I just want to apologize for how long it has been since I have updated! I am sorry for taking so long. I keep getting caught up with school and life and I forgot to write. What inspired me was this week was Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family, I happened to catch the end of Deathly Hallows Part Two and remembered I hadn't finished this story yet. Here is a nice long chapter for you (: I didn't have time to edit it too much, but I hope you enjoy it! Finally some action! x Thanks if you're still reading!

Chapter Seventeen

Everyone was beyond thrilled with the return of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. For the first time since my arrival I saw hope in their eyes. The three were bombarded with questions but Neville managed to calm the crowd down. The three seemed exhausted, but had something they needed to tell us. Harry was apparently in a rush to find something very important. I knew it had something to do with the hunt they have been on. There was no time for any other questions, but just them being here meant they were alive and safe for the moment. That was all that mattered. Harry, Hermione, and Ron being here meant there was still hope for us all. "I need to find something. I believe it's in the castle," Harry began saying, sounding breathless.

"What is it?" Seamus asked curiously.

"I dunno exactly," Harry responded looking more unsure than Seamus.

"Where is it?" someone asked.

"I dunno..." Harry replied unsurely once more. He looked at Hermione for help but even she didn't seem to have an answer. Well what help was that? How was he sure it was in the castle then? I knew there were things he wasn't supposed to tell us, but there had to be something. Selina looked at me with a hopeless eye roll.

"Do you have any clues at all? Any hints?" I asked quickly without thinking. It drove me crazy when I couldn't solve something.

"I think it will have something to do with Ravenclaw," Harry answered. I would not be much help there considering I didn't go to Hogwarts. I sighed and looked up at Kent, he would have no clue either. All heads turned towards the Ravenclaw students. They all looked puzzled and in deep thought, but didn't seem to have any idea.

"What about Rowena Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem?" Luna spoke up in her dreamy voice. Ron muttered something along the lines of 'oh bloody hell', but Hermione elbowed him. Someone else pointed out the fact that it was 'lost' causing a few eye rolls amongst the crowd. Charlie was the only one who seemed entirely convinced with what Luna was saying. Harry turned to discuss something with Hermione and Ron when the doors bursts open and in came a student with ruffled hair who looked as if he just got out of bed. Then again, it was extremely late.

"Everyone is being called to the Great Hall..." the boy said trying to get his twisted robes straightened out.  "Figured you would want to know before the official announcement." He had a 'Prefect' badge on, which is probably why he knew before anyone else.

"At this hour?" Seamus asked confused pushing off of the cot. It was way after their curfew hour.

"It sounded urgent-" the boy said when suddenly a deep voice filled the castle.

"All students are to report to the Great Hall immediately," came a cold voice I am assuming belonged to Severus Snape. I glanced over at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Was it because of their arrival? How did Snape and the rest even know? There was a flash of horror in the trio's eyes, they must be thinking the same as well.  Kent squeezed my hand. Slowly students began leaving the Room of Requirement so they wouldn't all be emerging from the same place.

Ginny approached Charlie, Idella, Selina, and I. "Here," she said handing us robes. "I figured these might be necessary eventually." We each took one from her; Hogwart's robes. Before any of us could say anything she continued, "We may need you out there. I don't know what's going on exactly. Just keep your head down and you will easily blend in with the rest of the students. Everyone's eyes have been glued to the floor anyway." Without arguing I slide on the blue Ravenclaw robe. Idella was wearing a Gryffindor robe while Charlie was wearing Hufflepuff. Selina's robe was from Slytherin House. "Figured that one would suit you," Ginny added amused looking at her. Selina raised her eyes with an amused smirk. Although the situation was unfortunate once again, I couldn't contain my excitement knowing I was finally stepping into the hallways of Hogwarts. I then remembered Kent was standing behind me.

"What about Kent?" I asked quickly. Kent was much taller than most of us. He would probably stick out more than the rest of us.

"I will have to stay back and alert the Order," he replied quickly. "Then I will wait here for them and see what they want to do next." I nodded understandably, but I wish he could have came with me. "Be safe," he whispered to me. "Don't bring any attention to yourself, alright?" I nodded as he kissed my forehead quickly.

Charlie, Idella, Selina, and I followed Ginny out the door. Approaching the door made my heart beat faster. I was nervous because of the situation we were in, but excited to see what was on the other side of the door. "Just remember this isn't the normal Hogwarts," Ginny turned to say to us before. "I know you've all been curious to see what it is like here but I have to warn you things are very different. Any happiness was pretty much taken from the castle, or shall I say prison?" She began pushing open the doors.

I figured things would be different than normal anyways, but my curiosity was still there. Stepping through the door I turned to look back at Kent who reassuringly smiled at me once more and mouthed 'Be Safe'. Nodding the door enclosed itself from behind me. Ginny told us to keep our heads down but I couldn't help but steal a glance away from the cold stone floor. From what I saw, things were ghostly here. The portraits were hiding in the corners. The candles were dim. The hallways were silent, merely filled with footsteps and breathes. In any other circumstance, I would have imagined it to be brighter and much chattier. Yet the architecture and decorations were unbelievable. Hogwarts was one of the oldest schools around and it's history was greatly preserved. I could find the beauty behind the darkness.

