☽
╔═══════════════╗
xi. More Light And Light
╚═══════════════╝
☾

THE SECOND HER feet land on the ground, a piercing shriek cleaves though her already dizzy head. She's exhausted, starving and her mouth is as dry as sand as her heart rate picks up again, and feels as though it rattles through her entire body.

She looks at the Three Broomsticks, light and warm in the otherwise-dark street, and horror fills her as a dozen Death Eaters, hidden by cloaks and hoods pour out, one of them waving their wand to bring the alarm to a halt.

Thea gives Ron a look as though to say don't be so utterly stupid when he pulls his wand out, presumably to Stun them, and Harry grabs his wrist to stop him.

"Accio Cloak!"

Her fear melts a little when the Summoning Charm doesn't work on their only protection.

"Not under your wrapper then, Potter? Spread out. He's here."

The four of them back away as the Death Eaters move from their tight cluster towards them.

"Let's just leave! Disapparate now!"

"Great idea," Ron replies to Hermione.

Thea shakes her head frantically, about to tell them that they need to get into Hogwarts tonight, or they're just delaying the impossible if they run away, but a sharp voice cuts over her.

"We know you're here, Potter, and there's no getting away! We'll find you! What about Dementors?"

"We're going to have to try and Disapparate, Harry!" Hermione whispers frantically.

But Thea tunes out from Hermione's voice. Every millimetre of her body fills with a cold hopelessness, bleeding out across her chest and plaguing her head with a hazy, black tar, as her thoughts slow down and turn gloomy, and become a tangled web of darkness ready to trap her. She feels someone grab her hand, and she's dragged around in a circle as they turn to Disapparate, but they don't move. They stay firmly in Hogsmeade, as though they've been tied to the hourglass, watching the sand trickle into its underbelly with nothing to do but watch.

She stumbles over the others as they fumble down the dark streets, and it's then that she sees them, the cloaked, rattling figures gliding over them. The strength drains from her, and the thoughts are about to stop altogether, when Harry's voice breaks through, tiny and whispering.

"Expecto patronum!"

Light explodes from his wand, twisting and gliding into a stag. It prances before them, taking out the Dementors like bowling pins. If Thea wasn't so slow and clogged up, she'd be bursting with pride.

"It's him, down there, down there, I saw his Patronus, it was a stag!"

Thea's ready to swear under her breath, fully convinced that they're utterly screwed, as she hears a creak of metal bolts and a door opens.

A low, gruff voice speaks to them.

"Potter, in here, quick!"

Thea hasn't a clue why they're trusting this guy; they can't even see him! She realises, however, that there's no time to argue, so she follows blindly, not letting go of Harry's hand as she does.

"Upstairs, keep the Cloak on, keep quiet!"

Thea hears the person leave, shutting the door loudly and leaving them alone. She recognises the place almost straight away, jolting back to her fifth year, when she and Dean had come into Hogsmeade for the DA meeting at the Hog's Head. She smiles a little, her heart swelling with nostalgia, the amount of time that has passed since then lingering like a heavy fog within her.

"So what? So what? You send Dementors down my street, I'll send a Patronus back at 'em! I'm not having 'em near me, I've told you that, I'm not having it!"

"That wasn't your Patronus! That was a stag, it was Potter's!"

"Stag! Stag! You idiot – expecto patronum!"

Thea sighs, tuning out and glancing around the pub. She notices a large painting of a pretty, young blonde woman, who smiles down at her.

She smiles back.

Not long passes, and all Thea can do is listen, with a frown, to their saviour's argument with the Death Eaters. She agrees with everything he says. She thinks the Death Eaters, quite honestly, are all as dense as each other.

"You bloody fools. What were you thinking, coming here?"

Thea quickly turns around, to see the man come back through the door.

"Thank you. We can't thank you enough. You saved our lives."

Tilting her head in confusion, she watches as Harry strides up to the man, and looks deeply into his eyes.

"It's your eye I've been seeing in the mirror. You sent Dobby."

"Thought he'd be with you. Where've you left him?"

