ALMOST in an instant, the four of us were engulfed in a stampede of various greetings of hugs and shaking hands.
I could barely count or recognize who was in front of me without another person swooping in a second later, so I went with it and embraced them back, shaking their hands with smiles and accepting a pound on the back; still in a dazed state as I did so.
"Margo!" a voice lost in the excited crowd called. "Margo!"
It was that sound that made me snap out of trance; a sound that I knew like the back of my hand, a voice I heard almost everyday for the past seven years.
The crowd parted as a figure pushed through, tall and lanky with sandy, wavy hair—
I screamed as I ran to him. "Ernie!"
We met halfway, embracing each other so fiercely that we almost stumbled back. I don't remember when I started to cry, but as I pulled away and scanned his face, a busted lip and a light scar against his cheek, I felt the tears slide down to my neck.
"Oh my god, oh my god—" I hiccuped as he grinned from ear to ear.
"I knew it," he said. "I knew you'd make it."
I didn't even care about the people who were watching, some with sad smiles and some already wiping away their tears, but the ugly sobs started on their own.
I didn't even care about wondering why he was here, and what in his right mind was he thinking when he chose to stay, knowing fully well that his mother would have said otherwise.
"O-of course I'd make it. You h-have no idea—" I blubbered as I hit him lightly "—how much I—I missed you and Ruby—" another sob escaped as I remembered my other best friend, missing her so much that my heart clenched, but so, so relieved she was away from all of this. And safe.
"I know," Ernie said with a sad smile as he wiped a tear. My best friend; my brother.
"Hey!" I heard Ron exclaim indignantly. "You never cried like that whenever you missed me!"
A chorus of laughter echoed around the room, the atmosphere growing happier once again — probably more than they've felt for almost a whole year.
"Okay, okay, calm down!" Neville called against the commotion, finally taming the crowd and letting me take in where we were as I dried my tears.
It was a place I had never seen before in Hogwarts, almost resembling a giant tree house with the colorful hammocks tied on one end to the other. The room had no windows yet it was illuminated in a way as if there were, tapestries of the crests of three-quarters of the Hogwarts houses hung on the walls instead; the emerald green and silver of Slytherin no where in sight. Bookcases and broomsticks even lined some of the walls.
"Where are we?" Harry voiced aloud.
"The Room of Requirement, of course! Surpassed itself, hasn't it? The Carrows were chasing me and I knew I had just one chance for a hideout: I managed to get through the door and this is what I found!" Neville explained.
I marveled at the room again as I half-listened to Neville's story: how the Carrows can't get in, how they've been getting food — it was incredible.
Help will always be given at Hogwarts, to those who need it.
"Tell us what you've been up to, though," Ernie said, "there've been so many rumors, we've been trying to keep up with you on Potterwatch. I heard, that you guys and someone—" he poked my side "—broke into Gringotts?"
"They did!" Neville said. "And the dragon's true too!"
There was a round of applause and cheering going. I flushed as Ernie stared at me with eyes about to pop out from his sockets. "You actually—?"
I smiled sweetly. "Close your mouth, Ern, you're gonna catch flies."
"What were you after?" Seamus asked eagerly.
Before we could answer, Harry turned away from the crowd and swayed dangerously with beads of sweat already forming on his temples. Hermione and I rushed forward as Ron helped steady him, watching with concern and bracing ourselves for what he saw again.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Neville asked. "Want to sit down? I expect you're tired, aren't—?"
"No," Harry breathed as he locked eyes with the three of us; the message in it as clear as day. "We need to get going." My smile dropped.
"What are we going to do, then, Harry?" Seamus asked. "What's the plan?"
"Plan?" Harry repeated. "Well, there's something we — Ron, Hermione, Margo and I — need to do, and then we'll get out of here."
Nobody was laughing anymore, the smile had no doubt slipped off their faces when Harry took that stumble.
"What do you mean, 'get out of here'?"
I winced at the way it sounded: like we were just abandoning them. I glanced at Ernie, almost apologetically but he nodded in understanding, having already guessed why I was part of the mission; what my powers demanded of me.