We kept walking and joining groups of students until we were in a large pack. Everyone formed into lines as they marched down the stairs. It seemed almost robotic but it must have been drilled into their heads these past few months. We blended in to the best of our ability while staying close to Ginny. At the end of stairs was a massive set of adorned french doors that I wish I could have stared at longer. Entering into a large room we kept to the back, away from the sight of any Professors. No one even seemed to notice us. Everyone kept to themselves looking exhausted and horrified. Charlie and Idella looked at me but the three of us were too afraid to say anything. Idella motioned towards the front of the room and I knew right who she was pointing out, Severus Snape. He was dressed in long black robes with jet black hair and a stone expression. He was pacing up and down the entrance as students filled in. When the room was full, he stopped at the front and swiftly turned to face the crowd.

"There has been an alert," he spoke slowly to the crowd. "Potter has been sighted at Hogsmeade." There was a murmur of gasps. "Silence! If anyone has any information on the matter, you are to report it immediately. Student's found to be associated with Potter will be treated as equally," Snape spoke coolly. "If anyone has any information, now is the time to speak." Silence filled the hall...until someone stepped out from the crowd. Getting a better look I realized it was...Harry? I hadn't even seen him leave the Room of Requirement! There was an eruption of gasps and even I joined in. What was Harry thinking? Shock appeared on Snape's face, and I was guessing that was not a normal look for him.

"Bit of an issue with security, Headmaster?" Harry sneered. The doors bursts open from behind him and in stepped the Order. Even more shock appeared on Snape's face and the teachers around him. The students backed up against the wall as the order came in. Kent was amongst them along with the Weasley's and several other familiar faces. Snape looked horrified towards the Order. "How dare you stand where he stood! A man who trusted you!" Harry screamed at him. "Tell them!" He motioned to all the students in  the room. "Tell them how you looked him in the eye and killed him!" Snape raised his wand but before Harry could even react, he was pushed out of the way by an older looking witch who strongly raised her wand at Snape. More gasps filled the crowd as she fought the spell.

From where I was standing I could barely see but they were rapidly shooting spells at one another. I noticed the teachers behind Snape were knocked out in the process. It seemed as if this older witch was winning...that was until Snape apparated away. The room filled with applause as the candles were lit and the room filled with light. This is how I imagined Hogwarts to look.

"Potter!" the woman said turning to face him. It was hard to hear what else she was saying with everyone around breaking into relieved conversation.

"What do you think will happen now?" Charlie said turning to us. "That can't be it right?" He spoke to soon. There was a piercing scream from across the room causing everyone to silence immediately. What was going on? Then there was another one, this time right near me. A young girl grasped her ears and fell back onto the floor. Even I began to feel dizzy. A new voice filled the room.

"I know that many of you would be willing to fight and die with Harry, but that is foolish," came the cold voice. "Give me Harry Potter and I will leave your school on touched. You will be rewarded. You have but one hour."  Voldemort.

No one knew what to say. Kent pushed his way over to me through the crowd and took my hand. "It will be okay," he muttered quickly, but seeming unconvinced.

"There he is someone grabbed him!" some girl yelled from the other side of the room. Looking through two students, I could see it was a bitter looking girl pointing at Harry. Was she being serious? Idella looked at me with the same thought.

"Even I wouldn't have done that," Selina muttered from behind me. Ginny angrily pushed her way to the front stepping in front of Harry. The older witch who defended Harry looked angry herself.

"Mr. Filch," she called. An old man limped towards her. "Please escort Miss Parkinson, the underage students, and those who do not wish to stay to Hogwarts." He nodded. The bitter girl followed with a crowd of friends. More than seventy five percent of the room cleared out. I didn't blame them, they wanted to be safe. I wasn't going anywhere, I was staying with my friends. Plus, I needed to find my father.

"Are you staying or going?" I turned looking at Selina. I knew she didn't necessarily want to be here in the first place.

"Of course I'm staying, do you think I'll find Cole wherever the hell they're going?" she replied quickly as if it was obvious.

When most of the students were gone orders were being yelled out. Professor McGonagall, was the older witch's name, was commanding everyone on what to do. They had to secure the castle. Harry left with Ron and Hermione, with Luna on their tail. Charlie was running after Luna before anyone else could stop him. "I'm going to go see the Weasley's for a moment," Idella added.

"Stay safe if we get split up," I said to her.

"You too Bradley," she said hugging me quickly before rushing over to her family. Kent, Selina, and I stood standing around. The Order was assigning everyone else what to do. Lupin was walking our way.

"You three," he began looking at Selina questionably but continued, "You three can help with protection charms. Put up as many as you can around the castle. Take the left wing, third floor." We nodded as he walked away.

Kent grabbed my hand leading me to the exit. Selina followed behind us, starting to look nervous herself. "It will be okay," I said turning to look at her but she didn't respond. Selina did not look very convinced. Eventually we made our way to our destination and I had to admit Hogwarts was much larger than I imagined. I tried to look around while we were rushing to get up to the third floor. We began putting up as many spells as possible, I was impressed Selina knew a couple of strong ones.

"What? With all this sitting around these past few months I've been reading your textbooks," she admitted. "Don't seem too shocked."  I only hoped everyone else was in a safe location. We kept putting up spells and I could see they were working. Selina suddenly came to a stop. "What the-" she squinted her eyes getting closer to the edge. "Do you see that..." she pointed off into the distance. Kent and I took a break to look. It almost looked like the mountain was moving towards us, but as it continued getting closer I realized it wasn't the mountain. It was a crowd of hundreds of people adorned in black cloaks.

"Death Eaters," Kent spoke in a horrified tone. They were here.