"Hello, love." I held in my groan, scanning the hallway and thankfully realizing he was without his usual escorts. "How've you been?"
"Theo." I answered, still moving quickly down the hallway. The room of requirement was only one floor up, and I thought of the candies Fred had given me, wastefully still lodged into my trunk downstairs. I could have heard him coming a mile away.
"You look tired, angel." His voice was teasing as he kept up with me easily, offering me a smirk as I finally slowed near the staircase, not wanting to lead him to the DA.
"I wonder why. A whole month back in Hell." I replied, taking a step away from him, not liking the way he was grinning down at me.
"It doesn't have to be Hell, Cass." His voice had dropped low as he took another step towards me. His fingers reached quickly, surrounding my wrist and pulling me against him. "Just let me help you."
"Get off me,"
"Let me take care of you. You know I care for you-"
"Fuck off, Theo!" I snapped, ripping my hand from his and stepping backwards into the wall. "I'm with Fred. And even if I wasn't, I'm not usually interested in men who have tortured-"
"With Fred?" He had let me drop his hand, yet still moved closer towards me, blocking me in against the wall. "You can't be serious. How are you still with him? They've been holding your letters all year, how have-"
"You fucking asshole..." I willed my voice to sound stronger than it was coming out, "You knew?"
"Course I knew." He rolled his eyes, arms reaching out for the wall on each side of me.
"I thought he was hurt. I thought he was dead."
"They sent people to the Weasley's over the summer, they looked for you. You weren't there."
I couldn't help the scoff that fell from my lips and Theo shook his head.
"Doesn't matter." He continued, at last, running his tongue slowly over his bottom lip. "He doesn't have to know."
"Nott-"
"Don't you get lonely? All alone at school? You won't see him for months..." His fingers had slid to my waist, trailing along the fabric of my skirt before I shoved him roughly, a fire lit behind his eyes.
"Cassidy, don't do that-" A low groan left his mouth, cutting off his sentence, as my jinx hit him, boils bubbling up along his face as I hurried up the last flight of steps, peeking over my shoulder halfway up and smiling when I realized he was still bent over in pain on the floor.
I paced over the space outside the room three times, yanking the door shut behind me and sighing in relief, sinking down along a bookshelf in the corner. I knew I was early, but I couldn't help from wishing there had been someone else in here to greet me. It always felt safer when there were more of us.
I was nearly halfway through one of the books I had randomly pulled from the shelves. I wasn't sure if the room was giving us real books, or simply conjuring up more once we had exhausted the ones we had brought in, but there was a never ending well of knowledge if you had the time. And lately, that was all I had.
Suddenly, the door burst open, Neville scanning wildly around the room before his eyes found me in the corner.
"There you are," He got out through gasping breaths, "Looked for you... everywhere..."
"What happened to you?" I was on my feet already, my hand sliding over his shoulder. "You hurt?"
"Not me," He shook his head, pulling the door back open and throwing himself into the hallway. "Ginny."
"What?" My blood ran cold as I started walking, blindly, not bothering to let him lead the way. "Where? What happened?"
"Detention," He huffed as they ran, the hospital wing only two floors down. "Supposed to be with Flitwick, he caught her hexing one of the Slytherin yesterday, I don't know... But the Slytherin told the Carrows..."
I ran faster, guilt tugging at my chest as I heard Neville huffing behind me. He had just run up countless flights of stairs and I had given him no time to rest. All I could think about was Ginny. I was supposed to be keeping her out of trouble, and we had only been back a month.
The double doors slammed against the wall, echoing through the brightly lit hospital wing.
"Miss Olsen, please!" Madam Pomfrey scolded, eyeing Neville and I before allowing us to continue to Ginny.
"Gin." I felt myself relax when I saw her eyes open, her familiar scowl painting her face.
"I'm literally fine, she won't let me leave."
"You've been through a trauma!" Madam Pomfrey's eyes were wide, obviously Ginny had been testing her in her brief stay here already.
"So has half the school now, I'm fine." She whined.
"Ginny," I said softly, nodding to Madam Pomfrey that she could leave us. "I thought we said-"
"He hexed me first. It's not my fault mine was better."
"Spoken just like your brothers." Neville chuckled, falling into the chair beside Ginny's bed.
