I was grateful when I had Nico by my side as we waited for the van to arrive. I could hear the shakiness of his breath, his nervousness somehow giving me that little bit more strength.

When we had awoken that morning on the church steps with the card tucked in each of our hands, all it took was one shared look to know that we were both going back in.

Because what else did we have? No money, no home, no life.

But at least this time we were all going into it with our eyes open. No one was entering blindly anymore, and somehow this made it easier to bear.

So, there I was, waking up once again in that same dormitory, in the same green tracksuit - the bunks, of course, having halved in amount.

Sleepily, I glanced over to the bunk on my right, surprise making my eyes widen at the sight of the old man lying there, smiling serenely up at the ceiling as though he were recalling a very good dream.

"Professor Dumbledore?" I breathed, not quite believing he'd come back. "Are you insane?"

He gave a soft chuckle, turning his head so that his pale eyes twinkled in mine. "Ah, Padma! Aren't the best of us a little insane, though?"

"It's Alia. And no. Maybe? I'd like to think I have my sanity still intact. It's all I have left."

Dumbledore said nothing, but instead looked at me with amusement.

"How come you came back?" I asked, trying to ignore the irritation I felt.

"Ah, child. Death is already around the corner for an elderly man like myself. I may as well go out with a bang."

"Again." I muttered under my breath, wondering why this man was so big on theatrics.

He chuckled harder, his laughter eventually turning into a coughing fit.

"I like you, Parvati," he wheezed once his splutters and chokes had subsided, "I always said that. My second favourite Gryffindor."

I didn't bother trying to correct him this time. There was clearly no point.

"Would you like some water?" I asked instead, glancing around the room for a water station or basin.

My eyes, however, landed on something which made my heart twist. As Dumbledore profusely thanked me for my kindness, I leapt down from my bunk and ran straight for the bunk where my best friend sat, her face tired and forlorn and very un-Luna like.

"They took Daddy," she whispered, not even lifting her head to look at me. "I had to come back... for him."

Without saying a word, I hugged her hard, letting her weep against me. I could feel her frail body trembling in my arms and all I wanted to do in that moment was save her. She was too pure for this, too innocent to be inside a hellhole like this.

"Luna," I said, cupping her face in my hands and forcing her to look at me, "we'll get you through this, okay? Whatever it takes - we're both going to be walking out of this place with our pockets full of money. I promise you. I promise you."

She nodded as more tears spilled down her face. I felt sick seeing her like this, this wasn't my Luna - the girl who usually took everything in her stride.

"Hey, we're Ravenclaws, remember?" I said, desperate to lift her spirits. "We have intelligence on our side."

As I glanced over her shoulder, my eyes unwittingly met a pair of piercing silver ones.

Draco Malfoy was stood watching us as he leaned against the frame of a bunk, looking gaunter and more haunted than he ever had before. I swallowed, not being able to help but wonder once again what brought him here - a boy who once boasted of his riches, thinking of himself above all others.

Feeling discomforted by the intensity of his burning gaze, I looked away, back to my friend, whose own eyes looked desolate and resigned.

"Luna, listen to me," I pressed, letting go of her face to tuck her hair behind her ears, "we need to think what the next game could entail. If we go in prepared, we have a better chance of surviving. Remember what they said - just follow the rules and we can get out of this place safely."

I was repeating Nico's words, I realised. The same words which swayed me to re-enter the game.

"I'm good at games," she whispered, her face lighting up, "Daddy always said. I was always the best at Cat's Cradle."

An encouraging smile pulled at my lips and I felt something inside of me lift. Hope. "You see? That's the attitude we need."

"ALIA?! FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

I twisted round at the sound of my sister's voice. Padma was marching angrily over to me with Parvati close behind her, her face full of horror.

"Ali," Parvati panted as they neared, "why on earth did you come back?"

"Why did you?" I pointed out. "I mean, I know Padma wanted to stay, but I thought you were like me and wanted out-?"

"Says you!" Padma spluttered fiercely, her eyes flashing as she skidded to a halt by Luna's bed. "You should have let us handle this! Oh Merlin, if it's not bad enough I'm going to put myself through this shit again, I've also got my little sister to protect-"

"I don't need protection," I bit, suddenly feeling red hot anger rip through me, the injustice of everything I'd been through exploding like a dam, "four years I've been looking out for myself without magic. I've literally had no one. The rats in the fucking sewers treated me better than any other human being out there. At least in here they clothe us and feed us."

"So do homeless shelters!" Parvati cried. "And they don't usually violently mow you down if you lose at a game of noughts and crosses!"

"Are you kidding me?" I scoffed. "Homeless shelters would be the first place the loan sharks come looking for me. I have to keep my head low in order to survive. But in here, for the first time, I stand a chance of getting out of that."

"She's right."

We all looked up as we were approached by none other than Harry Potter, bringing with him a deeply solemn air.

"And if we work together," he continued, his tone heavy as his green eyes sat darkly behind his glasses, "we might all stand a chance of getting through this."

"Oh," Luna said, suddenly looking bright as her eyes gazed up fondly at him, "you mean like when we did Dumbledore's Army?"

I saw the twitch of Harry's eye at the mention our old headmaster's name.

"Something like that," he muttered stiffly, the bitterness in his tone evident. "But there are certain people I don't trust in here, certain people we need to watch carefully."