"We haven't come back to stay," Harry continued. "There's something important we need to do—"
"What is it?"
"I—I can't tell you."
A rippled of murmuring, then Neville asked, "Why can't you tell us? It's something to do with fighting You-Know-Who, right?"
"Well, yeah—"
"Then we'll help you."
Harry bristled, mouth opening and closing as he searched for the right words. "You don't understand. We—we can't tell you. We've got to do it—alone."
Though as he said it, a frown grew on me. Did we really have to do it alone? I scanned the crowd, noting the determined yet solemn faces everyone bore. Dumbledore's Army, we called ourselves — like what Neville had said too as he continued to debate with Harry.
Everyone here is ready, that I can already tell. But just as I was about to tell Harry that same thing, the tunnel door had opened behind us.
"We got your message, Neville!" said a smiling Luna Lovegood. "Hello you four, I thought you must be here!"
Dean was beaming at everyone as he emerged from behind her. There were a chorus of hellos from everyone except Seamus, who roared — literally roared with happiness — as he went to tackle Dean.
"Hi, everyone!" Luna said cheerfully. "Oh, it's great to be back!"
"Luna," Harry said distractedly, "what are you doing here? How did you—?"
"I sent for them." Neville held up the fake Galleon from our D.A meetings. "I promised her and Ginny that if you turned up I'd let them know. We all thought that if you came back, it would mean revolution. That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows."
The set determination in his tone sent chills down my spine. "Woah," I whispered. Revolution.
"Of course that's what it means," Luna chimed in. "Isn't it, Harry? We're going to fight them out of Hogwarts?"
"Listen," Harry said urgently, "I'm sorry, but that's not what we came back for. There's something we've got to do, and then—"
"You're going to leave us in this mess?" demanded Michael Corner disbelieved.
"No!" Ron said. "What we're doing will benefit everyone in the end, it's all about trying to get rid of You-Know-Who—"
"Then let us help! We want to be a part of it!"
The sound of a door opening behind us divided our attention once again. I turned, catching three heads of bright orange—
I squealed again as I rushed to tackle Ginny whom I saw first, almost taking her down as I clung onto her tightly. She laughed with delight and embraced me as equally as tight.
"Oh no," I moaned as I felt my eyes start to water again. "How many more times do I have to cry today—?"
"Move over, Ginny!" George said.
"It's our turn," Fred added with a cheeky grin.
I smiled with my teeth out and grabbed the twins by the shoulders, bringing them down to my level as the three of us basked in the moment.
They patted my back and said in unison, "We missed you too, little Margo."
"Oi!" said a voice behind them. "I should be getting a hug too, Margo!"
I peeked over George's shoulder and barked out a laugh, seeing Lee Jordan mock-pouting beside Ginny.
"Get in here, you!" I giggled, opening my arms for him as well.
From seeing Neville and Ernie within the span of minutes, to then seeing the twins, Ginny and Lee again swelled my heart up like a balloon filled with ecstasy instead of air.
"Aberforth's getting a bit ratty," Fred said as he smiled at everyone else greeting him. "He wants a kip, and his barns turned into a railway station."
Just as he said it, Cho Chang emerged from the doorway and smiled prettily at everyone. Another person whom I greeted and hugged tightly.
"So what's the plan, Harry?" George asked.
"There isn't one." He blinked at everyone who just entered, no doubt super overwhelmed at what was happening.
"Just going to make it up as we go along, are we? My favorite kind," said Fred.
"You've got to stop this!" Harry scolded Neville, making me raise my brows in astonishment. "What did you call them back for? This is insane—"
"Harry—" I started.
"We're fighting, aren't we?" Dean interrupted. "The message said Harry was back, and we were going to fight! I'll have to get a wand, though—"
"You haven't got a wand—?" Seamus whirled on him with an expression that resembled a mother hen.
Ron suddenly turned to Harry. "Why can't they help?"
"What?"
I stepped forwards too and lowered my voice. "They can help, Harry. Dumbledore may have told you to destroy the Horcruxes and You-Know-Who, but he didn't tell you that you don't deserve more help."