"How much longer until summer?" Ginny groaned, rolling over in the small hospital bed.
"Too long." I said.
"Four months and three days." Neville answered mechanically, both Ginny and my eyes shooting to him with a sigh.
The radio flickered back to static and a collective sigh could be heard around the room. It was warm now, though whether that was from the amount of people that had gathered for the Potterwatch broadcast or if the room was simply offering us some small comfort, I wasn't sure. Most of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and some Ravenclaws had decided to make the Room of Requirement a nearly full time hang out spot, which was at least bringing the feeling of home back to Hogwarts.
We only had to think once of an activity before the room would offer it to us; board games, cards, new books, the radio for the broadcasts. There were thick pillows positioned all over the room now, some topped with blankets and pulled up against the walls for reading spots, while others were most often used as a landing pad for dueling practice.
The only thing that the room could not provide us was food, and while we had all taken to carrying water around with us, our current system of sneaking into the kitchens and lugging food up seven flights of stairs was growing tiresome.
"Hey," My voice pulled Neville, Hannah, Maddie and Bri from their varied conversations, though hushed so that Bri could read her book. "Where's Ginny? She's usually here by now."
It had been three days since Ginny's detention. Madam Pomfrey had thankfully kept her the next day, which saved me the anxiety of worrying for her. However, the past two days had involved a lot of checking in with her friends and attempting to catch glimpses of her between classes.
"I haven't seen her since Runes." One of the Gryffindor's answered, looking towards the door as if to check if we were sure Ginny wasn't inside somewhere.
"She wasn't in the common room," Neville looked worried, "I was sure she would be here with you guys."
"I'll go look for her. I can grab some food on the way up." I glanced at my watch, realizing the dozen or so students crammed into the room had missed dinner.
"I'll come." Neville offered, starting to his feet.
"It's fine, Longbottom." Maddie answered, beating him up. "You always get the food, just relax for once." She offered him a smile, leaving the space between Neville and Hannah notably empty.
"Are you just really hungry, or are you escorting me through the halls?" I asked, a slight smile pulling at my lips at Maddie's attempt to look offended.
"I'll have you know I just enjoy visiting the house elves." The two of us started down the first of many staircases, pausing only once as we waited for the stairs to float our way. "And if Nott is more hesitant to bother you when someone's with you, that's just a happy coincidence."
We paused by the library, scanning over the empty tables, only a few pairs of students hurrying through assignments, though I was sure Ginny wouldn't be in there. There was only one other place I could think to check, and I glanced toward the nearest window as if I would be able to see the pitch from there.
Maddie and I pushed through the door to the grounds, sighing at the sight of the downpour that awaited us.
"I say we let her do what she wants. She's a grown woman." Maddie begged, neither of us wanting to head into the rain to retrieve the Gryffindor.
"You can just go get some food, I'll meet you back up-"
"No, I'm joking." She grumbled, pulling her hood over her hair tightly. "Let's go."
It wasn't a terribly long walk to the quidditch pitch, though in this weather, it always felt longer. I forced my mind from the memories forcing their way through my head, every quidditch match and practice I had spent with Fred, watching him play or listening to him and George holler through the pitch as they rooted for differing teams each year.
"What do you think you're doing?" I shouted at last as we entered the pitch, our shoes sinking into the puddles of mud. I watched Ginny's head turn towards us, completing one last lap before flying our way. She hovered before us at last, oblivious to the fact that our boots were nearly filled with rainwater now, though I assumed her own clothes were soaked through entirely.
"Flying." She answered, flatly.
"I can see that." I forced a smile to my face, though my chest was heavy with worry. She hadn't been taking school well this year, although... none of us had. Even the Slytherin students seemed darker now, aside from the few who followed the Carrow's around like lost puppies. "You'll catch a cold."
"Okay, Madam Pomfrey, my apologies." She bit back, though her voice was teasing. A smile finally pulled to my face on it's own, hearing her joke, I could almost pretend we were home again.
"Come inside? You've missed dinner and Potterwatch."
Her lips pulled into a scowl. "They shouldn't call it that until they actually have anything real to report about him." She flew past us a ways before dropping to the grass, avoiding the mud.
