We hid behind those stupid suits of armor for about forty years, not speaking, not moving, barely breathing. It was a mark of how much we trusted Harry from the D.A. last year that Sammy and I didn't get up and leave. After another couple of decades had passed, we heard the squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick coming at us. “Death Eaters! Death Eaters in the castle!” he was shouting. “Severus, there are Death Eaters IN THE CASTLE!”
We came out from behind the suits of armor. Professor Flitwick barely noticed us. He flew into Snape's office, not bothering to knock, yelling about the Death Eaters. There was a thump, and Snape appeared, his face darker than a storm cloud. “Flitwick's collapsed,” he said. Hermione and Luna rushed into Snape's office to help him. Snape noticed Sammy and me, and his face grew even darker. “You two,” he said. “You need to get out of here, especially you, Miss Evans. Come!” We followed him dazedly up the stairs. He stopped at the Entrance Hall, where students were evacuating. The place packed with students from wall to wall. Snape turned to us and said, “Get out with the others! Hurry!”
I grabbed Sammy's hand and we headed to an empty classroom, waiting. “We aren't leaving! They need our help!” Sammy said angrily.
“Of course we're not leaving, but we're not being stupid either. We wait until the crowd thins a bit, when Snape's got a head start, then we go up.” I was nervous but determined.
After ten minutes, we ran up the stairs and through a secret passageway to the seventh floor, where we assumed the fight would be near the Room of Requirement. We were wrong; the seventh floor corridor where the Room of Requirement was was pitch black. We groped through, and Sammy said, “Go left! When you find the wall, keep your hand on it, and follow it out.”
I did so. We found the wall at the exact same time; I could tell by the loud “umph” that Sammy gave, hitting the wall, at the exact moment I smacked my hand on the wall. We made it out, and saw at the end of the next corridor that a large Death Eater was flinging hexes left and right. They were barely missing Ron, Valentine, Ginny, and Neville. It looked like Neville had hit his head, because he had a black eye and his temple was bleeding. Ginny ducked one of the big Death Eater's curses and dived into a corner. Ron yelled, “NOT MY SISTER!” and flung a Stunner at the Death Eater that missed by a hair's breadth.
Other Death Eaters were attending to several adults, and I marveled at Professor McGonagall's spellwork. I recognized Lupin, who looked as if he'd just been punched in the face. He was on the floor, but he got up and began fighting again. Another woman was with him, and I realized that she was one of the Aurors that had been guarding the castle all year. I also saw a red haired man who could have been Ron's brother. Sammy and I looked at each other and ran to help.
They seemed glad to except, but nothing we did seemed to stop this huge Death Eater. He yelled an unfamiliar curse, and half the ceiling tumbled down with a roar. Valentine aimed another Stunner at him, and it barely missed. Neville was knocked unconscious, and Sammy yelped with pain; a particularly large rock had caused her to fall, and she had twisted her ankle. Ginny and I ran to her aide, and suddenly Snape and Malfoy were running passed, followed by a stampede of Death Eaters that tossed curses left and right.
A fat Death Eater aimed a curse at Ginny and me. Ginny leaped up, shouting, “Get her out of the way, Rose! Stupify!” I pulled Sammy off to the side and then ran to help Ginny. The Death Eater kept aiming deadly spells at us, and we jumped back and forth.
“Crucio-Crucio- You can't dance forever-”* shouted the Death Eater, laughing maniacally. Then someone shouted “Impedimeta!” Harry's spell caused the Death Eater to squeak with pain, and then slam against a wall near Lupin, Ron, and McGonagall, locked in their own battles.
“Harry!” said Ginny in surprise, but Harry looked thunderstruck and did not seem to hear her. He ran through the battle and out of sight, after the other Death Eaters. For a moment, Ginny and I stood dazed. Then we heard Sammy's yell of pain- another unrecognizable Death Eater was torturing her, cackling like a hag. I felt a surge of rage rush through me and I shouted, “STUPIFY!” The Death Eater toppled to the floor, unconscious.
“Nice one!” yelled Ginny, and we ran to Sammy again, who was curled up in a ball, sobbing.
It happened all at once- the Death Eaters stopped fighting. They took off for the door and were gone, dragging their injured with them. They disappeared before anyone could follow them.
Professor McGonagall straightened up. “All of you, to the hospital wing!” she said sharply, conjuring several stretchers from midair for Neville, who was coming to very slowly, the red haired man, and Sammy. Lupin and the woman Auror conducted the stretchers with McGonagall. Valentine followed, holding her left arm with a look of sick pain on her face, but Ron grabbed my shoulder and said sharply, “Where's Hermione?”
