70 | Death Eaters sneak into Hogwarts
After the Christmas break, Marley Macmillan, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny returned to Hogwarts by floo powder. Then, by June, everything was normal, except that on his seventeenth birthday, Ron was poisoned and filled with love potion. Visits to Hogsmeade were canceled; Harry, Ron and Hermione enrolled in the Apparition course that Marley had taken last year.
Somewhere by April, Katie Bell had finally returned from St. Mungo, but she still had no idea who had put the Imperius curse on her. In the end of the month, Marley turned eighteen years old. She received letter with birthday presents from the twins, Angelina, Lee Jordan, Brielle Macmillan and Noelle Black. Harry, Ron and Hermione also gave her something for her birthday.
Lately, Marley has not had much time to rest and talk, as she has been frantically learning about her NEWT exams. If anyone was talking to her, she would just nod and sometimes even grunt. She hasn't talked to Ginny lately, because she was always studying. The red-haired girl had OWLs this year.
But of course, she had continued to go for Quidditch trainings. Their team had reached the finals, and after it was understood that Harry had been punished by Snape and wouldn't be playing, everyone was shocked. Ginny was a Seeker, and Dean Thomas played like a Chaser. After all, the Gryffindor team took the Cup for the third consecutive year.
All of Marley's and Ginny's exams had already passed, the two girls could rest in peace by the end of the term. Now, by the end of the school year, they didn't have to worry about anything. So, a few days before the end, the fake galleon that Marley was still keeping from DA's meetings started getting hot in her pocket. She and Ginny were going up to Gryffindor's common room when Ginny felt the burning of her coin.
"What's happening?" frowned the redhead. "There can't be a DA meeting. I think something's wrong."
"You're right." said Marley and reached out for the coin in the pocket of her skirt but then she saw Ron, Hermione and Neville Longbottom running down the stairs towarsds them. Hermione was holding the Marauder's Map in her hands and ron an old sock.
"Hey, Harry has a mission for us." said Ron, panting. "Malfoy is up to something and he wants us to keep an eye on him."
"And where is Harry?" asked Marley. Ron and Hermione looked at each other, not quite convinced if they could trust her about it. But she was his sister. "I'm his sister and I have to know what's going on with my brother! So you're going to tell me unless--"
"Fine! Fine!" exclaimed Ron. "Just don't jinx my fingers, please. We don't have much time. Noen, Brooklyn and Luna are coming too. They are from the loyal DA members."
Ron and Hermione quickly told Marley and Ginny about Harry's adventure with Dumbledore, the Horcruxes, about Malfoy's plans and how he was spotted to use to Room of Requirement.
"So, we're following Malfoy right?" Marley raised and eyebrow, while Hermione was giving her the Marauders' Map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. Okay, maybe someone should go to keep an eye on Snape."
In that moment from the corridor were heard footsteps. Marley thought it was Filch and he would scold them to go back in the common room, but it were Noen Black, Brooklyn Ray and Luna Lovegood. After the three arrived, they told them the main reasons why Hermione had called them.
"Luna, we'd go to Snape's office," said Noen Black, looking at the Map. "He's in there. Uhm, but we need a third person. Who's volunteer?"
"Don't look at me," Brooklyn held up her hands in the air. "I want to see what Draco is up to. Maybe Hermione would go with you and Luna."
"Fine," Hermione said. "You're going to the Room of Requirement and watch what Malfoy is doing. We'll exchange information through the coins."
"Wait," Ron called out Hermione, when she, Noen and Luna were about to go to Snape's office. "Felix Felicis. Harry told us to drink from it. I think it's enough for all of us. Just in case."
He reached out for the sock and took out a bottle with shiny golden liquid. And he was right. After Neville drank from the liquid luck, the bottle was empty. Marley felt adrenaline moving through her veins and now she felt how this mission was going to be so successful.
They split and Marley held the Marauder's Map. They were currently on the fifth floor, and she was frantically searching for Malfoy's name on it, but didn't see it for ten minutes. And five minutes later, suddenly he appeared on the sixth floor, where they were.
"Here!" whispered Ron, pointing with finger the slight figure of Draco Malfoy, who was quickly moving towards the seventh floor where was the Room of Requirement.
"He's holding the Hand of Glory." said Brooklyn with cold voice. Her blue-grey eyes were stucked on him, but her face was pale like canvas. Marley had no idea what the girl was thinking of.
"C'mon!" urged them Neville. "Let's follow him before we lose him of our sight."
"Good." said Ginny and the fifth of them quietly followed Draco Malfoy to the Room or Requirement. They couldn't go inside because he was way too fast and they waited probably an hour for him to leave the Room. Marley had started to lose patience when she spotted the door in the stone wall and how Malfoy was leaving. Unfortunately, his eyes looked around in their direction and that was the end of their undercover.