"Come on, lil' Weasley." Maddie threw a sopping arm around Ginny's shoulders, which she surprisingly did not shrug off. "We'll go get some dinner. They'll have news about Harry soon."
"Ron too." I reminded and Ginny sent a playful shrug, Maddie bursting into laughter. "God, I love this girl. What should we eat, then? You know they'll make us anything, we can ask for anything."
Another couch. We need another couch. "Here, set him here." I ordered, Seamus and Justin lowering him at once, Neville wincing slightly before trying to sit up.
"Just lie still, Neville." Hannah pleaded, sitting gently on the edge of the new couch.
"You sure you don't want to go to the infirmary, mate? She can give you a sleeping draught, something for the pain-" Seamus too wore a matching gash on his cheek, though Neville had taken the brunt of their punishment.
"I'll be fine." He muttered, struggling to sit up, slouching slightly against the arm rest and offering Hannah a small smile.
"Didn't know it was optional to go to the infirmary..." Ginny pouted, and I shot her a look.
"Shut it. Neville, I can go get you something if you need?" I offered, noting the exhaustion clear in his eyes.
"I'm alright. Just going to rest for a bit."
"It's been a while now... since they've called on someone..." Bri mentioned, quietly, from her pillow on the floor.
"Well, we knew it was coming eventually. After..." Justin glanced between Ginny and I.
"They're not going to stop. They said at the start of term... They'll make everyone torture someone."
"So, we stop going." Neville answered, his voice low and determined, and I wondered briefly where he was getting his energy after a cruciatus curse.
"They'll murder us." Seamus chuckled, though nothing was funny. "If we skip any classes, much less their bullshit mandatory ones."
"So we stop going altogether." Neville said, eyes glancing around the room. "None of us will listen to them, none of us are going to hurt innocent people. And I'm sick of all of us getting hurt for it."
"Neville..." I spoke softly, even though he wasn't. I could still remember the way my head had pounded after the cruciatus curse. "They'll... They'll find us."
"They can't get in here. I worked hard on it at the start of term. As long as there is someone in this room, the Carrow's, Snape, any of the mini Death Eaters. They can't get in."
"We'll still have to go down for food, the room can't make us-"
"The second we stop going to classes, we'll be Hogwart's most wanted."
"We don't all have to stop going." I said. "Neville, you and Seamus should definitely lie low, especially now. And once you've missed a few classes, you cant go back. You're right, Seamus, they'll murder you both. But, a few of us can keep going-"
"They'll ask you where we are." Seamus pointed out.
"We're not Gryffindors. What do we know about your whereabouts?" Bri shrugged, easily.
"That's a good point. Ginny stays too." I nodded, as if that was final.
"Oi! Maybe I don't want to stay in here, I'll go bored out of my mind."
"You could never get bored in here!" Maddie answered, "The room will bring you whatever you want! And honestly, what's another..." She counted quickly on her fingers, "Two and a half months locked in a strange room."
"Helpful." I shot her a glare, "Really helpful."
"We'll bring back food throughout the day. We'll make it work. And if it starts to get bad, or... worse... then, we'll figure something else out. But I think that Neville's right. They're done hurting us all."
There was a murmur of agreement, Justin and Bri offered to run down for some food for us.
"Anyone who's going to stay can take turns heading back to their dorms to get some things. We should keep it light though, there's not unlimited room in here and if we get caught carrying a heap of our stuff through the halls..." I muttered, a few groups of students heading towards the doorway to begin their collection.
"I'd kill for that map right about now." Ginny muttered, shooting me a knowing glance.
"Tell me about it." I bit back a laugh, starting towards the bookshelf in hopes that I could find something new there, a new stack appearing just as I glanced over an empty shelf.
"Thank you, again." I muttered, quickly, stuffing the last container into my overfilled bag. It definitely looked suspicious, yet thankfully, once you climbed enough stairs, the Carrow's were usually never patrolling. Still, I shut the door softly behind me, walking quickly towards the staircase leading to the Entrance Hall and popping one of the twin's listening lolli's into my mouth. They had been right about them not lasting long, the extraordinary hearing fading even before the taste did on most occasions, which was just another excuse to hurry through the halls.