"We don't know where it is," Ron added. "We've got to find it fast. We don't have to tell them it's a Horcrux."
"I think Ron's right," Hermione murmured as well. "We don't even know how it really looks like, even Margo. We need them. You don't have to do everything alone, Harry."
I nodded solemnly, seeing the internal battle happening on his face.
"All right," he told us before facing the crowd once again. "Okay. There's something we need to find." Everyone was suddenly alert. "Something—something that'll help us overthrow You-Know-Who. It's here at Hogwarts, but we don't know where. . ." he trailed off, looking at me expectantly.
"It's something that once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw," I said loudly. "Her lost diadem, have any of you heard of it?"
The Ravenclaws in the room shared questioning looks.
"I know how it may sound," I said with a wince. "And I know the diadem has been lost for centuries now, but. . .but I need all of you to trust me on this. Harry and I—have any of you perhaps know how it looks like? If there's a way you can show us. . ."
"I could take you up to our Common Room, Harry, Margo?" Cho piped up. "Ravenclaw's wearing it in her statue."
Harry contemplated her words for a moment, then murmured to us. "He's on the move."
"That would be great, actually," I told Cho.
"I know it's not much of a lead," Harry continued to tell Ron and Hermione, "but Margo and I are going to go and look at this statue, at least find out what the diadem looks like. Wait for us here and keep, you know—the other one—safe."
"No, Luna will take Harry and Margo, won't you, Luna?" Ginny suddenly said loud and clear.
"Oh, yes, I'd like to," Luna replied with a smile.
I smiled back at her but shot my eyes to Ginny and cocked my head. Really?
She shrugged, a hint of mirth and fire on her features; the message was clear enough.
"How do we get out?" I asked Neville, trying to act nonchalant after that tension.
"Over here." He led us to a corner where a small cupboard opened to a steep staircase.
I snorted, unable to help the dark humor contained in my head. "This looks familiar doesn't it, Harry?"
He shot me a disgruntled look.
"It comes out somewhere different every day, so they've never been able to find it," Neville said. "Only trouble is, we never know exactly where it's going to end up when we got out. Be careful, you three, they're always patrolling the corridors at night."
"No problem. See you in a bit."
We took off up the staircase which turned in the most unexpected places. I was thankful that it was lit up by torches; the almost dark turns always made my heart rate jump up. After what seemed like a thousand flights of stairs, we finally came to a stop in front of a solid wall.
"Get under here," Harry told us, pulling out the Invisibility Cloak that he threw over our heads.
I hesitantly gave the wall a little push, the stones instantly vanishing to show us a dark corridor.
"Well shit," I murmured as we stepped into the gloom.
EVEN if the whole walk to the Ravenclaw Common Room was successful, my heart was still pounding with anxiousness and climb up the numerous flights of stairs when we finally reached a wooden door with no handle or keyhole, just a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.
Luna reached out and knocked once, a loud sound compared to the stark silence that startled me a little. The eagle's beak opened up and sang, "Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?"
"Hmm. . .what do you guys think?" Luna asked us.
"This is why I'm not in Ravenclaw," I muttered.
"What? Isn't there just a password?"
"Oh, no, you've got to answer a question."
"What if you get it wrong?" Harry asked.
"Well, you have to wait for somebody who gets it right. That way you learn, you see?"
"Yeah. . .trouble is, we can't really afford to wait for anyone else, Luna," he almost said apologetically. I snorted.
"No, I see what you mean," she said seriously. "Well then, I think the answer is that a circle has no beginning."
"Well reasoned," said the eagle and swung the door open.
"Damn," I said impressed.
Despite the fact that we were in a hurry, I hung back and stared at the expanse of their Common Room amazed. It was a tall, circular room with gracefully arched windows that accented the walls. Swaths of blue and bronze silk hung around the wall, complimenting the midnight-blue carpeted floors.
But it wasn't those details that awed me the most: it was the domed ceiling painted with stars that glistened, and the tall statue of a woman, made of white marble, just opposite the door.