"Fuck!" swore Marley under her nose. Draco was looking at them with bloody look and they group tried to approach him. But in this moment he threw something and everything sunk in darkness. Marley fell on the floor. She somehow stood up but couldn't see anything.
"Guys, are you here?" asked Neville with fear in his voice.
"Yes, I can't see anything." replied Ginny. "But I think we lost Malfoy.
"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Ron. "Fuck! I think I dropped my wand. I don't know where is it. I can see only darkness."
"I knew he was up to something." mumbled quietly Brooklyn, more to herself than to the others. Her voice was high, so Marley supposed the two girls were close to each other. "He was so fucking distant from everybody."
"What do you mean?" asked Marley. "Do you know something about him?"
"No." said Brooklyn negatively. "He never told me or anyone what was he doing. Except the stupid Crabbe and Goyle, because why not to tell some stupid filthy shallow-minded jerks."
Marley caught the anger in her voice and the older girl spread hands around herself, trying to find the others.
"Lumos!" said Neville, but the tip of his wand didn't light up immediately. Suddenly, his face was covered in blue light and he seemed so far from her.
"Incendio!"
"Lumos!"
"Nothing's working. Or at least to as good as we want to." Marley rolled eyes annoyed, because they were stuck in this stupid instant darkness... "Holly shit! I'm going to kill Fred and George! This is the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. From Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."
"Your boyfriend is not helping us!" shouted grumpily Ron. "Why did they sell it to Malfoy? Why the bloody hell?!"
"Hey, did you hear that?" asked Ginny and everyone went silent. Marley heard a lot of footsteps and laughters, she caught Malfoy's voice who was guiding this people... the Death Eaters. "Oh no! Do you think this is that I think it is?"
"Yes, they're fucking Death Eaters." Marley pressed her lips in thin line and her face was red with anger. "Guys, we must get out of the Instant Darkness Powder and find someone from the Order. Since Dumbledore and Harry aren't here--"
"Maybe Lupin is." said Ginny. "How are we supposed to know where each one of us is positioned in this darkness? I offer to not use curses because we can hit each other. We can't use the map neither."
"Wait, I think I touched the wall." said Brooklyn. "Walk. On your left. Well, at least I hope your left is toward the wall."
Everyone did what Brooklyn had told them and for Marley's surprise, she collided with the stone wall and her shoulder pushed with the shoulder of Brooklyn or Ginny. It was a miracle the fifth of them were clenched to the wall.
"Who's first in the column?" asked Brooklyn on high voice. "I think you can just walk ahead and we'll find a light corridor."
"Oh, uhm, okay." replied a tiny voice filled with fear. Neville. "Then, follow me and try not to keep too much distance. We must stay together."
The fourth of them walked around fifteen minutes because it was hard to do it in complete darkness. When they finally found the light corridor and were capable to see again, the Death Eaters and Malfoy were gone.
"Great," exhaled Ginny. "I think Lupin must be here. And other people from the Order. Let's go and find them."
"Let's look on the Map." said Marley and opened the Marauders' Map. She was looking for Lupin's or Tonks' name on it and finally found them. They were on the sixth floor. "I found them. Follow me. And hurry up."
The five hurried down the empty corridor, where there was no living soul. Downstairs, they found Lupin and Tonks, who nervously patrolled and were pale and impatient. Tonks's hair was a bright shade of pink again, and she was the first to notice Marley and the others.
"Marley, Ginny!" she exclaimed. Lupin was looking through the window and the moonlight was shining on his pale face. "What's happening? Are you hurt?"
"Yes... uhm, no." replied Ron, instead of the girls.
Lupin and Tonks exchanged a confused look.
"We came across Malfoy, who was going to the Room of Requirement," said Marley. "He saw us and threw us out of the Peruvians Instant Darkness Powder. And we heard footsteps."
"The Death Eaters have invaded Hogwarts," added Brooklyn. "and if I'm not mistaken, they will go up to the Astronomy Tower. We must go there now. Something bad is happening."
"You mean we, like Tonks and I." Lupin cut the blonde girl. "If there are Death Eaters there, you mustn't go unless you want to die."
"But we can handle them!" exclaimed enthusiastically Neville. "It's just about luck. We're coming. If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't know now they're in Hogwarts."
"We would have understood anyway." Tonks said.
"But it would be too late." Marley looked at her, smiling triumphantly, because she knew Tonks and Lupin didn't have a choice now. They had to take them in the Astronomy Tower. Marley had a good premonition that they will survive the battle.
In that moment, screams and noise from a distance fight echoed in the tiny quiet walls of Hogwarts.
Lupin was rolling his eyes, "I think we are already late."