Kingsley motioned that it was time to reveal themselves, each of them lined up against each other. With Kingsley in front, Hermione, Ellie, and Ron stood just before him, the rest of the Weasley family and allies staggered before them. Ellie gave one last squeeze on Hermione's hands, rubbing her thumb over the back as she took a deep breath.
The doors opened, and the group revealed themselves to the occupants of the Great Hall. The students and faculty gasped at the sight, their eyes wide with surprise as they murmured to themselves. Harry was speaking to the Headmaster in the middle of the room, his voice echoing off the walls of the hall.
"How dare you stand where he stood?" Harry confronted, his voice breaking as Snape merely stared at him. "Tell them how it happened that night! Tell them how you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you, and killed him! Tell them."
Snape drew his wand quickly, but McGonagall immediately stepped in front of Harry, pushing him to the side as she pointed her wand at the Headmaster. The group at the door raised their wands as the rest of the students cowered to the walls.
McGonagall was the first to fire a spell, its fiery blaze only being defended by Snape. The professor advanced aggressively, firing a dozen more hexes at the man. Snape merely defended them, two of his professors seeming to be affected by McGonagall's attacks. He finally turned into a cloud of black smoke, whisking his robes to fly out of the hall, breaking the window in result.
"Coward!" McGonagall screamed.
Students began to cheer loudly as McGonagall returned the light to the hall, setting fire to the torches that were suspended. The celebration was immediately cut short as a whisper was heard from above, its voice harsh and raspy. The light had been sucked out once more, and the students fell quiet. A young girl's scream was heard. Then another. Then another. The girls were cowered in a corner, their palms clasped over their ears.
"I know that many of you will want to fight," the voice whispered, everyone immediately recognizing it to belong to You-Know-Who. "Some of you may even think that to fight is wise. But this is folly."
Ellie tried to cover her ears, mimicking the actions of a handful of other students. The uneasiness in her stomach jumped to her heart, and she crouched down and brought her head down as the voice reminded her of the wretched manor. Hermione immediately crouched in front of her girlfriend, her eyes full of worry.
"Don't listen to him, love. Shh... I'm here," Hermione whispered as she brought her hand to stroke Ellie's hair.
Ellie felt two hands on her back as they rubbed it comfortingly. Without looking, she could tell that the hands belonged to the twins, one on either side of her.
"Give me Harry Potter," You-Know-Who demanded. "Do this and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have one hour."
The light returned to the Great Hall, and the students returned their gaze to Harry. Ellie suddenly stood up, breaking away from her friends' comfort as she ran to the corner of the hall, isolated from the others. Ellie became sick, hunching over as she vomited on the floor. She felt her hair being pulled away from her face as she attempted to suppress the sounds of her sickness. She felt slightly better, though her heart couldn't seem to be put at ease.
Ellie turned around to find Fred and George standing behind her, George's hand being the one that pulled her hair out of the way. Hermione had stood behind Ellie, blocking the view from anyone that might look as one of her hands rubbed her back reassuringly.
"Take this," Fred spoke quietly, holding up a small item of what appeared to be candy. "Calms the nerves and freshens the breath like it never happened."
"Won't even leave a trace. They're the perfect companion to our Puking Pastilles," George finished.
Ellie took the candy immediately, chewing and swallowing it down quickly. Hermione had cleaned up the vomit with her wand rather quickly, remembering the spell she had performed in her fourth year.
"Thank you," Ellie smiled at the twins before her face grew serious. "But something's not right. I can feel it."
"Nothing will happen, okay? No one will hurt my girlfriend," Hermione reassured as kissed Ellie's forehead, lacing their fingers once again as she brought them back to the center of the room. Luckily, not many had seen Ellie's departure, and they came back unnoticed.
"What are you waiting for?" Pansy barked, breaking the silence as she pointed her finger to Harry. "Someone grab him!"
It was Ginny who stepped in front of Harry first. Then Hermione and Ellie. Then Cho and the Patil twins. Then Ron and Seamus. Then Lavender and Dean. Then the entire Weasley family. Soon enough, almost every one of Harry's friends had protectively stepped in front of him.
"Students out of bed!" a voice screamed from afar, causing the students to turn towards the entrance as they heard footsteps drawing near. "Students out of bed! Students in the corridor!"
It was Filch, who carried Mrs. Norris in his arms as he ran towards McGonagall.
"They are supposed to be out of bed, you blithering idiot," McGonagall snapped.
"Oh," Filch replied simply, seeming to be embarrassed as he inched towards the exit. "Sorry, ma'am."
"As it happens, Mr. Filch, your arrival is most opportune," McGonagall continued as she withdrew her wand. "If you would, I would like you, please to lead Miss Parkinson and the rest of Slytherin House from the hall."
"Exactly where is it I'll be leading them to, ma'am?" Filch clarified.
"The dungeons would do," McGonagall answered confidently.
A cheer erupted from the rest of the houses, clapping loudly as the Slytherins were struck with anger. The Hufflepuff caught Pansy's piercing stare, her eyes narrowed as she was baffled with Hermione and Ellie's relationship. Ellie smiled innocently, bringing her middle finger up to the girl. Ellie heard Hermione's quiet snicker before watching Pansy turn on her heel angrily.
Harry suddenly walked towards McGonagall, asking for as much time she can make as the group watched.
"Potter. It's good to see you," McGonagall smiled.
"It's good to see you too, Professor," Harry smiled before turning to Neville. "Hold the fort, Neville."
