back to hogwarts

Sage felt her body hit the water, before she emerged to the surface, gasping for air. She looked around at the others, who had just come above the water as well.

They started swimming towards the shoreline. Sage climbed out, walking beside the others. "He knows, You-Know-Who," Harry told them. "He knows we broke into Gringott's, he knows what we took and he knows we're hunting Horcruxes."

"How is it you know?" Hermione asked.

"I saw him," Harry explained.

"You let him in!" Hermione questioned. "Harry you can't do that!"

"Hermione! I can't always help it!" He yelled. "Well, maybe I can. I don't know."

"Never mind what happened!" Ron interrupted.

"Well, he's angry," Harry told them.

"Of course, he is," Sage said.

"He's also scared," he said. "He knows if we find and destroy all the Horcruxes, we'll be able to kill him. I'll reckon he'll be stuck with nothing if we find the rest. There are more, ones at Hogwarts."

"What?" Hermione asked. "You saw it?"

"I saw the castle!" Harry exclaimed, they were changing into dryer clothes that Hermione had. "And Rowena Ravenclaw. It must have something to do with her. We have to go there now."

"What?" Hermione shrieked. "We can't do that! We've got a plan, we've got it figured out!"

"Hermione? When have any of our plans actually ever worked?" Harry questioned. "We plan, we get there, and all hell breaks loose."

"He's not wrong," Sage said, finishing getting dressed. "One problem, Snape is headmaster now."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, we can't just walk in the front door."

"Sage can," Harry mumbled, but loud enough for the others. Sage rolled her eyes but didn't argue it. "Um, we'll go to Hogsmeade. To honeydukes. Take the secret passage to the cellar. There's something wrong with him."

"What do you mean?" Sage asked.

Harry shrugged. "You know, it's like in the past, I've always been able to follow his thoughts. And now everything just feels disconnected."

"Maybe it's the Horcruxes?" Ron suggested. "Maybe he's growing weaker, maybe he's dying?"

Harry shook his head. "No," he said. "No, it's more like he's wounded. If anything he feels more dangerous."

—

They arrived at Honeydukes and went inside. They started looking around.

"You bloody fools," someone said and revealed themselves. He was old and had a long beard. "What do you're doing here? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?" Sage recognized him, but couldn't place a finger on it.

Ron nodded. "You're Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother," he said.

"It's you who I've been seeing in here," Harry told him. "You're the one who sent Dobby!"

"Where have you left him?" He asked.

Sage looked down at the mention of Dobby's name. "He's dead," Harry told him.

"Sorry to hear it, I liked that elf," Aberforth said.

"Who gave that to you?" Harry asked, pointing to the mirror behind him. "The mirror?"

"Mundungus Fletcher," Aberforth answered. "About a year ago."

"He had no right sending that to you," he said. "It belonged too-"

He was cut off. "Sirius, Albus told me," he finished. "He also told me, you'd likely be hacked off if you ever found out I had it. Ask yourself, where would you be if I didn't?"

Aberforth offered them food and water. "Do you have any other messages, from the order?" Hermione asked.

"The order's finished," he told them. "You-Know-Who's the one, anyone who says otherwise is killing themselves."

"We need to get into Hogwarts," Harry told him. "Tonight. Dumbledore gave us a job to do."

"Did he now?" Aberforth asked. "Nice job, easy?" For Sage it felt weird being around Aberforth, she had assisted in killing Dumbledore. Did Aberforth know, was the question?

"We've been hunting Horcruxes," Harry explained. "We think the last one is inside the castle. But we need your help getting in."

Aberforth shook his head. "No job my brother had given you, it's a suicide mission," he told him. Sage looked up, Aberforth was entirely right and she knew it, Harry most likely knew it. "Do yourself a favor guys, go home, live a little longer."

Harry shook his head in return. "Dumbledore trusted me to see this."

"What makes you think you can trust him?" He asked. "What makes you think you can believe anything my brother told you and all the time you knew him, did he ever mention my name? Did he even mention here?"

Aberforth signaled to a portrait on the wall, it was a young woman. "Why should he?" Harry asked. "I trusted him."

"That's a boy's answer!" Aberforth snapped and looked at Sage. "Did you trust him? After all, he put you through?"

"How do-" she stopped and just shook her head.

"Sage doesn't count, she betrayed us."

Sage looked down and Aberforth shook his head. "Only boys go chasing Horcruxes and the word of a man who wouldn't even tell you him where to start? You're lying! Not just to me that doesn't matter." He said, shaking his head. "To yourself as well, that's what a fool does and you don't strike me as a fool Harry Potter. So I'll ask you again, there must be a reason."

