Not Slytherin, of course."

They take off, all of them splitting into groups down separate corridors.  Emmeline looks over her shoulder before heading towards the Ravenclaw dorms, clearly intending to make sure that no harm came to Clary.  Audra, having had a similar idea, claims the pathway to the Gryffindor tower all to herself after promising Draco that yes, she can handle it, and no, she doesn't want either Crabbe or Goyle to accompany her.  She races through the corridors, hurtling around corridors and skidding to a stop whenever something blocks her path, hoping frantically that she can find at least a few of the DA before Umbridge or the others do. 

Audra thinks of galleon Hermione had given her, the one that's linked to all the other members of the DA.  It's sitting on her bedside table at the moment, singing a darker mark into the wood with every change of time and date.  She curses at herself and turns a corner, almost crashing into Seamus, Dean, and Neville, who all stare at her in surprise before trying to talk all at once.

"She knows-"

"Umbridge-"

"The Slytherins-,"

She wants to remind them that she was a Slytherin too and was actively working to get them out of this mess safely (though, she remembers, it was partly her idea to start with), but pushes the urge away.  Audra could work on house unity some other time.  "You need to run.  Someone stay by the entry, I'm going to send anyone I can your way.  This is my corridor, anyone who makes it this far is home free."  She pushes them in front of her, their hesitation to leave her making them look younger than they really were.  "Hurry!"

There's a couple more stragglers she finds over the course of the next few minutes, all of them in various stages of dishevellement.  There's a group of Hufflepuffs that she sends on their way, which Ernie Macmillian is leading with his wand pointed out in front of them.  Next comes Clary and Cho dragging an unfazed Luna between them, who seem grateful that they don't have to drag her all the way down to the kitchens.  Audra's just beginning to start considering actively going to search for the twins when they hurtle around the corner, Ginny between them, looking around with frantic expressions.