It was no surprise to any of us when his eyes flicked over to Draco Malfoy, his lip curling into a sneer.

"I don't know," I said quietly, recalling how he had saved me in the first game, "didn't he try to stop you from being handed in to You-Know-Who once?"

"Not hard enough!" Harry snapped. "Anything Malfoy does is to save his own skin. He would backstab even his own mother given half the chance."

"But didn't You-Know-Who kill his mother during the Battle of Hogwarts when it transpired she'd lied about you being dead?" Padma pointed out, clearly skeptical of Harry's tactics.

"So?" Harry bit defensively, this clearly being a sore point to him. "He's still an untrustworthy coward. No, I devised a team already in my head and it certainly doesn't include any Slytherins-"

"Does that go for me too, then?"

We all looked up as Nico sauntered over, pushing back the dark fringe from his face, his green eyes twinkling warmly as they met mine.

Harry scowled, looking him up and down. "Who are you?" He demanded. "I don't remember you."

A smirk twitched at Nico's lips as he stopped in front of him, amusement twisting at his features at Harry's obvious discombobulation.

"That's because you never knew me, oh Chosen One," Nico teased, enjoying this far too much. "You were always, shall we say, distracted by the company I kept, instead."

"Huh?" Harry said, scratching his head.

"Never mind," Nico answered, rolling his eyes. "Just so you know, I couldn't give a shit about your little prejudiced gang. I work alone."

"So why are you here then?" Harry said, eyeing him suspiciously. "Can't you see we're trying to have a private conversation here?"

"Quit getting your knickers in a twist, Potter," Nico snorted, "I just came by to say hi to a friend."

He turned to me and threw me a wink. "You all right there, kiddo? This moron's not giving you any trouble, is he?"

"It's cool," I said, smiling despite myself.

"Word of advice," Nico said, his eyes still trained on me, "if you are going to form allies in this place, then your best bet are the ones with most influence." He pointedly glanced towards Draco Malfoy, who was now surrounded by his goons, all of whom looking as though waiting for orders.

"Don't forget I have Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger on my team," Harry boasted. "And I reckon Neville will join up too. You girls will, won't you?" He added, looking at my sisters eagerly, both of whom nodded, with Parvati giving a little giggle.

"It would be lovely to reunite the DA," Luna said dreamily, sounding more like her old self, "Daddy would approve, I'm sure."

But I wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of joining anyone's 'army'. And besides, Harry did not exactly have a good victory track record.

"I think I'll go it alone, thanks," I said dismissively to Harry. "No offence, it's just what I've been used to the past few years."

"Suit yourself," he smarted, giving his glasses a little lift off his nose.

Luna looked at me, alarmed. "But, Ali-"

"Don't worry," I said at once, quickly reassuring her, "I'll still look out for you, okay? I just don't want to be seen teaming up. It's not how I operate."

Nico's lips twitched up at the corners as our eyes met. It was evident he approved of my decision.

Remembering I had promised Dumbledore some water, I excused myself, leaving Harry to talk tactics with his new recruits.

Locating a water station, where a queue had already formed, I waited, observing the other players around me. Pretty much everyone had returned. I was relieved to see that Cho wasn't amongst us. However, there was Cedric, looking sickly green as he sat alone on his bunk.

All the remaining Weasley's, bar Ginny had returned. I wondered if, after Percy's demise, she was put off from coming back. Charlie, Bill, the twins  and Ron were all there, though. A big loss for the Weasley family if none of them make it out alive.

Suddenly, a scuffle behind me in the queue drew my attention.

"Hey! You can't cut in!" Justin Finch-Fletchley complained as Draco Malfoy pushed in front of him, coming to stand directly behind me. "This is a queue!"

"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood."

I rolled my eyes, clicking my tongue against the roof of my mouth. He really needed to find new insults.

"Problem, Patil?" His cold voice drawled behind me.

"Yes," I said, whirling around to face him with a hand on my hip, "it happens that I do. Where do you get off being such a prejudiced gobshite?"

His eyes flashed as he looked down at me, his lips twitching in a smirk.

"Now, now," he said softly, leaning in so that his lips tickled my ear, "that's no way to talk to the person who saved your life. You owe me, Patil. Remember?"

I shuddered in disgust, taking a step away from him. "I owe you nothing."

"We could make a good team, you and I," he murmured, the smirk never leaving his lips. "With your brains and my, uh- influence, we could both get out of here alive."

I couldn't help but give a derisive scoff. Was he serious? What game was he playing at?

"I don't do teams," I hissed up at him. "Especially not with lowlife bullies with daddy issues like yourself."

As quick as a flash, fingers snapped around my wrist, gripping me hard. I struggled to break free, once again wrong-footed by the force of his strength.

"I'd be careful what you say to me, if I were you," he warned, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Especially in here."

As we found ourselves in a staring competition, neither of us willing to blink first, the queue behind us began to get restless.

"Will you get a fucking move on!" Ron Weasley yelled from the back of the line. "We're all bloody parched back here!"

His chest rising and falling heavily, Draco finally released my wrist, a tiny muscle along his hardened jawline pulsing.

"You'll change your mind," Draco murmured quietly, "once this next game is over, you'll be begging to team up with me."

And then wheeling on his heel, he strode off, leaving the line without getting any water.

I stared after him, breathing hard.

Moron.

******