Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling, etc etc.
Authors Note: Nothing to say this time, except thanks for the reviews and enjoy!
The Room of Requirement was packed with most of the residents of Gryffindor tower, but due to the room's nature, no matter how many students arrived the room just kept on expanding. When Harry arrived with the rest of the Gryffindor students they could just barely fit, but within seconds the room had grown to almost Great Hall magnitude.
"Wow," one first year gasped, "this place is amazing."
Harry, followed by Hermione and Ron, quickly found Katie Bell and Neville sitting around a fireplace in some comfy looking chairs. Harry raised an eyebrow at Katie as they arrived and she smiled guiltily. The room would only pay heed to one person at a time, and as Katie was the one to activate it, only she could control what happened in the room.
"This place is really cool," Katie said as Harry, Hermione and Ron sat down in three chairs that magically appeared around the fire. "How'd you find it?"
"Never mind that," Harry said, getting down to business, "we have more important things to deal with."
"Right," Katie replied, blushing slightly, "sorry."
"No problem," Harry said, "I'll tell you after we survive this. For now, we have to figure out what to do next. We're safe here, but the rest of the school isn't - and that includes Dumbledore. He's a sitting duck right now."
"But he's in the Headmaster's chamber, isn't he?" Katie asked. "You Know Who can't get to him in there, he needs the password."
"Or someone who knows it," Harry said hotly.
"Someone - "
"Harry," Hermione said, knowing what he was thinking, "I know how you feel, but I really don't think Snape is a traitor."
"What?" Neville said, blinking in confusion. "Professor Snape?"
"I never trusted that bloody git," Ron snarled.
"Look's like we have something in common," Harry said, catching Ron's eye.
"I'm not so sure I trust you either," Ron said, but without his usual anger and vigour.
"Fair enough," Harry said, stopping Hermione before she could have a go at the red head, "just as long as you don't let it get ion the way of what we need to do."
"Which is?" Katie asked, getting back to the point.
"I'm going to contact the Order," Harry said, casting a glance at the flames burning in the fireplace, "and tell them what's going on. Most likely they know already, but just in case."
"What's the order?" Katie asked.
"The Order of the Phoenix," Ron answered, "a group of witches and wizard that are dedicated to fighting You Know Who."
"And you know these people?" Katie asked, her eyes wide.
"Yeah," Harry said, "of course I do. Professor Dumbledore is the leader and Professor McGonagall and Snape are also members, although I think Snape is a spy for Voldemort."
"So what do we do whilst you're doing that?" Katie queried, looking over at the rest of the Gryffindors, who where just sitting around aimlessly, looking worried.
"You sit tight," Harry said, "and stay safe. Other than that, you can't do anything right now."
"What are you waiting for then?" Ron demanded.
"Katie," Harry said, turning to face the older girl, "can you summon some Floo powder for me."
"Sure," Katie replied, and the next second a bag of the special powder appeared in her hand.
She handed it to Harry, who muttered a 'thanks' and dropped to his knees in front of the fire. He opened the bag and pulled out a handful, before tossing it into the fire. Then he stuck his head into the flames and said:
"Grimmauld Place."
Whilst Harry was contacting the Order, the rest of the group sat around him silently. Hermione was watching him and trying to figure out what was going on, as she could only hear one side of the conversation, but at least he was talking to someone. Katie had walked off to comfort some of the younger years, adopting a very motherly aura.
"So you're dating him?" Ron asked, out of the blue.
Hermione turned to him, surprised, before nodding. "Yeah, I am."
"What is it with you girls?" Ron prodded. "Is that Slytherin bad boy thing really that attractive? Why do you all fall for them?"
"Excuse me," Hermione said, growing irritated already, "but you know absolutely nothing about Harry."
"That's what my sister said about Malfoy," Ron said, "and look what happened to her."
"Hermione's right," Neville said, joining the conversation, "Harry isn't like that. I know how you feel, I was sceptical too, but Harry is different. If you spent some time with him you'd realise that. It's not something I can explain; he just has this aura around him. You can't help but trust him."
"I'll never trust a Slytherin," Ron said.
"You never know," Harry said, hearing the last bit of the conversation when he pulled his head out of the fire, "we just might surprise you. For one, I don't see your sister here. She's probably in the Great Hall right now, with Voldemort."
"What?" Ron sat up, looking around wildly. "No, she was in her room. I sent one of her room mates up to get here before we left, I'm sure they'll be here any minute."
"You mean that room mate?" Harry said, pointing to the frantic girl that was heading right for them, wide eyed.
Ron stood up to meet her, looking over her shoulder as if he expected Ginny to be right behind her. Of course, she wasn't.
"She's not there!" the girl cried, coming to a stop before him, panting.
