Truth be told, Cassia didn't think she'd ever go back to Hogwarts.

Over the years, it had been her sanctuary. She'd met her best and some of her closest friends there, she'd met the love of her life there, she'd made memories worth more than any gold, and yet, the past year had ruined all that for her.

She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready to try and sneak into the castle, because she knew there were very low odds of not getting caught.

She imagined Neville and Poppy, both in there right now, trying to get each other through the day. Bill had told Cassia that Molly hadn't let Ginny go back to school after easter, so it was truly just them now. Hopefully, they'd managed to keep the DA running, but if the Carrows had cracked down even more after Christmas, they'd have become unbearable after Easter.

When her feet hit the solid ground of Hogsmeade, Cassia instantly felt scared. Just looking up and seeing the tips of the castle over the hill made her chest tighten.

And then the alarm went off.

"POTTER!"

Instantly, panic set in, and if it wasn't for Hermione still holding her hand and dragging her into a nearby alleyway, Cassia wouldn't have moved. She stayed frozen as she heard shouts from not far off.

"They're here!"

"Search everywhere!"

"You look down there!"

"Come on!"

They stood, nobody even breathing, as they pressed themselves into the wall.

Then the alarm went off again.

"POTTER, WE'RE COMING FOR YOU!"

"Come on!" Hermione hissed at all four of them, leading them round and down another alley, but only reaching a locked gate, which Cassia rattled trying to open but didn't manage.

"Shit!" She cried, tears instantly appearing in her eyes. "Shit, guys, if they find us we're-"

"In here, Potter!"

Cassia didn't know if this was a trick or if it was genuine, but next second, she was being pulled into The Hog's Head pub. She tried to get a glimpse of the man directing them in there, just hoping it wasn't Amycus Carrow, but all she saw was-

She froze.

Dumbledore.

The man beckoning them into the Hog's Head was the spitting image of Dumbledore. In fact, in the darkness, Cassia almost thought it was him.

However, they didn't stop there, and went down further into the living quarters of the owner.

"Did you get a look at him?" Ron hissed as soon as they got down. "He looked exactly like-"

"I know," Hermione nodded. "Dumbledore."

The sound of the owner talking with the men could be heard up above, and Cassia was just praying they got away with this.

"Shit, shit, shit," she said, body shaking, her eyes teary. She sat down in a chair, putting her head in her hands.

"Whoa, hey, hey, hey," Harry said, pulling her hands away gently and squeezing them, looking into her eyes. "You alright?"

"No," Cassia shook her head, trying to stop the rapid beating of her heart. "I- I never thought I was going to come back here, and now-"

"You don't have to come in with us, you never have to," Harry spoke comfortingly.

"No, I couldn't do that," Cassia shook her head, her bottom lip trembling. "I couldn't."

Harry nodded, bringing her into his arms as he hugged her tightly.

"I love you," he murmured into her. "Whatever happens, just remember, I love you."

"I love you too," Cassia said back, voice muffled as her face was pressed against his chest.

Harry let go of her, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead before straightening up. Cassia took a deep breath, composing herself as she looked around the room.

It was pretty empty, with a table, a sideboard, a few lamps and candles, and a fireplace.

However, the one decoration in the room stood out a lot. It was a picture of a young girl with brown eyes and hair in a meadow, smiling slightly yet looking sort of vacant as her hair blew behind her in the breeze.

And then Cassia saw one more decoration. She frowned slightly as she got up, going to look closer at it.

It was a mirror, with a shard missing out of it, showing Harry's face in it. Cassia frowned heavily, saying. "Harry, I can see you in this."

She turned to see her boyfriend, looking into a shard of mirror.

"What the-?" She frowned, as Harry walked over to her, holding the shard up to the full mirror.

It fit perfectly.

Cassia gasped. "Oh my-"

"You bloody fools. What were you thinking, coming here? Have you any idea how dangerous it is?"

The man definitely did look a lot like Dumbledore. He had the same beard, the same grey hair, but there just wasn't a twinkle in his eyes. He was a lot harsher, Cassia deduced.

Harry looked at him. "You're Aberforth," he said. "Dumbledore's brother. It's you I've been seeing in this. You're the one who sent Dobby!"

"Yes, and clearly you traded him in for a cocky blonde, who I thought you were supposed to be escaping," Aberforth nodded to Cassia.

"Leave her alone," Harry growled. "Dobby's dead, and Cassia's nothing like her family."

"Oh, is he?" Aberforth frowned. "That's a shame, I liked that elf."

"Who gave that to you?" Harry asked. "The mirror?"

"Mundungus Fletcher, about a year ago."

"Dung had no right giving that to you, it belonged to-"

"Sirius," Aberforth turned fully, walking towards him. "Albus told me. He also told me you'd likely be hacked off if you ever found out if I had it, but ask yourself, where would you be if I didn't?"

He stood near Harry now, staring at him intensely. Harry stared back, not able to answer.