I paused again at the second staircase, listening for the immediate silence. With so many students holed up every evening in the room of requirement and the rest sticking in small groups in their dorms or the library, the halls were usually empty. This made it easier to tell where the sounds you could faintly hear were coming from, or at least, how far away they were.
I hurried up two more silent flights of stairs before I heard the voices. They had started out muffled, though as I took another step, they grew louder until it was clear they were only one hall away.
I felt my heart race. It wasn't the Carrows, although sometimes it was difficult to choose who I would have wanted to run into. The Carrows, or...
"Quit sulking around all day, Malfoy." Theo's voice carried through the hallway now, and I no longer needed the candy to hear him. "You're depressing us all."
There were a few snickers of which I had to guess were Crabbe and Goyle. I took a step back down the stairs, knowing it was my only option. I couldn't let them find me, much less with a full bag of food, especially now that people were beginning to notice the missing students.
"Missy Weasley, what do we have here!" A familiar squeal sounded off over my head and I looked up with wide eyes to find Peeves, my heart officially stopping in my chest as I pressed a finger to my lips.
"Please... don't give me away." I hissed, watching realization dawn on the poltergeist's face.
"Who's missy Weasley hiding from?" Peeves called again, albeit, a bit softer. He leaned forward, rolling in circles until he could see the Slytherin boys around the corner, a smirk sliding across his face. "Well look who Peevesie's found!" His voice was loud again as he shot forward, the boys groans filled the hallway, and even without the lollipop, I could hear their footsteps fading away.
I waited another second, popping another candy into my mouth and listening as Peeves chased them down the halls, never ending shouts and jokes erupting from his mouth before I hurried up the remaining flights of stairs, not stopping until I reached the doorway.
"There you are!"
"What took you so long?"
"You've got to see what Neville did!"
"I thought I was getting pretty quick..." I mumbled, emptying out my bag onto the table, yet noting that not many students had started towards the food.
"Come look!" Hannah's face was lit up with a grin that I hadn't seen in weeks, possibly years, as she pulled me towards the edge of the room where Neville was waiting, the scar from his face beginning to fade now, a sheepish smile on his lips.
"I didn't actually do anything." He started, glancing up at a dark black picture frame which hadn't been there before now. "I was just thinking about how hungry I was getting, and it appeared... and... well, you'll just have to see."
He reached for the side of the painting, pulling it open, a thick draft escaping and rushing through my hair as everyone grinned at me.
"What is this?" I asked, nervously, though forcing my nerves down at everyone's smiles. Was this a way out? A way out of Hogwarts? A way home?
"Come on, you'll see." Neville nodded for me to follow, Bri, Maddie and Hannah at my side as Neville led the way down the dark tunnel. It was a decently long walk, though it felt a bit like the walk Fred and I used to make to Honeydukes.
At last, Neville reached a dead end, pushing through a matching portrait and hopping down into a dingy looking pub. A familiar dingy pub...
"Wait, is this-"
"Stop bringing more people in here, I told ya!" The bartender from the Hog's Head was shooting Neville an aggravated glare, though Neville didn't seem to mind, offering the man an easy smile.
"She's not hungry, she's got food back at the school. I just wanted to show her the tunnel."
"Yeah, built a tunnel right into my pub. A bunch of knutless kids-"
"I told you, keep a tab, we'll pay it all back this summer!" Neville grinned, as if this was all simply playful banter, while I felt more like we were inconveniencing the poor man.
"Neville... we can't just barge into-"
"Ugh, s'fine. I'll give ya some food, the boy here's been filling me in on everything up at the school. S'not right. But you gotta pay up eventually, I'm not running a homeless shelter."
"I've got it. I'll be back in June, I'll settle the tab for anyone who doesn't come back any pay theirs." I smiled, the feeling of anxiety finally seeping out from my chest. We had food, or at least, a way to get food. None of us had to risk being caught every day now smuggling things back to the room. "Thank you..."
"Eh," He waved a hand, and I pulled Maddie's sleeve back to the tunnel, pointedly. We didn't want to anger the man before he even had the chance to help us.
"So, I guess I brought all that food up for myself." I laughed as we began our walk back.
"I could eat again." Maddie shrugged, the five of us hurrying back down the tunnel and into the cozy room filled with excited chatter.