Thea watches Harry cautiously and her heart twinges sadly.

"He's dead. Bellatrix Lestrange killed him."

"I'm sorry to hear it. I liked that elf."

"You're Aberforth."

"Who?"

Blood rushes to her cheeks when they all turn to look at her. Ron whispers, "Dumbledore's brother," to her, as Harry fires questions at the stern man.

"I'm hungry," Ron says, to which Thea nods her agreement rather aggressively.

"I got food."

Thea doesn't touch the mead, her body way too alive with anxiety for her to think alcohol is even remotely a good idea. She fills herself with bread and cheese, and it almost feels like strength starts to pulse through her again, and she rocks on the balls of her feet, unable to keep still.

"We need to think of the best way to get you out of here. Can't be done by night, you heard what happens if anyone moves outdoors during darkness. Wait for daybreak, get right out of Hogsmeade, up into the mountains and you'll be able to Disapparate from there. Might see Hagrid. He's been hiding in a cave up there with Grawp ever since they tried to arrest him."

"We're not leaving. We need to get into Hogwarts."

"Don't be stupid, boy –"

"Harry isn't stupid," Thea says, rather nettled.

She earns herself a look from Aberforth, and smiles wryly back at him.

"We've got to get in."

"What you've got to do is to get as far from here as you can."

"You don't understand. There isn't much time. We've got to get into the castle. Dumbledore – I mean, your brother – wanted us –"

"My brother Albus wanted a lot of things and people had a habit of getting hurt while he was carrying out his grand plans. You get away from this school, Potter, and get out of the country if you can. Forget my brother and his clever schemes. He's gone where none of this can hurt him, and you don't owe him anything."

Thea stares hard at Aberforth, her immediate dislike of him jolting into something that feels like alignment. He's right.

"You don't understand."

"Oh, don't I? You don't think I understood my own brother? Think you knew Albus better than I did?"

"I didn't mean it like that – he's left me a job."

"Did he, now? Nice job, I hope? Pleasant? Easy? Sort of thing you'd expect an unqualified wizard kid –"

"Stop talking to him like that!"

Everyone's eyes are on Thea again, but this time, she doesn't shy away from them. Her eyes burn into Aberforth, and her voice pours out, unwavering and angry.

"You're right, OK? People did get hurt carrying out Dumbledore's grand plans. It infuriated me seeing this idiot –" she points at Harry, who frowns at her, "– following him so blindly. But your brother wasn't doing any of this for no reason. I hated a lot of those reasons. It all seemed so wrong, the way he did things, too, and I was so scared for Harry being so involved in it all because he'd never have been able to say no to Dumbledore, no matter how dangerous it got – "

"Your girlfriend's right, Potter –"

"I'm not finished – but it wasn't for no reason. It was because there was no other choice. Which is why we need to get into Hogwarts."

"Not as daft as him," Aberforth says, pointing a finger at Harry, "But still daft. You're signing off your deaths, if you step foot in that school."

"Then hand us a quill," Thea snaps.

Aberforth ignores her.

"It's not easy, no. but I've got to."

"'Got to'? Why 'got to'? He's dead, isn't he? Let it go, boy before you follow him! Save yourself!"

"I can't."

Something stirs within Thea at this. She frowns, tuning out of the words around her and slipping into her mind, which echoes with, no other choice, save yourself, and I can't. All of the darkness Dumbledore had left Harry in for years sticks out to, as ropes seem to tie them all together in her head, knotting tight and taking root within her, stubborn and poisonous, and now it's like they're absorbing all the air in the room and she can't breathe anymore.

Harry cannot survive this. That was the whole thing Dumbledore had been planning all along, she's sure of it. Now she wants to cry, scream, and all the fury she's ever felt towards Dumbledore concentrates into an inferno raging within her, but she can't tell him now. Not with them all here.

"Thea, are you alright?"

She looks quickly at Harry, who's staring at her in concern. She's brought back into the room, a wetness on her cheeks, which she brushes away, before looking away from him.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine."

"Mr Dumbledore? Is that your sister? Ariana?"