Aberforth sighed, turning back to the sideboard where a tray of four butterbeers and a few crackers lay. He put them down on the table, and Cassia, Ron and Hermione dug in. Harry stood back.

"Do you hear from the others much? From the order?" Hermione asked him.

"The order's finished," Aberforth rolled his eyes. "You-Know-Who's won. Anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves."

"We need to get into Hogwarts," Harry stared right at him. "Tonight. Dumbledore gave us a job to do."

"Did he now?" Aberforth demanded. "Nice job, I presume? Easy?"

"We've been hunting horcruxes," Harry told him honestly. "We think one's inside the castle, but we'll need your help getting in."

"That's not a job my brother's given you, that's a suicide mission," Aberforth snapped. "Do yourself a favour, boy, go home! Live a little longer."

"Dumbledore trusted me to see this through," Harry snarled.

"But what makes you think you can trust him?" Aberforth demanded. "What makes you think you can trust anything that comes out my bother's mouth? In all the time you knew him, did he ever mention my name? Did he ever mention hers?" He nodded to the portrait of the girl.

Harry frowned. "Why should he-?"

"Keep secrets, you tell me," Aberforth cut him off.

"Harry trusted him," Cassia's eyes sparkled malevolently.

"That's a little girl's answer," Aberforth turned to her, before turning to Harry. "And all you are is a boy that goes chasing horcruxes on the word of a man who wouldn't even tell you where to start, you're lying!"

Harry stared at him.

"Not just to me, that doesn't matter," Aberforth shook his head. "But to yourself as well. That's what a fool does. You don't strike me as a fool, Harry Potter. So, I'll ask you again. There must be a reason."

Harry watched on, not fumbling for an excuse. "I'm not interested in what happened between you and your brother," he explained calmly. "I don't care that you've given up. I trusted the man I knew We need to get into the castle tonight."

Aberforth looked at him, sighing heavily. Then he looked up to the portrait, telling the girl. "You know what to do."

She nodded slightly before turning around and walking away.

Cassia frowned. "Where have you sent her?"

"You'll see soon enough," Aberforth answered, turning away.

Hermione, however, looked from the portrait to him, walking into the centre of the room. The four of them convened there, Hermione sighing before saying. "That's your sister Ariana, isn't it?"

When Aberforth didn't answer, Hermione added. "She died very young, didn't she?"

Aberforth turned to face them again, eyes on Harry. "My brother sacrificed many things, Mr Potter, on his journey to find power, and Ariana was one of them. And she was devoted to him. He gave her everything... but time."

When Harry didn't say anything, Hermione just said. "Thank you, Mr Dumbledore."

Aberforth nodded before heading upstairs.

Hermione turned to see the boys staring at her judgementally.

"He did save our lives twice," she said defensively. "Kept an eye on us in that mirror."

Cassia nodded, whispering to Harry. "That doesn't seem like someone that's given up."

Harry didn't reply, but Hermione frowned at the portrait, saying. "She's coming back."

It was true, Ariana Dumbledore was walking back into the frame, however, this time, two people were with her.

"Who's that with her?" Cassia frowned, leaning forward.

All four of them stood back as Ariana came back into frame, and slowly, the whole frame swung off the wall, revealing a secret passageway. And inside the passageway stood-

"Oh my god," Poppy Patil said, Neville Longbottom not far behind her in covering their mouths as they saw all four of them.

"Oh my-" Neville started, but Poppy's squeal drowned him out. She almost ran out the tunnel to hug Cassia, tears already falling.

"I'm so happy you're alright," she whispered into her shoulder. "When you didn't come back, we thought-"

"I'm fine," Cassia said, tears in her eyes as well as Poppy pulled back, both girls looking at each other. "I ran into these knuckleheads at the manor because they managed to get caught, and then we all broke into Gringotts together."

"We know, we saw it all in the paper," Neville said from behind them. "Did you really escape on a-"

"Dragon? Yeah," Cassia nodded, as she actually took in both of them.

They looked terrible. Cuts and bruises all over their faces, their bodies frail and thin. Their cheeks were hollow, their eyes dark.

"Hey, Ab?" Neville said, looking at Aberforth behind the four of them. "We've got a couple more coming through."

Aberforth nodded before Poppy hugged the other three tightly as well.

"I'm glad you're okay as well," she told them. "We've been so worried about you."

"Cass told us," Harry nodded, turning to him.

"I take it you sorted everything out?" She muttered to him. Harry nodded and she smirked, her eyes shining.

"Where does this tunnel go?" Cassia was asking Neville. "This didn't exist a few months ago."

"It's actually only been a few weeks," Neville answered. "Come on, let's go. We'll catch you up on the way."

As they got in, Neville and Poppy leading the way, everyone else behind them.

"So what's happened?" Cassia asked as soon as they started walking.

"It's just got worse," Neville shook his head. "Worse punishments, worse lessons, everything."

