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Neville had just gone through the portrait to get Ron and Hermione, and now everyone was waiting with baited breath, expecting Harry Potter. But he wouldn't come. Al was playing around with Harry's snitch, not really interested in it, just looking for a distraction.
"Dean and Luna are on their way," Seamus said, waving his galleon around, "And the Weasleys will follow."
"They'll let everyone else know," Al promised, "Does everyone know the plan?" There were a few uncertain mumbles, and Al stuffed the snitch into her pocket. "When they get here, I'll alert McGonagall while Daphne, Seamus, Anne, and Terry all alert the houses. McGonagall will oversee evacuation while Harry, Ron and Hermione do their thing."
"And what exactly is their thing?" Anthony Goldstein asked. There were mutters of disapproval.
"It alright," Al said, "It's a fair question. But we're not sure, we've just got to trust them. They know what they're doing." Just then, the portrait door swung open to reveal Neville, a very dishevelled Ron and Hermione behind him.
"They're here!"
"It's Ron and Hermione!"
"Where's Potter?"
"Is Harry there?"
"Um - Harry's on his way," Hermione announced, glancing nervously at Al who gave her an encouraging smile. There were fresh cheers of delight, and Al gave them their moment before interrupting.
"Alright, alright," she said, pushing through, "Let them breathe." But Al, being the hypocrite that she was embraced Hermione tightly. "It's good to see both of you," she said sincerely. "Let's go to my office."
"You have an office?" Ron asked, amused.
"Yup," Al said holding the door open and letting them walk inside.
"So what's going on, Al?" Hermione asked with a frown. "What did you mean in your message?" She glanced around nervously at Neville and Daphne.
"They know about the horcruxes and about Harry," Al told her and she visibly relaxed. "Voldemort's on his way here now, he knows you broke into Gringotts, he knows you're hunting horcruxes. He doesn't know that I inherited Harry's connection-"
"You what?" Daphne asked.
"No time to explain, I'll do it if we live," Al said shortly, and Daphne's mouth snapped shut. "He doesn't know about that, and he let slip that there's one here at Hogwarts."
"It'll be Ravenclaw's," Hermione said confidently.
"Well, I've got at least four Ravenclaws out there you can ask," Al said, "And Luna'll be here any minute." Ron nodded as Hermione jumped up, and the five of them headed outside where Luna and Dean were being welcomed. Just as they did, the portrait door opened, and in stepped Ginny - to much cheering - Lee Jordan, Cho Chang, Fred and George.
Al ran over, squealing with delight, and hugged him so hard she wouldn't be surprised if she'd knocked the air from his chest. And then they were kissing and a couple of people wolf-whistled and Fred and Lee made identical retching sounds. They broke apart. "Listen," Al said, "I-"
"Al," Michael Corner interrupted, "Evacuation, the plan...remember?"
"Right," Al said, regaining her composure. She could tell George the news about her pregnancy while they evacuated people later. "Ron, Hermione?"
"Well," Hermione said nervously, "We need an object of Ravenclaw's."
"Like Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket, Gryffindor's sword," Ron listed.
"There's Ravenclaw's lost diadem," Luna said casually, "Daddy's replicating it. It enhances the wisdom of the wearer-"
"Yeah," Terry Boot said, "But it's lost."
"When?" Ron asked.
"Centuries ago," Cho said, "People say it vanished with Rowena Ravenclaw herself."
"Well that's it then," Al said. "It has to be. What does it look like?"
"It's like a tiara," Cho said, "There's a statue of it in Ravenclaw tower - I could show you if you'd like?"
"No," Al said, "Luna can take the two of you. She knows more about it." Luna, Ron and Hermione nodded. "I'm going to get McGonagall and the other heads alerted. Daphne, Seamus, Anne, Terry, you know what to do. Everyone else stay put and ready until my say-so." There were nods of agreement and the group of eight set off. Ron, Hermione and Luna went off ahead under the invisibility cloak and Seamus went in the other direction. At some point Terry broke off from their group, and finally Al left Daphne and Anne to head down into the lower levels of the castle alone.
She knocked on McGonagall's door and it was pulled open by the sleepy Professor in a tartan dressing gown. "Dursley? What is it?" she asked, wand in hand.
"Voldemort's coming to Hogwarts, Professor," Al said quickly, "Harry's on his way and you need to evacuate right now."
"Good heavens, Dursley," McGonagall said, but before she could continue there was a bang from above them.
"Where was that?" Al asked, gripping her wand.
"Ravenclaw tower, I think," McGonagall said, "With me, now." Al followed McGonagall silently through the corridors of Hogwarts until they reached a spiralling staircase. They hurried up it, hearing a loud bang from the top of the stairs.
"I dunno!" Amycus was shouting at the door. "ALECTO! LET ME IN! D'YOU WANT TO GO THE SAME WAY AS THE MALFOYS?"
"Professor Carrow," McGonagall said, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to get through this damned door!" Amycus shouted at her, "Get Flitwick for me! Now!"
"Isn't your sister in there?" McGonagall asked coolly. "Didn't Professor Flitwick let her in earlier?"
"She ain't answering!" Amycus shouted. "Dursley, you've got a smart mouth. Answer it and let me in."
"I'm not in Ravenclaw," Al said quietly, scowling.
"I don't care!" Amycus said, "Open the bloody door or I'll hex you into oblivion!"
"Don't threaten my students," McGonagall said, stepping forward, and Al felt a swell of pride.
"I'd like to see you try - oh wait, you did," Al said with a sly grin. Nevertheless she stepped up to the door and knocked. If something was going on on the other side she wanted to be there.
"Where do vanished objects go?" The door knocker asked her.
"Oh," Al said, pleasantly surprised, "Transfiguration. Did you not pass NEWT Transfiguration, Professor Carrow?" Amycus had turned a Vernon-Dursley-dark-purple now, so Al turned back to the knocker. "Into non-being, which is to say everywhere."
"Nicely phrased," the knocker said, and McGonagall put an encouraging hand on her shoulder. But then Amycus shoved past them and burst into the room.
"They gorn and killed her!" Amycus shouted, glaring at Alecto's unconscious form.
Al rolled her eyes. "She's stunned," she and McGonagall said at the same time. "She'll be fine," McGonagall added.
"No she bleedin well won't!" Amycus said, "Not after she told the Dark Lord we've got Potter!"
"What do you mean, 'got Potter'?" McGonagall asked.
"He told us Potter might try and get into Ravenclaw tower," Amycus said. "And now he's not here! We can blame it on the kids. Tell him they forced her to press her mark. Couple of kids more or less, what's the difference?"
"You will not push this onto my students," McGonagall said forcefully, "I won't permit it."
Amycus stepped forward threateningly and Al twitched her wand, but McGonagall didn't back down. "The time for what you'll permit is over, Minerva McGonagall." And he spat in her face.
Out of nowhere, Ron stepped forward, wand poised. "You shouldn't have said that. Crucio!"