Thea glances at the large portrait of the girl again, noticing now the clear, striking blue eyes that seems to run through the whole family.

"Yes. Been reading Rita Skeeter, have you, missy?"

Thea watches Hermione blush.

"Elphias Doge mentioned her to us."

"That old berk. Thought the sun shone out of my brother's every orifice, he did. Well, so did plenty of people, you three included, by the looks of it."

A slither of pride cuts through Thea's sickness.

"Professor Dumbledore cared about Harry, very much."

"Did he, now? Funny thing, how many of the people my brother cared about very much, ended up in a worse state than if –"

"Right, let's cut to the chase before You-Know-Who vapourises us all. Are you helping us, or are we doing it ourselves?" Thea snaps.

She earns a harsh glare for him, but he wastes not a word on her, instead filling the tense room with the story of his sister.

About the Muggle boys, and Ariana having no control over her magic. And all she can think about is Luna's words from Dobby's funeral, it's so unfair that you had to die, when you were so good and brave, as she looks back and forth between her Harry, raised to die as she has now realised, and Ariana Dumbledore's portrait. She feels weak with sickness, and heavy guilt barrels into her every time she looks at him, and all she wants to do is scream he raised you for this, shaped you for this, how can't you see it?

"...what did that matter, when Albus was working for the greater good –"

"Harry, can I please talk to you alone? It's really urgent."

The guilt forms into words spilling out of her mouth. They all look at her in disbelief, Hermione's eyes wide like she's appalled, while Ron and Harry look at her, frowning.

"Thea, we're kind of in the middle of something here."

"Harry, it can't wait -"

"Well, it's going to have to!" She can see the irritation like a flame flickering in his eyes.

He holds her gaze for a moment, before looking back to Aberforth. "I'm sorry, carry on."

Hurt fills every space in her body, while Aberforth begins to speak again, as though he were never interrupted.

Thea can't listen to it. She stares at her shoes, while the scars on her left forearm and carved into the skin on her hand itch and burn like they're freshly opened. She's back in the hourglass, stuck on the inside, alone this time, banging on the glass and screaming for Harry to just listen to her, but he can't hear her and walks straight for death, not having a clue what he's going into, not even saying goodbye...

"You know what to do."

Thea finds herself looking at the portrait, that smiles at her brother before turning around and walking away.

"Where's she going?" Thea asks, bringing herself back into the room but refusing to look at Harry.

She can't believe he took that tone with her. She knows she's taking it to heart a little too much, but she can't help it. Not now she knows what she knows.

"Er – what?"

"There's only one way in now. You must know they've got all the old secret passageways covered at both ends, Dementors all around. The place has never been so heavily guarded. How do you expect to do anything once you get inside it? Well, that's your lookout. You say you're prepared to die."

"But what..."

Thea looks closely at the painting, focusing in on the tiny dot that has appeared. She finds herself moving closer, and can just make out Ariana again, with someone else next to her; he's taller, looks rather worse for wear, but he's grinning out of pure excitement, she thinks –

"Oh my God! Neville!"

Thea squeals loudly, throwing her arms around him in a hug when he jumps down from the portrait. He brings his arms up and hugs her back.

"Alright, T?

"I'm alright! What happened to you, though?"

The scattering of purple and yellowish bruises sends a wave of concern through her, his black eye prominent and painful-looking.

"This is nothing! Seamus is worse. You'll see. Shall we get going then? Oh, Ab, there might be a couple more people on the way."

"Couple more? What d'you mean, a couple more, Longbottom? There's a curfew and a Caterwauling Charm on the whole village!"

"I know, that's why they'll be Apparating directly into the bar. Just send them down the passage when they get here, will you? Thanks a lot."

Neville jumps up into the passageway again, giving Hermione a hand up, before Ron climbs in.

Harry turns to Aberforth.

"I don't know how to thank you. You've saved our lives, twice."

"Look after 'em, then, I might not be able to save 'em a third time."

Harry's about to give Thea a leg up, when Aberforth speaks again.

"You've got a good head on your shoulders, Cindercroft. Don't waste it."