Harry stayed silent for a moment, before nodding. "I'm not interested in what happened between you and your brother." He told him. "I don't care that you've given up. I trusted the man I knew and we need to get into the castle tonight."

"You know what to do," he said softly as he looked at the portrait. The girl walked away.

"Where have you sent her?" Harry asked.

"You'll see soon enough."

Hermione, Ron, and Sage walked toward the portrait, Hermione was staring at it. "That's your sister, Ariana isn't it?" Hermione asked. "She died very young didn't she?"

"My brother sacrificed many Mr. Potter, on his journey to find power," Aberforth explained. "Including Ariana and she was devoted to him. He gave her everything,"

"Thank you, Mr. Dumbledore," Hermione told him, with a small head nod. Aberforth nodded as he disappeared into the distance. They stood there waiting.

Sage watched as the girl came back. "Guys," she said. "She's coming back." Someone was walking with her.

"Who's that with her?" Ron asked.

The portrait flew open, revealing Neville Longbottom. "Neville," Harry said. They were all staring at him.

"This is nothing," Neville said. "Seamus is worse."

"What?" Sage asked.

Neville just looked at Aberforth who had returned to the room. "Hey Aberforth, we've got a few more coming through," he told him.

They started going through the secret passage, Neville using his wand from light. "Don't remember this on the marauder map?" Harry questioned.

Neville nodded. "That's because it never existed until now. Several secret passages were sealed off before the start of the year. This is the only one in or out now," Neville explained. "Grounds are crawling with dementors and death eaters."

"How bad is it with Snape as Headmaster?" Hermione asked.

"Hardly ever see him," Neville answered. "It's the Carrows you need to watch out for."

"Still lovely people I assume?" Sage said sarcastically.

"You know them?" Harry asked.

"I returned to Hogwarts for a bit, they were here when I returned," she explained.

"They're brother and sister. They're in charge of discipline," Neville explained. "They like punishment"

"They did that to you?" Hermione asked. "Why?"

Neville sighed. "Today's dark arts was practicing the Cruciatus Curse on first years. I refused," Neville explained. "Hogwarts has changed."

—

They arrived at the other end of the tunnel. "Let's have a little fun, shall we?" Neville asked and opened the portrait. "Hey! I brought you a surprise!"

Sage could hear Seamus begin to talk. "No more cooking I hope," he joked. "I'll be surprised if we can digest it." Neville moved out of the way, revealing Sage, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Blimey!"

The group started clapping, Sage didn't recognize where they were, it wasn't the Gryffindor Common Room, and there was much more than just Gryffindor's as well.

They all climbed down, getting greetings from their friends. Sage immediately pushed herself to Seamus and Dean and threw her arms around them. "Bloody hell, Seamus," she said, looking at his face. He was bruised, almost unrecognizable.

Seamus shrugged. "Carrows still don't like me," he said.

"Okay! Okay!" Neville yelled, calming everyone down. They gathered around the four of them, including Neville now so 5.

Harry sighed. "Okay, there's something we need to find. Something hidden here in the castle and it may help us defeat you know who."

"Right," Neville said. "What is it?"

"We don't know," Harry admitted.

"Where is it?" Neville asked.

"We don't know that either," Harry said. "I realize that's not much to go on."

Seamus shook his head. "That's nothing to go on."

"I think it has something to do with Ravenclaw," Harry explained. "Um, it'll be small, easily concealed, Does anyone have any ideas?"

No one said anything until Luna started looking around curiously. "Well, there's Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem." She said.

"Bloody hell here we go," Ron mumbled.

"The lost diadem of Ravenclaw?" Luna asked. "Hasn't anyone heard of it? It's quite famous."

Cho sighed. "Yes, Luna but it's been lost, for centuries now," she pointed out. "There isn't a person alive who's seen it."

"Excuse me?" Ron questioned. "Can someone tell me what the bloody diadem is?"

"It's a sort of crown, you know a tiara?" Cho explained.

"Harry," a voice said and everyone looked down, it was Ginny Weasley.

"Hi there," Harry mumbled.

They stood there, staring at each other. "Six months she hasn't seen me!" Ron hissed. "And it's like I'm bloody invisible. I'm here brother."

"She got a lot of those, there's only one Harry," Seamus teased.

"Shut up, Seamus."

"What is it, Ginny?" Neville asked.

She sighed. "Snape knows, he knows that Harry was spotted in Hogsmeade," she explained.

It was to Snape they would go. Something Sage herself had been dreading for months because he knew the truth.

A/N:
I'm so close to finishing this story it's insane. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!