Ginny touched his shoulder. “Calm down, Ron-”
“Shut up!” growled Ron, and then he turned back to me expectantly.
“Downstairs, with Luna, in Snape's office,” I said quickly. “They're alright, Flitwick collapsed and they were tending to him when Sammy and I left.”
Ron ran as fast as he could down the nearest staircase. Ginny turned to me. “We need to find Harry. He'll want to know that everyone's alright.” I nodded numbly and followed her down the stairs.
When we got to the courtyard, I heard what sounded like Fang howling. A large group of students had gathered in a circle around the bottom of the Astronomy Tower, and we saw Hagrid standing in the center of it. Ginny and I ran forward, pressing through the crowd. That's when we saw it.
Dumbledore's dead body lay on the ground, and Harry was kneeling by it, a single tear coursing down his cheek.
~ * ~
Once we were at the hospital wing, everything was explained. Various people took turns explaining to Harry what had happened, and then he told us that Snape had killed Dumbledore.
Lupin looked right at me when Harry said this. I had been sitting at Sammy's bedside the whole time; she wasn't taking the lingering affects of the Cruciatus Curse very well. When Harry said that, I jumped up and said, “NO!”
Everyone probably would have stared at me if they weren't all trying to get their minds around this themselves. Lupin walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. I looked at Lupin. This was all wrong, all terribly wrong. I had just seen Dumbledore's dead body on the lawn, and now my brother was saying that my guardian was a murderer.
“It's not true,” I said to Lupin feebly. “It can't be. Sev wouldn't do that.”
Lupin didn't say anything. What was there to say? Then everyone was distracted by the arrival of Ron's parents. Lupin had to go to them, explain why their son was covered in gashes and scars. I took the opportunity to run out of the hospital wing.
~ * ~
I ran until I had reached the Owlery, the only place I could think of to go and be alone. I stood in the door, panting slightly, and crying. The owls hooted lazily. Dusk had fallen, and many of them had gone to hunt, though a few were perched on high rafters, staring down at me with huge, bright eyes.
I cleared some owl droppings from a large window ledge facing the Forbidden Forest and sat down gingerly. The sun sank slowly behind the trees. I watched the grounds getting dark. So this was what his quote meant; he was willing to throw away his friendship with Dumbledore, willing to forget everything that Dumbledore had done for him, for the bettering of the Wizarding World. And his idea of “better” was definitely not a match for Webster's. When I'd finally stopped crying, it was pitch black outside, except for a few twinkling stars and the flickering light coming from Hagrid's hut.
I was about to go back to my dormitory, when I realized that I wasn't alone.
A boy, wearing a Ravenclaw badge on his black school robes, was leaning against the entrance of the Owlery. I recognized him almost instantly; he was Simon Harris, a quiet Ravenclaw in my year. He had been in the D.A. last year, and before that we'd gone to the Yule Ball together. I hadn't talked to him in ages. If I was honest with myself, I'd admit that I'd been avoiding him at all costs. We had been friends before, but he was a little to smart for his own good. What was he doing here now? Had he followed me?
Simon's light brown hair, always a little too long, was in danger of falling into his eyes. “Hey,” he said quietly. “Thought I'd find you here.”
“Why did you want to find me?” I asked defensively.
“Because Sammy and Valentine have been looking for you for the past half hour, and Sammy asked if I would help.”
I made a mental note to kill Sammy the next time I saw her.
“I could lie and say I couldn't find you. That ought to buy you another forty-five minutes before Filch shows up.”
I gave him a watery smile. “Thanks, but I think I'm okay now.” I stood up and followed him down the stairs. It was dark down there, and I muttered, “Lumos,” a little shakily.
“Are you sure you're okay?” asked Simon, with an annoyingly knowing look. Annoying because he was right. I wasn't okay. I doubted I would ever again be anything close to okay.
“I will be eventually, anyway.”
“I know,” he said quietly.
I smiled without humor. “Do you?”
“Actually, yeah, I do.” He looked down at me, and I felt my stomach perform a difficult gymnastics routine to the tune of some very bad eighties music. Oh, Godric, no. Nobody could find out, not now. Especially not now! It would be dangerous for me, and even more so for Harry.
“How?” was all I could manage.