Thea glances at Harry, and back to Aberforth. She gives him a nod, and a small smile, before clambering up onto her feet in the tunnel. Harry follows after her, and they set off as the portrait shuts.

"How long's this been here? It isn't on the Marauder's Map, is it, Harry? I thought there were only seven passages in and out of school?"

"They sealed off all of those before the start of the year. There's no chance of getting through any of them now, not with curses over the entrances and Death Eaters and Dementors waiting at the exits. Never mind that stuff... is it true? Did you break into Gringott's?"

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, T."

Thea spares him a quick look over her shoulder, and smiles.

"It's OK. I shouldn't have interrupted."

"What was it that you wanted to say?"

She glances before her and stops for a moment, so there's a space between them and the others.

"Harry, I – I don't know anything for sure, but, I think...I figured it out..." she inhales, dropping her voice as low as possible. "You're going to have to...you know. For this to end."

Harry doesn't respond, but she knows he heard her.

"And he knew. Dumbledore knew. He was preparing you for it."

"Dumbledore wouldn't –"

"Of course he would! How can you possibly be so naive as to think he wouldn't? I'm sorry Harry, I know you loved him, but –"

"Just leave it, T. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm tired of talking about it."

Thea stops, her eyes stinging with tears and her throat closing up. She storms ahead, catching up to the others before her.

"...Gran's on the run. She sent me a letter, telling me she was proud of me, that I'm my parents' son, and to keep it up."

"Cool."

"We could've done with your big gob this year, T." Neville turns back for a moment and flashes her a grin.

She winks. "Sure you did just fine on your own, you and Dean."

A thought comes to her, stubborn and heavy. She swallows, her heart speeding up, as she hears Harry catch up to them, slowing his pace just as he reaches her. "You've not seen or heard anything about Jude, have you?"

"Not seen him in school, only seen the stuff in the Prophet. I think he's been on the run, same with Hedge. A lot of people thought they were dead, in fact, some still do, even though they've said they've seen him skulking around in Hogsmeade. Right at the start of this year, around February, me and Ginny were sneaking about and trying to find stuff out, and we overheard Snape and one of the other Death Eaters talking about keeping an eye out for you, T. They said they planted rumours that Jude was dead to see if it'd bring you out."

A stone sits in her stomach, and she might have been set on fire she's so burning with rage.

"I hate them."

It's all she can think to say.

"Hear, hear," Neville mutters in response. "Once they realised they had no hold over me, they decided Hogwarts could do without me after all. I don't know whether they were planning to kill me or send me to Azkaban, but either way, I knew it was time to disappear."

"But aren't we heading straight back into Hogwarts?" Ron asks.

"Course. You'll see. We're here."

Thea finds herself reaching back and grabbing Harry's hand, her anger fizzing out of her and turning into nerves.

Still though, she meets his eyes and glares at him, but keeps a firm grip on his hand as she turns back around and snaps at him.

"I still think you're stupid."

She thinks she hears him snicker.

"Look who it is! Didn't I tell you?"

Thea's eyes hurt as light spills into them, and cheers fill her ears, loud and exhilarated as she and Harry step into the room.

"HARRY!"

"It's Potter! It's POTTER!"

"Ron!"

"Hermione!"

"Thea!"

Thea's hand is torn from Harry's as people descend on them, pulling her into hugs and ruffling her hair, shaking her hands and screaming her name.

"T?"

Thea's head snaps up at the familiar voice, and she drags herself away from Lavender Brown to launch into Seamus' arms.

Her heart sinks at the deep, bloody gashes covering his face, and her thumb brushes over the bruise on his forehead.

"Seamus! Oh my God, are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm right, T! I'm just so glad you're back, we missed you so much!"

She can't even respond. Her head falls onto his shoulder and she hugs him tighter.

"OK, OK, calm down!" Neville shouts.

Seamus releases Thea, who falls back into line with Harry and grabs his hand again, linking their fingers together.