We strode right up to Rowena Ravenclaw and stared at the delicate looking circlet on her head. Looking at the full model up close, it was easy to imagine where the jewels were imbedded and how the silver shined under the light.
Harry slipped from under the Cloak and climbed up the pedestal to inspect the diadem closer.
"'Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure,' " he read.
"Which makes you pretty skint, witless," said a cackling voice.
I jumped out my skin and whirled around with Luna, paling at the sight of what I saw: the hunched figure of Alecto Carrow, smiling eerily as the tip of her wand kissed the skull and snake tattoo on her arm.
Before I can even react, Luna pointed her wand at Alecto and said, almost dreamily, "Stupefy!"
A loud bang sounded, and Alecto fell backwards with a thud so hard that the glass in the bookcases rattled.
"I've never Stunned anyone except in our DA lesson," Luna said. "That was noisier than I thought it would be."
"Merlin," I whispered, a hand clutched to my heart.
Sure enough, there were thunderous footsteps that we could hear just behind the door that led to the dormitories.
"Guys, where are you?" Harry whisper-shouted. "I need to get under the Cloak!"
Luna stuck her foot out in answer. Harry immediately rushed towards us and lifted the Cloak over himself, settling beside me, just as the door opened and poured out a stream of Ravenclaws.
We backed away into one corner of the room, Luna and I watching amusement as they gasped and cried at Alecto's unconscious body, swarming her like a herd of predators about to eat the injured prey. One kid even poked her backside with a toe.
"I think she might be dead!" he said happily.
"Oh, look," Luna whispered. "They're pleased!"
"Yeah. . .great. . ." I frowned at the faintness of Harry's answer and turned to get a glimpse at him, only to see that his eyes were tightly screwed shut and he was clutching his scar.
"Harry," I whispered urgently, "what is it?"
Before he can answer, there was a loud rap on the Common Room door that made every single Ravenclaw freeze. I heard eagle say serenely: "Where do vanished objects go?"
"I dunno, do I?" snarled the person. "Shut it! Alecto? Alecto? Are you there? Have you got him? Open the door!"
I paled. It was the other Carrow; Alecto's brother, Amycus — no doubt as horrid as she is.
The Ravenclaws shuffled back with fear. I almost wanted rush out of the Cloak and tell them to run and hide, to go upstairs before they were caught, but as another series of loud bangs echoed outside they scrambled away from the scene.
"ALECTO!" he roared. "If he comes, and we haven't got Potter — d'you want to go the same way as the Malfoys? ANSWER ME!"
Merlin, this tosser really has some intense anger that he needs to manage.
Another familiar voice rang out on the other side of the door. "May I ask what you are doing, Professor Carrow?"
My heart jumped with excitement; it was McGonagall.
"Trying—to get—through this damned—door!" Amycus shouted. "Go and get Flitwick! Get him to open it, now!"
"But isn't your sister in there? Didn't Professor Flitwick let her in, earlier this evening, at your urgent request? Perhaps she could open the door for you? Then you needn't wake up half the castle.
"She ain't answering, you old bosom!" he spat. Oh, he's definitely going on my hit-list. "You open it! Garn! Do it, now!"
"Certainly, if you wish it," McGonagall said with icy coldness that made me wish I was never on the receiving end of it.
She tapped on the knocker, and the voice spoke again, "Where do vanished objects go?"
"Into non-being, which is to say, everything."
"Nicely phrased." And with that, the door swung open.
~
DEAR READERS,
didn't have to edit this draft as much as my others so damn i was rlly proud of my writing here
merry christmas eve to those celebrating!!! i decided that since it's the holiday season and the month of giving i will be uploading a chapter today and tomorrow 😽 a gift from me to you guys hehe
this was a rlly wholesome chapter especially when margo finally saw ernie ginny and the twins again and even lee! it made me rlly happy when i wrote the first draft of this chapter so yuh 🙈
here's an easy question:
Q: are you guys excited for a draco and margo reunion again? ;)
A: i for sure am i've already written the scenes so watch out for the next updates!
please please keep commenting and voting guys! i rlly love reading your comments it brings me joy!
— S.
~