Chaos erupted as the Great Hall quickly cleared out, a majority of students yearning to fight alongside Harry. Harry had quick left the scene, pushing past the students exiting the common rooms. In the meantime, the remainder of the group had quickly formulated a plan, realizing that they needed to catch up with Harry.
Hermione pulled Ellie with her, with Ron trailing closely behind.
"Harry!" Ron called out, causing the boy to stop at one of the landings of the staircases.
"Harry. Hermione, Ellie, and I have been thinking. It doesn't matter if we find a Horcrux," Ron started.
"What do you mean?" Harry questioned.
"Unless we can destroy it," Hermione finished.
"So we were thinking-" Ron began again.
"Well, Ron was thinking," Hermione interrupted supportively. "It was Ron's idea. It's completely brilliant."
"That it was. Completely threw me off guard too," Ellie smiled to the red-head.
"You destroyed Tom Riddle's diary with a basilisk fang, right? Well, we might know where we might find one," Ron explained.
"Okay," Harry nodded, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a map, placing it into Ron's hand. "Okay, but take this. That way, you can find me when you get back."
Harry turned away in a rush, his foot already on the next step as he scaled the stairs, turning to look at Hermione.
"Where are you going?" Hermione yelled over the chatter.
"Ravenclaw common room," Harry answered. "Gotta start somewhere."
"You've got to let me come with! Let me help you!" Ellie protested as she started to follow after him but was immediately grabbed by her girlfriend.
"No, you're staying with us," Hermione said sternly. "You're safer with me."
"It doesn't take three people to destroy a Horcrux. I won't be of any use. Besides, I don't even know where you're going," Ellie pleaded as she tried to break free from Hermione's grip.
"I don't care, love! Harry is well off on his own, and you won't be going with him. Even if it only takes one person to destroy the Horcrux, you're staying with me. No exceptions," Hermione finalized, the look in her eyes deathly strict.
Hermione didn't wait for Ellie to respond, but instead pulled her away. Together, the three of them made their way to their next destination, passing by Luna on the way. Soon enough, Ron had lead them to the second-floor of the girls' lavatory, leading them further into a hidden chamber underneath one of the sinks.
They stood in front of a vault-like door, with six serpent heads outstretched sideways. The chilly atmosphere was unsettling, and the walls were dark and slick.
"How are you feeling, darling?" Hermione asked as she felt Ellie's tense nature, her hand moving to rest at the Hufflepuff's waist.
"I've okay now, don't worry about me," Ellie lied, but she couldn't bring herself to tell Hermione that she had a sickening feeling of what was to come.
Ron stepped in front of the door and began to speak in a foreign language, sounding like a string of whispers.
Both Hermione and Ellie looked at each other with frowned eyebrows, both carrying the same surprised expression. They shared the same amazement as the serpents began to slither out of the way, unlocking itself completely.
"Harry talks in his sleep. Have you noticed?" Ron turned to the girls, seeming to be proud of himself.
"No, of course not," Hermione answered.
"What other talents are you hiding underneath that red hair?" Ellie teased. "You surprise me more and more, Ron."
The entrance creaked open, and the trio soon found themselves standing inside a long, dark chamber with towering stone pillars. They quickly made their way to the end of the chamber, and Ron stepped forward to crouch in front of a massive serpent skeleton.
"Was that the one... that Harry fought in his second year?" Ellie questioned, her eyes wide with fear as she imagined the serpent in its full form, its body stretching to what seemed like miles.
"Yes," Hermione gasped, seeing the basilisk for the first time as well.
Ron returned with a fang he had plucked from its jaw, and Hermione quickly fumbled in her bag for the Horcrux.
Ellie tilted her head towards her girlfriend, silently telling Ron to give the fang to Hermione.
"You do it," Ron told Hermione, pushing the fang into her direction.
"I can't," Hermione admitted.
"Yes, you can," Ron urged as Hermione took the fang reluctantly.
"Listen to me, darling. You can do it, okay? I'll be right here," Ellie encouraged as she placed a quick peck on Hermione's forehead.
Ron took the cup from Hermione's hand and crouched as he placed it on the floor. Ellie guided her girlfriend to crouch down beside her, all of them looking at each other with ready expressions. Hermione looked back to her girlfriend one last time, Ellie nodding in encouragement. She brought her hand above her head and struck down hard, the clanking of the fang hitting the cup filling the silence. The cup spiraled away as water started to rush into the chamber.
Ellie immediately pulled Hermione up, bringing her to run away from the massive wave that was forming. Ron followed frantically, looking back at the wave that flashed images of Voldemort. They stopped just before the exit, with Hermione clutching onto Ellie as she braced herself. A flood of water came crashing down on the three of them, drenching them thoroughly.
Yet, without acknowledging they nearly died, Hermione and Ellie threw themselves at each other, kissing each other passionately. It only lasted for a few moments, as Ron awkwardly cleared his throat to get their attention. The lovers finally broke away, giggling as they felt Ron's stare.
Ellie turned to the red-head with a smile.
"I'm really proud of you, Ron," Ellie spoke, smiling widely. "We've come a long way."
A smile crept upon Ron's face, his eyes showing that he clearly didn't hear those words often.
"Thank you, Ellie," Ron blushed, shifting his weight on his feet before glancing at the both of them. "Uh... In case I don't get the chance to say it again: I'm really happy for you two."
Hermione looked up at her girlfriend and placed a loving kiss on the Hufflepuff's jaw, resting her head in the nook. Ellie nodded appreciatively, staying still for as much as she could.
"We've got to get out there. We need to help," Ellie announced reluctantly, not wanting to break the close proximity with her girlfriend.
The three of them broke into a jog as they heard deep rumbling from above, screams piercing their ears.