Thea takes a moment to glance around at the huge room. Huge hanging hammocks swing lazily from the roof and the wooden beams criss-crossing the ceiling, amongst Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff banners. She notices there's no green and silver to be seen, and for a moment, she thinks of Eden, Draco and Jude. A shiver trickles down her spine. The room is riddled with books, and there's the odd broomstick, as well as a huge wireless radio.

"Where are we?"

"The Room of Requirement, of course! Surpassed itself, hasn't it? The Carrows were chasing me, and I knew I had just one chance for a hideout: I managed to get through the door and this is what I found! It was a load smaller than this, mind, but it's expanded as more and more of the DA have arrived."

"And the Carrows can't get in?" Harry asks.

"No, as long as one of us stays here. It's all down to Neville, he really gets this Room. You've got to ask it for exactly what you need, and it'll do it for you! Neville's the man!"

"It's quite straightforward, really. It's how we met Aberforth; I was really hungry, and that's when the passage to the Hog's Head opened up. Aberforth's been providing us with food, because for some reason, that's one thing the Room doesn't really do," Neville says modestly.

"Yeah, well, food's one of the five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration," Ron adds.

Thea smirks a little at him.

"What?" he hisses.

"So you do listen to Hermione, then?" she whispers back, watching in amusement as his ears turn bright red and he scowls at her.

Thea can't contain her smile as they bombard them all with questions. She can feel the excitement, tangible and buzzing in the room, when a coldness strikes her hand. Looking back to Harry, she sees he's turned his back on the room, a few steps away, clutching at his head where his scar is.

"Harry," she says quietly, moving to stand in front of him.

She places a tentative hand on his shoulder, and repeats his name.

"Come on, Harry. Come back to me," she whispers, so the hundreds of people watching them can't hear her. "I need you with me."

His eyes fly open at this, and he heaves in a few breaths, before grabbing her hand again, and facing the crowd. She gives him a reassuring look, tightening her hold on his hand.

"We need to get going."

"What are we going to do, then? What's the plan?"

"Plan? Well, there's something we - Ron, Hermione, Thea and I - need to do, and then we'll get out of here."

"What d'you mean, get out of here?" Neville asks, frowning.

"We haven't come back to stay. There's something important we need to do -"

"What is it?"

Harry frowns. "I - I can't tell you."

"Why can't you tell us? It's something to do with fighting You-Know- Who, right?"

"Well, yeah –"

"Then we'll help you."

"Dumbledore left the four of us a job, and we weren't supposed to tell – I mean, he wanted us to do it, just the four of us."

"We're his Army. Dumbledore's Army. We were all in it together, we've been keeping it going while you four have been on your own -"

"It hasn't exactly been a picnic, mate." Ron shrugs.

"I never said it had, but I don't see why you can't trust us –"

Thea sighs, and catches Neville's eye. "Neville, it's not that at all, we just can't tell you, and that's the end of it, I'm sorry, but we need to get a move on –"

She feels like her gut turns inside out at the hurt filling Neville's face, but before she can say anything, the tunnel behind them creaks open, and Luna and Dean step out into the room.

"Tiger!" Dean shouts, slapping her hand in a high five.

She grins at him, nodding at Luna as she looks at her.

"Hi everyone! It's great to be back!"

"I promised her and Ginny I'd let them know if you turned up. We all thought that if you came back, it would mean revolution. That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows."

"Of course that's what it means. Isn't it, Harry?"

"I'm sorry, but that's not what we came back for. There's something we've got to do, and then -"

"You're going to leave us in this mess?" demands a boy that she thinks is called Michael.

"No, of course not! What we're doing will benefit everyone else in the end!" Hermione cries.

Thea is unnerved when the portrait opens again, and another group of people come pouring out. Thea grows more and more sick, when she spots Ginny, Fred and George jump down from the passage. She's about to beg them to go home, where it's safe and they can't get hurt, because the sight of their grins and excitement set off a dread in the pit of her stomach.

"You've got to stop this! What did you call them all back for? This is insane!"

"Why can't they help?"

Thea turns to Ron, as he looks at Harry and speaks, his voice bright and rushed.