"So how are you guys able to get into this passage?" Hermione frowned. "Surely if they were watching you, they'd have found you before you snuck in."

"Yes they would, but we disappeared weeks ago," Poppy smirked.

"Disappeared?" Harry asked. "What?"

"Yeah, disappeared," Neville grinned. "Turns out the Room of Requirement isn't just a room to do the DA in. It's a pretty good hideout, as well."

"What?" Cassia demanded. "You've been hiding out in the Room of Requirement?"

"Yeah, for a couple of weeks, after we both refused to crucio more first years," Poppy nodded. "We knew it was time to go. I mean, the Carrows had been on our back ever since we returned without you. So we knew it was time. Turns out, it was time for a load of others as well. Pretty much the whole DA's hiding out in there now. It's pretty crowded."

"What about Sophia and her friends?" Cassia asked. "I told her where the room was and said she could always-"

"Don't worry, she's fine," Poppy comforted her friend. "She and four other first years found us and they're safe now."

Cassia smiled slightly. She was glad she'd been able to save someone, at least.

"So is that how this passageway formed?" Harry frowned.

"Yeah, we were getting hungry hiding out, so this passage to the Hog's Head formed and we went though it, spoke to Ab, and he told us he'd supply us," Neville shrugged, grinning. "We've finally done it, Cassia, we've beaten the Carrows!"

And by the time they reached the end of the tunnel, Cassia was grinning.

"Let's have a little fun, shall we?" Neville smirked at them, as he and Poppy stood in front of the trio in the doorway before Neville opened the portrait door.

Cassia gasped at what she saw. The room was huge full of hammocks, beds, bathrooms, and even a small desk and kitchen. In the centre, a bunch of people were gathered. Cassia saw Cho, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, Padma, Sophia and her friends, and more. She even saw Luna, who had clearly gone back to Hogwarts from Shell Cottage.

"Listen up, you lot!" Poppy called, and they all fell silent. "We've brought you a surprise!"

"Not more of Aberforth's cooking, I hope," Seamus rolled his eyes. "Be a surprise if we can digest it!"

He got a few laughs, but everyone silenced as Neville and Poppy stepped down into the room, revealing Harry, Cassia, Ron and Hermione.

Instantly, everyone in the room got up and clapped for them, Seamus running to hug them, Cho coming and saying hello, Luna almost crying at seeing them again, and everyone else just really happy.

"Cassia!" The girl turned to see Sophia and four others beaming at her, and she couldn't help but grin.

"Hello!" She said, her smile wide as she hugged Sophia tightly. "I- I didn't think you'd ever actually come here, are you guys alright?"

"Yeah," they all nodded, and Cassia could've cried.

She was so happy they were all okay, and she was so happy they'd found a way to beat the Carrows.

"Okay, okay!" Neville eventually stepped in and stopped Harry from being smothered by hugs. "Let's not kill him before You-Know-Who gets the chance."

"Cassia, you never told us you were dating Harry!" Someone shouted from the back.

"Maybe because it's none of your business?" Cassia raised her eyebrows.

She got more than a few laughs and Seamus grinned. "It's good to have you back, Cass."

"I wish I could say it was good to be back," Cassia sighed.

There was a small silence.

"So," Neville broke it. "What's the plan, Harry?"

Harry turned to see the whole crowd looking at him, and sort of froze.

"Okay," he said, looking around at them all. "There's something we need to find. Something hidden here in the castle. And it may help us defeat You-Know-Who."

"Right," Neville shifted on his feet. "Where is it?"

"We don't know," Harry sighed.

"Where is it?"

"Don't know that either," Cassia scuffed her heels on the ground.

Harry looked up at them all. "I realise it's not much to go on."

"That's nothing to go on," Seamus said, before someone nudged him.

"I think it has something to do with Ravenclaw," Harry said desperately. "Erm- it'll be small, easily concealed. Anyone, any ideas?"

Luna shrugged. "Well, there's Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem."

"Oh bloody hell, here we go," Ron rolled his eyes. Cassia kicked him in the shin. "Ow!"

"Lost diadem of Ravenclaw?" Luna frowned. "Hasn't anyone heard of it? It's quite famous."

"Yes but Luna, it's lost," Cho said rather patronisingly. "For centuries now. There isn't a person alive today who's seen it."

"Excuse me, could someone tell me what a bloody diadem is?" Ron interrupted.

"It's like a sort of crown, you know, like a tiara," shrugged Cho.

Then the door opened and the crowd parted, and in came Ginny Weasley, hair blown back, breathing hard.

"Oh my-" she said, covering her mouth as she saw Harry, Ron, Hermione and Cassia stood in front of her. "Oh my god-"

She ran forwards, hugging each of them in turn before pulling back, saying. "They said it was true, but-"

She paused, wincing slightly.

"What is it, Ginny?" Neville asked.

Ginny took a deep breath, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Snape knows," she said, face going straight. "He knows Harry was spotted in Hogsmeade."