"What do you mean not there?" Ron demanded. "She hardly leaves her room, anymore, of course she's there!"
"Erm," Hermione said, speaking up, "Ron, I saw Ginny today. She was with Parker and Lee. They left the common room at about six."
"No," Ron moaned, grabbing a hand full of his hair and grinding his teeth together, "she can't be…not Ginny - not her too!"
"Relax," Harry said, "she'll be fine."
"Fine!" Ron exploded, turning sharply and glaring at Harry. "She's in the Great Hall with You Know Fuckin Who you asshole!"
"She's also in there with Draco," Harry said, "and he won't let anything happen to her."
"Oh great," Ron said hysterically, laughing, "that's a real comfort. Let the guy that broke her heart protect her. Ha!"
"Harry," Neville broke in, "what are we going to do? We can't just leave Ginny in there."
"What did the Order say?" Hermione asked.
"I talked with Sirius," Harry said, "and it's just like I said, the already knew. They're mobilizing right now, but they can't Apparate into Hogwarts so it might take them a while to get here, as they'll have too Apparate into Hogsmeade."
"And what do we do?" Neville asked.
"I'll tell you," Harry said, turning around to face the rest of the Gryffindor house.
"Listen up everyone!" Harry said, loudly. The room went silent. "I've just contacted a group of witches and wizard that will be coming to our rescue soon, but they're going to need our help. Don't worry; I won't force any of you to do anything you don't want to do. So any of you that are fifth year or above, if you want to help fight, come talk to me. At seven thirty we'll head down to the Great Hall and ambush the Death Eaters and Voldemort. So, like I said, if you want to help, come talk to me."
"I'll help," Katie said, coming forward.
"Me too," another added.
"Us too," Dean Thomas said, stepping up and dragging Seamus with him.
All in all, Harry ended up with twelve extra fighters, not including Ron, Neville and Hermione.
"Okay," Harry said, speaking to the room again, "the rest of you will be safe here. Just stay put and someone will come get you when it's all done, okay? Good."
Harry turned to his gathered fighters and ran a hand through his hair.
"I want to thank you guys for volunteering," Harry said, "but don't put yourselves in too much danger. If you can't handle it, get out of there. It's not worth getting killed over."
"I'm not going to run," Ron said.
"Me either," Neville said, "I'm with you all the way Harry."
"I know Neville," Harry said, smiling at him, "thanks. Well, we have a bit of time before we have to go, so why don't you all go relax or talk to your friends or whatever. I'll call you when it's time."
The group dispersed. Ron and Neville went and sat around the fireplace, staring into the flames, both boys trying to temper their desire to rescue Ginny right away. Hermione took Harry's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Katie lingered, looking at her feet. Harry shared a curious look with Hermione, before Hermione squeezed his hand again, kissed him on the cheek and went to join Ron and Neville, leaving Harry alone with the Gryffindor.
"What is it Katie?" Harry asked.
"Oh," Katie breathed, her cheeks colouring slightly, "I'm sorry. I just…you're going to think I'm awful for this, but I want to say this anyway."
"What?" Harry pressed.
"I…I always thought you where really strange," Katie stuttered, "I mean, odd, you know? Everybody always said you could be the next Dark Lord and well…I guess I kinda believed it. It's awful, I know, but I did. I just could never figure you out, and I guess that scared me a little. You can be a pretty intimidating person, you know."
"I guess," Harry said, raising an eyebrow.
"But I was wrong wasn't I?" Katie said. "Everyone was. I can see that you're a nice guy, even if you are a little mysterious and aloof. I never expected it, but you saved us from those Death Eaters, and I can see how much you love Hermione just by how you look at her. So, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for doubting you and not believing you when you said He was back."
"Thank you," Harry said, unable to help the grin that bloomed on his face.
Katie smiled bashfully at him, before waving stupidly and walking away. Harry watched her go, unable to keep the grin off his face. Katie would never know how much her words had affected him. Harry remembered the way Katie had looked at him when he had tried to find out the identity of her attacker and knew that if she could change her opinion of him, then most people could as well. For the first time in his life he actually realised he wanted people to life him, no matter how much he pretended to not care. Underneath it all, he just wanted people to love him.
"Harry," Hermione said, clicking her fingers in front of his face, "you okay?"
"Yeah," Harry said, still grinning, turning to face his girlfriend.
Hermione smiled at him bemusedly. "I've never seen you smile like that before," she said, "what did Katie say to you?"
"Never mind Hermione," Harry said, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her closer, leaning down to look her in the eye. She giggled, cheeks flushed. "It doesn't matter anymore. I love you, you know."
"I know," Hermione whispered. "I love you too."
And when he kissed her, the entire world seemed to fall away. For that moment, it was just the two of them.
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