The floo flared green. Dumbledore's face popped out. "Sirius?"
"Yes, Albus?"
"If I needed your help, do you think you could keep it quiet?"
Sirius goggled at his former Headmaster while the sirens of the department of magical law enforcement loudly blared around him. "If you need our help, you need our help!"
Dumbledore's head seemed to concede this point. "Okay, I need help."
Amelia Bones slammed though department's front door. "Situation!?"
the
Tracey ran back to the Slytherin common room, trying not to panic, and failing miserably. The school was on lockdown! That hadn't happened since the last goblin rebellion! Not even in the last war had the school gone on lockdown!
She quickly climbed into the room and scanned the room. Daphne and Hermione weren't here! "Blaise!"
Blaise spotted her and walked over from where a bunch of older students were milling around with anxious looks on their faces. "Where're Daph and Hermione?"
Blaise shrugged.
Tracey cursed.
Hermione watched the Marauder's Map for signs of trouble, occasionally glancing up to see Daphne still watching the still figure of Harry, who was sitting peacefully with his eyes closed in the middle of the mirror room. Everything was going well, but that was no reason to let down their guard.
Quirrellmort had left his office not long after Harry had taken down the fidelius and was currently heading towards the girl's second floor bathroom. That was worrying. Dumbledore seemed to be glued to his floo, which was also troubling. Was he calling for help?
Suddenly, Hermione's heart leapt into her throat. Name after name popped out of Dumbledore's floo. Black, Shacklebolt, Robards, Scrimgeour, Knight, Dawlish, Proudfoot, and Savage. Eight in total.
"Daphne?" she called, a note of alarm seeping into her voice.
"Yes?"
The names followed Dumbledore down the stairs from his office until they reached the first corridor, where upon they quickly formed themselves into a column, two names wide and four names long.
"Oh," Daphne said.
They both looked at Harry, still sitting with his eyes closed.
The names marched along corridor after corridor until they turned into what seemed to be a wall and disappeared off the map.
TFoP Sirius felt up the snow-drift-dusty wall and grunted. "Knight!"
Robert Knight, the team warder, stepped forward.
"What can you do about this?" Knight stuck his wand into the space near the wall. "A standard magical shield ward. Yes, we can take it down, but it will take time." "How much time?" "Thirty minutes, maybe?"
Dumbledore's beard twitched.
The magical shield protecting them was weakening.
Hermione wasn't panicking, but she really hoped Harry would finish soon. It wasn't as thought they didn't have an exit the door leading back through the third floor corridor was right there after all, and beyond that were two up and ready fidelius charms — fidelius charms which could easily protect them from the small army currently battering at their shields, should push come to shove, but she really hoped push wouldn't come to shove. They'd spent so much time and effort to get this far. To be forced to abandon it all, after getting here, with just the mirrors themselves left to defend the stone… Ugh. She and Daphne were taking in turns to pour as much of their own magic into the shield wards as they could, anything to buy them just a bit more time, but it felt like trying to feed a furnace with matchsticks. They could feel it wasn't close to failing yet, but it wouldn't last forever and every minute that past felt like an hour. The room was oppressively silent — silent but for the occasional footstep from her or Daphne and the barely audible thrum of eight adult aurors plus Dumbledore on the other side of the wall, ripping through the wards. Hermione fancied she could even hear Daphne's breathing. She could certainly hear her own.
Hermione gazed at Harry, still sitting with his eyes closed, looking as peaceful as a quiet spring morning, which was the opposite of how she felt. Daphne kicked a pebble across the room.
It made a clirck, click, ditc noise.
Then, suddenly, Harry's eyes snapped open, and he grinned.
Hermione's heart leapt.
Harry stood up, drew his wand, pointed it at the stone in front of him and said in a firm, confident voice, "Fidelius Occultum!"
And all knowledge of where she was and what she was doing was swept from her mind like smoke by a gust of fresh, cleansing wind.
Knight looked up from where he was focusing the efforts of eight other wizards on… "Wait." The combined auror around, confused.
task
force
looked
Knight looked at his wand. "What were we just doing?"
Dumbledore groaned.
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