FIVE SMALL JOYS

     "I'm off, who all is comin' with me?" Neville's voice interrupted the small defense charm lesson Xander was giving to a couple of second years in the Room of Requirement. He had stayed there since he found it, a hammock magically appearing in the Hufflepuff corner as he began to recognize this place as his new home.

"Off to where? Surely you're not going back into the castle, it's dangerous," Xander asked, his voice thick with concern as he patted the second years on the back before pocketing his wand and walking over to the boy. Neville had grown much taller since they were younger and he now towered over by just a few inches. It was odd, to realize that everyone else's lives were changing around him. Often times, Xander found himself so stuck in his own head that he forgot other people had their own lives as well. His mind drifted to Diana, wherever she was. His heart dropped.

Neville shook his head, "Only slightly less dangerous, actually, we're going to Hogsmeade for a supply run. We're getting low on food and I reckon we don't really have a choice. No matter, Aberforth will help us through. You coming?"

"I'm coming," Dean Thomas stood up and pulled on his coat, "You should come, Xander. It helps me from going stir crazy, might help you, too."

Xander was a bit lost, wondering how the hell they were going to get to Hogsmeade with the way the castle is right now and also wondering who Aberforth was. It was an odd name, so Xander was sure he would know if he had heard it before -- but he had never heard that name in his life. Still, it wasn't like he had anything important going on here. Grabbing his coat, he watched as Dean kissed Seamus goodbye. His heart ached as he knew he would never get something like that with Draco. Sighing, he followed Neville over to a portrait as it swung open, revealing a long tunnel behind it.

"Has this been here the whole time?" Xander asked as he crawled in behind Neville and Dean. They all lit their wands with a quiet lumos and began to walk. The walls were moist with age and rot and it smelled like a swamp, but that didn't seem to bother Neville or Dean.

"Yeah, well, food is the one thing the room can't provide so we've got to get it somehow," Neville began to explain, "We had no idea how we were going to get down to the kitchens without the Carrows realizing something was up, when Ariana came and showed us the way."

"Ariana?" he questioned, looking around at the walls as they walked. The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever as the bitter cold stung him below his coat.

"Dumbledore's sister," Dean answered matter-of-factly, "She's the subject of the portrait. Well, her home portrait is at the other end of the tunnel, but she traveled down the path and let us know there was a way out. Her n' Aberforth, that's Dumbledore's brother, last surviving Dumbledore ya' hear, have helped us keep everyone fed. Reckon we would have starved without them."

Xander considered this quietly for a moment. He hadn't thought about where they were getting the food from or how they had discovered such a passageway. It was weird to think that there were actually people on their side out in the word, willing to help. He had come to the conclusion they were alone, but he was happy to be proved wrong. Even if it was just one person. Well, two, if you counted the painting.

"That's brilliant," he muttered after a while as they came across the end of the tunnel. Neville pushed through it and they were in a small home. There was an older man, sitting in solitude with a small fire burning and a piece of broken glass in his hand. Xander didn't get a chance to find out what it was as the man pocketed it once he realized they were there. This must be Aberforth Dumbledore.

"I was wonderin' when you'd get low," the man grunted as he stood, "Who's this? I 'aven't seen you before."

"Uh, Xander, sir," the boy wasn't sure what to do so he held out his hand. Aberforth chuckled and shook it before leading them through the house.

"Our numbers are growing, we might need to come by more often," Neville explained, his voice somber, "I'm sorry, I know you're already doing so much for it."

Aberforth shrugged at this as he began to hand Neville what looked like boxes filled with food from the village, "Whatever puts an end to his bloody war, I'll do it. If you think it's bad up in yer castle, you should see what it's like around 'ere. A bloody alarm goes off in anyone apparates or disapparates. Reckon they're on the hunt for Harry Potter these days."

"They haven't caught him, have they?" Xander asked, his voice betraying him by trembling slightly. "Uh, you haven't heard anything about a girl? Name's Diana?"

"Names o' the dead are kept out of the press," was Aberforth's only answer, "Half of you 'ave turned up in the missing names. Say, you're not the Sakai kid, are you?"

"I am," Xander furrowed his brow, wondering how the man knew who he was.

Aberforth nodded as he handed him a box of food, "I knew your dad. Bloody good Auror, shame he had to go young. You look just like him, I reckon."

That was something Xander had never heard. Often times people associated him with his mother, it was always Alecks that had looked like their dad. Somehow, he found it comforting. His hand reached up to the necklace that was still around his neck. It hadn't left him since he got it.

"We should get going," Dean interrupted, "Thank you, Aberforth. We'll see you soon."

"Just put an end to this shit," was all the man grunted as he opened up the portrait hole and they climbed back up. He closed it behind them before they could get another word out. They lit their wands again and went on their way.

"He's a bit odd, sorry," the dark-skinned boy commented as they walked, "but he's probably the only reason we've survived this long. "I didn't know your dad was an Auror."

Xander nodded, "Yeah, he was. He died when I was really young, though."

"Mine too," Dean shrugged and they both quieted as they looked over at Neville. Everyone knew what had happened to Neville's parents.

"I reckon it's like Gryffindor tradition to not have a dad around," Neville commented with a small, sad laugh, "I mean, bloody Ron had to teach us all to shave. Reckon you're just an honorary Gryffindor, then, Xander."

"I didn't even know Ron knew how to shave, haven't seen a lick of hair on his face in the seven years I've known him," Xander said with a chuckle, which clearly lightened the mood a little bit. "Sorry, though, I'm all yellow and black, through and through. You'd never catch me in red, 's not my color."

The boys laughed at this as they continued their journey back to Hogwarts. Despite the situation and everything going on in the world, Xander felt strangely at peace. Having a bit of a laugh in times like these reminded Xander that there were still small joys in the world. As long as he held onto that, he supposed he might be okay.

deanmus is canon no i do not take constructive criticism