420 The Carrows

"Over here," Neville led Harry and Chris to a corner, where a small cupboard opened onto a steep staircase.

"You can get out from here but it comes out somewhere different every day, so they've never been able to find it," Neville informed. "Only trouble is, we never know exactly where we're going to end up when we go out. Be careful, Chris, Harry, they're always patrolling the corridors at night."

"No problem," said Harry. "See you in a bit."

"And please don't do anything unless we are ready, ok?" Chris requested and Neville nodded. She smiled. "I will inform Ginny, Luna, and Colin if we run into any problems."

"Ok, be safe," Neville called as Harry and Chris hurried up the staircase, which was long, lit by torches, and turned corners in unexpected places.

At last, they reached what appeared to be a solid wall.

"Get under here," Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak and threw it over both of them.

Chris gave the wall a little push. It melted away at his touch and they slipped outside. She glanced back and saw that it had resealed itself at once. They were standing in a dark corridor.

Chris and Harry stepped back into the shadows, as Harry fumbled in the pouch around his neck.

"What are you doing?" Chris whispered in Harry's ear, keeping her voice very quiet.

"I - I - am l-looking fo-for," Harry shuttered and fumbled some more before taking out the Marauder's Map. "This."

In the dark, Chris couldn't see Harry's face but she felt goosebumps rising on his body and heat rose on her cheeks. She didn't realize, how close they were under the cloak. Their entire bodies were pressed together and their faces too close. For a moment both of them froze. Chris remembered the last time they were this close was in the Black family library when they were about to kiss. She realized Harry was probably thinking about the same thing when he glanced at her lips. Chris mirrored the expression unconsciously. 

"You know how they are."

An old familiar sneering voice of the Hogwarts guard Flich startled them. Harry and Chris turned to the voice alert, without moving. Filch was talking to his cat as he passed them. Chris and Harry held their breath as the cat, Mrs Norris steered from Filch's lap, but luckily she was too sleepy.

As they walked away, Chris and Harry let out sighs of relief and glanced at each other. Chris pointed at the Map in Harry's hand and he quickly held the map close to his nose as he searched and located his and Chris's dots at last.

"We're up on the fifth floor," he whispered, watching Filch moving away from them, a corridor ahead. "Come on, this way."

They crept off. Chris had prowled the castle at night many times before, but never had her heart hammered that fast, never had so much depended on her safe passage through the place. Through squares of moonlight upon the floor, past suits of armor whose helmets creaked at the sound of their soft footsteps, around corners beyond which who knew what lurked. Chris and Harry walked, checking the Marauder's Map whenever light permitted, twice pausing to allow a ghost to pass without drawing attention to themselves. They expected to encounter an obstacle at any moment; her worst fear was Peeves, and she strained her ears with every step to hear the first, telltale signs of the poltergeist's approach.

"That way, Harry," breathed Chris, pulling him toward a spiral staircase.

They climbed in tight, dizzying circles; it has been so long since she visited the Ravenclaw dorm. At last, they reached a door. As Chris remembered there was no handle and no keyhole: nothing but a plain expanse of aged wood, and a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.

Chris reached out a pale hand, which looked eerie floating in midair, unconnected to arm or body. She knocked once, and in the silence, it sounded like a cannon blast. At once the beak of the eagle opened, but instead of a bird's call, a soft, musical voice said, "Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?"

"It's a circle, which has no beginning," Chris answered quietly.

"Well reasoned," said the voice, and the door swung open and Chris caught Harry looking at her.

"What?" 

"You didn't even need to think," Harry whispered looking impressed.

Chris felt herself blushing again and looked away hiding a smile. Without saying anything, she led Harry inside the Common Room. The deserted Ravenclaw common room was a wide, circular room, airier than any other common room in Hogwarts. Graceful arched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue-and-bronze silks. By day, the Ravenclaws would have a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains. The ceiling was domed and painted with stars, which echoed in the midnight-blue carpet. There were tables, chairs, and bookcases, and in a niche opposite the door stood a tall statue of white marble.

Rowena Ravenclaw's statue stood beside a door that led to dormitories above. Harry strode right up to the marble woman, and she seemed to look back at him with a quizzical half smile on her face, beautiful yet slightly intimidating. A delicate-looking circlet had been reproduced in marble on top of her head. There were tiny words etched into it.

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," Chris told Harry when she noticed him squinting to read the tiny words.

"You can see that from here?" Harry asked surprised. 

"No," Chris chuckled. "I have read it before, I just remembered it."

Harry smiled and looked around again. Slowly, the smile slipped off his face.

"The Grey Lady isn't here."

"She should be," Chris said looking around the statue and the bookshelves. "She usually stays in the common room or the Ravenclaw Library."

"Ravenclaws have a personal library?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, it's -" Chris crossed the statue and Harry quickly followed but at the very last moment as Chris reached for the hidden bookcase, the cloak got caught at the foot of the statue. The cloak slipped away leaving Chris completely exposed.

Chris hastily looked around and saw Harry's hand reaching out to her pulling the cloak over her but both of them froze at the sound of a malice-filled voice.

"Well, well, if it isn't our favorite mud-blood."

Chris whirled around and saw the sloping-shouldered figure of Alecto Carrow descending from the stairs leading to dorm rooms. Chris reached for her wand and with a flash she noticed, Alecto raising a stubby forefinger to the skull and snake branded on her forearm. Chris's instincts took over and she lunged for Alecto.

The Carrow sister's finger was a hair away from her forearm when Chris's hand closed around Alecto's wrist and she pulled the Death Eaters's hand back.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry yelled removing his cloak and pointing his wand at the Carrow sister. Alecto went still and tried to free herself but Chris immediately snatched her wand from her frozen hand.

"Good job," Chris said getting up.