"They can help; we don't know where it is. We've got to find it fast. We don't have to tell them it's a Horcrux."

"I think Ron's right. We don't even know what we're looking for, we need them. You don't have to do everything alone Harry," Hermione adds.

Thea gives a firm nod. "I think it's our only choice. They're not backing down."

"Alright. OK." Harry calls the attention of everyone in the room, who turn to face him.

"There's something we need to find. It's here at Hogwarts, but we don't know where. It might have belonged to Ravenclaw. Has anyone ever heard of an object like that?"

"Well, there's her lost diadem. I told you about it, remember, Harry?"

"Yeah, but the lost diadem is lost, Luna. That's sort of the point," Michael says.

Thea sighs. What a mess.

"If you'd like to see what the diadem's supposed to look like, I could take you up to our common room, Harry? Ravenclaw's wearing it on her statue," Cho Chang says.

Thea remembers her very clearly, and her little crush on Harry. She steps closer to him, and wraps her hand that's not in his around the top of his arm, and holds it close. She returns Cho's raised eyebrows with a smile.

"He's on the move," Harry mutters to the three of them. "Listen, I know it's not much of a lead, but I'm going to go and look at this statue, at least to find out what the diadem looks like. Wait for me here and keep, you know – the other one – safe."

Thea narrows her eyes at Cho, who gets up, as Harry pulls her into a kiss.

"I'll not be long, OK?"

She scowls at his knowing, amused look as she lets go of him, crossing her arms as he runs out with Cho.

"You're looking a bit green, T," Ron chuckles.

"Shove it up your arse, Weasley, I'm not jealous, there's nothing to be jealous of."

"Tell that to your face."

"Piss off –"

"Knock it off, both of you, Thea, you're being very immature, and Ron, you're just trying to wind her up!" Hermione snaps, just as the door behind them opens again, and half of the Order jumps out.

"Fleur!" Thea shouts, running and hugging her quickly. "How are you?"

"I am OK, Zea, and you?"

"Fine."

"Everything is OK with you and Harry?"

Thea smiles. "More than fine."

"I'm glad. You two are very cute together."

The main door bursts open after around half an hour, and Harry and Cho stumble back in.

"They're evacuating the younger kids and everyone's meeting in the Great Hall to get organised. We're fighting."

Nausea strikes her as the crowd erupts into loud cheers. A familiar "WHOOP!" catches her ears, and she follows it to see Polly's shining dark ponytail cascading down her back.

Thea makes her way over to the girl.

"Pol?"

"THEA!" Polly shouts, embracing her tightly. "We're fighting, we're fighting! Isn't it exciting –"

"Listen to me, carefully, Polly," she says sternly, grabbing Polly's shoulders and watching as the grin slowly melts off her face. "You had best be careful, because you have a talent for getting ahead of yourself. I need you to make it through this." She eyes the huge bruise flowering across Polly's right cheek under a bleeding cut. "Because, you have this amazing, huge life ahead of you, I love you, and I cannot lose you. Got it?"

Polly smiles weakly and nods, pulling Thea back in for a hug, which she returns. "I love you too, OK? The same goes for you."

"I promise." Thea kisses her cheek, and turns around to see a seething, half-crying Ginny.

"Fine. I'll say goodbye now, then, and -"

"Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I – I –"

Thea gives Polly an amused look, which she returns as a flustered redhead topples out of the tunnel. "What a complete prat," Thea mutters to her quietly, and Polly stifles her giggles.

The air is thick with tension, as Percy Weasley and the rest of his family have an awkward kind of staring match, that causes a too-hot blanket of silence to fall over the room.

"So - 'ow is leetle Teddy?" Fleur asks Lupin.

Thea is trying so hard not to burst into extremely inappropriate laughter, training her eyes on Lupin, waiting for his response, when the passage bursts open again, and a heaving, breathless man that she doesn't recognise for a moment stumbles from it.

"So, what's the plan, then?"

Her heart soars and drops at the same time, and multiple voices of the Order break out, at the same time as Thea's.

"Des?"

"Dad?"