He looked slightly less at his ease but still maintained his friendly composure as he said, “All I've managed to figure out for certain is that you lived Snape- until very recently. Your real name is probably not Rose Evans, but I don't know what it is. Also, you know something about Harry that even he doesn't, but again, I haven't got a clue what that is. My guess is that you are related to Harry in some way.”
I thought about what he said. He didn't know very much, but he did know enough that I could no longer ignore him. I studied Simon's friendly face, and I realized I would have to trust him- not blindly, though. I took a deep breath and began. “First, I have to say that most people would think you are a meddling prat.”
“That's because I am a meddling prat,” said Simon, and his mouth twitched slightly.
“Second,” I said, ignoring this but allowing a smile, “You are very nearly spot-on. Snape is technically my guardian.” I felt a lump in my throat when I said that. “As for everything else, my first name really is Rose, but I'm not giving you more than that.”
“I think I can live with that,” said Simon.
“Good,” I said fiercely, “because you have to.”
~ * ~
The days leading up to the funeral were terrible. I had an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach, as though someone had put a rock there. Sammy was not as talkative as usual and had taken to lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her mother had sent word that she was debating letting Sammy return to Hogwarts for seventh year, and they would discuss this further when she returned home. Valentine and I spent silent mornings in the library, staring out the windows, just sitting at the same table. The only person I actually talked to was Simon, and that was once after breakfast, when I had meandered outside to sit under a tree.
Once again, he snuck up behind me. When I did notice him, I scooted over and patted the space next to me. “The funeral is tomorrow, and after that we all leave on the Hogwarts Express,” said Simon tonelessly.
“I know.”
“Where are you going to go?”
“A hollow log.”
“Are you coming back next year?”
“No, I'm starting a flobber worm farm instead.”
Simon sighed. “Fine. We'll just sit here, then.”
I knew I was hurting his feelings, and I also knew it was probably a bad idea to make the one of the only people in the world who knew my secret mad, but I didn't really care. I was scared out of my mind. I literally had no where to go. I couldn't stay with any of my friends without raising suspicion. I couldn't go back to Snape- and I wouldn't think about him either. He lied to me for sixteen years, and that hurt.
I decided I would talk a little bit, get it out of my system. “I hate him. He's a rotten, lying, twisted excuse for a human being.”
“And I agree whole-heartedly,” said Simon.
“What am I supposed to do now?” I asked, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice. “You'd think he would have considered that before he ran off and- and-”
“Well, people like that don't generally think of how their decisions effect others.”
“It still sucks, though.”
“I know.”
~ * ~
I barely comprehended the funeral. I wasn't paying attention. I did give Sammy a hug when she lost it toward the end, but I didn't cry at all myself. It was odd. I had been prepared for an emotional breakdown, but I didn't even get a lump in my throat.
At the end of the funeral, everyone headed for their dormitories to gather their belongings and load the horseless carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade Station. I had lagged behind the others; I didn't want to go back. Then someone touched my shoulder. It was Lupin. The Auror was with him, though I could have sworn that the last time I saw her, her hair had not been pink.
I gave him a hug. Lupin patted my head. “You must be terrified,” he said wisely. I didn't answer.
“You don't have to answer me right now, but I was wondering if you would want to come and stay with us,” said Lupin when I had finally pulled away. The woman smiled at me, clearly trying to be as friendly as possible.
“Who's 'us'?” I asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. I noticed a ring on the woman's finger, and felt dawning comprehension.
“It's Dora's parents' place, we're still looking for something that's- erm, in our price-range. Dora is in the Order as well,” Lupin said, almost like he was reciting a sales pitch.
“I'm Dora, but you're perfectly welcome to just call me Tonks,” said Tonks, sticking out a hand. I shook it and nodded.
“That would be great, Lupin. Thank you so much,” I said earnestly.
When I got all my stuff, we went to Hogsmeade Station like everyone else, and then Apparated to safety. When we had arrived at the place, I couldn't help but wonder what life would be like from now on.
The Other Potter by georgeisholey
Chapter Notes: Hey kiddos! Thanks for those lovely reviews on my last chapter, I'm glad some of you appreciated the cliffhanger. This chapter is pretty intense stuff, so brace yourselves!
Chapter Endnotes: *Quote taken from the American Version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Well, that's that! We're out of HBP!!!! I'm so excited, since I'm practically almost done writing the bits from Deathly Hallows. I can't wait till you guys read it! Also, what did you think of Simon? I had some scruples about bringing him in so late, but I did it anyway and he becomes a big part of the plot. Thanks for reading and (hopefully) reviewing!