"You ok?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Yeah, fine," Chris looked back at frozen Alecto on the ground. "I don't think she got a chance to inform Riddle about you."

"Great, but now we -" Before Harry could finish, there was a rap on the common room door. Harry and Chris looked at each other and then at Alecto, whose eyes widened. But there was this joyous look in her eyes and Chris quickly understood why.

They heard the soft, musical voice that issued from the eagle door knocker: "Where do Vanished objects go?"

"I dunno, do I? Shut it!" snarled an uncouth voice that Chris knew was that of the Carrow brother, Amycus, "Alecto? Alecto? Are you there?"

"Shit!" Harry cursed and quickly held the cloak. "She must have informed her brother before coming here. C'mon quickly, before he enters."

With a nod, Chris was about to join Harry, but suddenly stopped noticing the look in her eyes, and got down to Alecto's level. Her eyes were still laughing and mocking Chris.

"You think your brother will save you, huh?" Chris whispered to Alecto.

"Alecto! ALECTO! Open the door!" came Amycus's cackling voice again.

"Chris, he will wake up the entire dormitory, C'mon," Harry urged.

And sure enough, at the next call from Amycus, the ceiling began to tremble to scurry, echoing footsteps growing louder from behind the door leading to the dormitories. Amycus had woken Ravenclaws sleeping above.

"Pity, Alecto, I don't have the time to kill you right now. But you can't stay like this," Chris said with venom in her voice and Alecto's happiness disappeared and she looked fearful.

Before Alecto could understand what was happening, Chris clocked back her hand and punched Alecto on her forehead. She instantly lost consciousness and Chris felt a savage satisfaction. The next second, Chris jumped back from her and Harry quickly pulled her inside the cloak just before the door opened, and a stream of Ravenclaws, all in their nightclothes, flooded into the common room. There were gasps and cries of surprise as they saw Alecto lying there unconscious. Slowly they shuffled around her, a savage beast that might wake at any moment and attack them. Then the students jumped at Amycus's yelling voice outside.

"ALECTO! ANSWER ME!" Amycus bellowed, shaking the door for all he was worth, but still, it did not open. The Ravenclaws were all backing away, and some of the most frightened began scampering back up the staircase to their beds. Then, just as Chris was wondering whether she ought not to blast open the door and Stun Amycus before the Death Eater could do anything else, a second, most familiar voice rang out beyond the door.

"May I ask what you are doing, Professor Carrow?"

Under the cloak, Chris and Harry looked at each other in relief and happiness recognizing the owner of the voice. But they didn't make a sound.

"Trying—to get-- through this damned-- door!" shouted Amycus at Professor McGonagall. "Go and get Flitwick! Get him to open it, now!"

"But isn't your sister in there," asked Professor McGonagall. "Didn't Professor Flitwick let her in earlier this evening, at your urgent request? Perhaps she could open the door for you? Then you needn't wake up half the castle."

"She ain't answering, you old besom! You open it! Garn! Do it, now!"

Chris clenched her hands at the insult but didn't move, not to give Harry away.

"Certainly, if you wish it," said Professor McGonagall, with awful coldness, There was a genteel tap of the knocker and the musical voice asked again.

"Where do Vanished objects go?"

"Into non-being, which is to say, everything," replied Professor McGonagall.

"Nicely phrased," replied the eagle door knocker, and the door swung open.

The few Ravenclaws who had remained behind sprinted for the stairs as Amycus burst over the threshold, brandishing his wand. Hunched like his sister, he had a pallid, doughy face and tiny eyes, which fell at once on Alecto, sprawled motionless on the floor. He let out a yell of fury and fear.

"What've they done, the little whelps?" he screamed. "I'll Cruciate the lot of 'em till they tell me who did it---and what's the Dark Lord going to say?" he shrieked, standing over his sister and smacking himself on the forehead with his fist, "They've gone and killed her!"

"She's only Stunned," said Professor McGonagall impatiently, but as she down to examine Alecto, she looked surprised. Maybe she realized that Alecto was unconscious because of blunt force on her face rather than a spell.

"Why was she here anyway?" Professor McGonagall asked getting up without much sympathy.

"To catch Potter," Amycus replied trying to help her sister. He could see the bruise forming on Alecto's forehead. "What happened to her?"

"What do you mean 'to catch Potter'? Why would Harry Potter be inside Ravenclaw Tower? Potter belongs in my House!"

Beneath the disbelief and anger, Chris heard a little strain of pride and affection in her voice.

"We was told he might come in here!" said Carrow Brother. "I dunno why, do I?"

Professor McGonagall stood up and her beady eyes swept the room. Twice they passed right over the place where Harry and Chris stood.

"Someone hurt her! Who hurt her?" Anycus yelled looking towards the door leading to the dormitory. "Today I will teach all of you a good lesson. A couple of dead students ought to teach you how to respect us."

Chris's blood boiled and she raised her wand ready to attack but Harry held her hand. Chris knew what Harry was thinking if Amycus saw them, he would inform Riddle immediately, and it will put others in more danger. Chris gritted her teeth but stood still.

"You wouldn't dare to touch the students of Hogwarts. I will not allow it," said Professor McGonagall, who had turned pale. 

"Excuse me?"

Amycus moved forward until he was offensively close to Professor McGonagall, his face within inches of hers. She refused to back away but looked down at him as if he were something disgusting she had found stuck to the lavatory seat.

"It's not a case of what you'll permit, Minerva McGonagall. Your time's over. It's us who's in charge here now, and you'll not get in my way or you'll pay the price."

And he spat in her face.

Chris's anger spiked and before she could look at Harry to ask him, he let go of her hand, fixing his own murderous glare on Amycus. They were on the same page.

"You shouldn't have done that."

[To be continued]