—————S—————

Severus waited, watching from the Astronomy Tower as Lord Voldemort made his way to Albus Dumbledore's tomb. He hadn't come to the castle, which was probably for the best. Severus had sent Hermione to the Room of Requirement when he felt the wards trip, signaling that the Dark Lord had entered the grounds. She would keep the students inside from leaving. If the Carrows knew of their master's arrival, he was unaware.

The figure stopped, and Severus cringed as the large heavy stone of marble was levitated off the surface. It was utterly taboo to mess with a wizard's grave, but then it wasn't as if the Dark Lord cared much for what was considered sacred in the wizarding world. As much as Severus wanted to, he couldn't look away after there was a bright flash and the distant sound of stone breaking. What was the Dark Lord doing? He didn't dare think about it too much, not wanting to imagine the vile things the once-man could do with the corpse of his greatest enemy.

He waited, watching, trying not to wonder, when suddenly there was a bright light and a powerful blast of lightning landed directly where the Dark Lord was standing. It would be too much to ask the fates to strike him down, so he'd probably conjured the storm. But why?

The Dark Lord left, taking off into the night. There and gone without anyone the wiser.

Something didn't feel right.

He'd already had a quick meeting with the Dark Lord the night before. He'd been summoned, which was already odd. He'd given the report of the school and the Dark Lord was pleased with what he heard. And in return, he merely asked Severus to remain at the school for the weekend, as he had something he had to do and needed his headmaster on the grounds. Bellatrix had looked put out, so it was safe to assume whatever it was Voldemort required, she didn't know about it. He had expected to be summoned when his "master" reached the gates, but it hadn't happened.

At least he hadn't entered the school.

Severus checked his pocket watch and realized that it was not yet midnight, though still very late. The Carrows had most likely indulged in their weekend spirits, which meant they were in a drunken stupor. This was the best time to enact his plan.

Walking briskly, he returned to the headmaster's office, making his way to the desk. He paused only briefly with his hand over the map, wondering if maybe tonight wasn't the best night. But he couldn't hold it off any longer. Aurora had sent him a message just earlier that day, asking if they'd found anything that could destroy the Horcrux in their hands. She'd said they'd done every spell they could think of to destroy it, but it remained intact.

There was a knock on his door, and his shoulders sagged. Opportunity lost, it would seem.

"Enter," he called, not sure who to expect at this hour.

Sirius walked in, closing the door behind him. He looked dejected, no devilish grin, and no cavalier attitude.

"What is it?" Severus asked, not unkindly.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Ted Tonks was caught and killed today," he said quietly. "Early morning. Andy got the letter from the Ministry...." He stopped, clearing his throat again. "He was on the run, Muggle-born and all. It's said he wasn't the only one, but we aren't sure who he was with. Not yet."

Severus took a deep breath. "That is unfortunate news. How is Nymphadora?"

"About as grief-stricken as her mother. Remus is worried about the baby, of course. You can't blame him. I know Tonks is a tough witch, but she's nearly due."

"Indeed," Severus agreed, sitting down in his chair.

"Are we there yet, Severus?" Sirius asked, pacing the room. "I mean, I'll dress like a witch and give out reading assignments for as long as you need me to, but... how many more are we going to lose?"

"We're close," Severus said, standing once more, looking over his desk. "I was about to ask the fearless leaders of the room to escort the occupants to my old lab."

"In the dungeon?"

Severus quirked a brow. "The one I had when we were students."

Sirius frowned, and then his face lit up, only to frown again. "It isn't big enough."

"I asked the castle to make an exception," Severus said, waving off Sirius' concern. "And once they're all in there...."

"Once they're all in there... what?" Sirius asked.

Severus tapped his finger on his desk. "It has only just struck me that the only students that know of the Horcruxes are Leonidas and Ginevra, and I won't ask them to go in there to look for it. I won't let Hermione anywhere near a basilisk fang, not in her condition. I can't go in, we've no idea how long it will take to search the room."

Sirius nodded, glancing behind Severus. "And I see our 'leader' has vacated his frame."

"Yes," Severus said, glancing behind him. "He's been absent since he told Hermione where he hid the basilisk fangs."

"Would you like me to go in there with them?" Sirius asked.

"No," Severus replied. "In fact... in fact, I may just extend an olive branch, if you will, to Mr. Longbottom."

"You want to send Neville in?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows nearly disappearing under his hairline.

"And Miss Lovegood," Severus added. "Their friends went on a hunt for these things, they'll help."

Sirius mulled over it a moment. "What do you think of including the Slytherins?"

"In the evacuation, yes," Severus replied. "But in the search and destruction, no. It may be more beneficial for Messrs. Nott and Zabini and Miss Greengrass to stay with the students in hiding. They were part of forming the rebellion, it would be good to keep them in view."

"I suppose," Sirius agreed.

"Good," Severus said. "That said, would you mind terribly going to get the leaders?"

"Of course," Sirius said, heading to the Floo.

Severus waited, looking down at the map, noting that Minerva was doing rounds with Filius and that the Carrows were in their chambers, unmoving. Thankfully not together. Severus always did wonder if their closeness meant a bit too close.

The Floo flared and he looked up to see Sirius come through, followed by Longbottom, Miss Lovegood, Nott, and Mr. Finch-Fletchley. The four stood in front of his desk. Only the Hufflepuff seemed worried, and only the Gryffindor slightly suspicious.

"You're not going to like what I'm about to ask of you," he hedged. "I'm going to ask you to evacuate the Room of Requirement."

There was an instant uproar. Only Lovegood remained silent as the three young men started to protest. Severus rolled his eyes, allowing them to get their knee-jerk reactions out before he bellowed, "Silence!"

The boys fell silent. One looked sheepish, one stoic, the other pissed off. Oddly, it was the Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff, respectively.

"I need you to evacuate the room." He paused, making sure they kept their mouths shut. He reached for the map, turning it toward them. "And I need you to bring everyone here."

"Is that Harry's map?" Longbottom asked.

"No, Potter has his copy. This is a replica," Severus explained.

"What's that room, sir?" Lovegood asked.

"It's a room that has been warded against discovery, expanded to fit all of you, and outfitted for a comfortable night's sleep," Severus replied. "This will not be permanent. After the room is vacated, Mr. Longbottom, Miss Lovegood, I want you to report back here to me with Miss Weasley and Leonidas."

"Why them, sir?" Theo asked.

"Because, Mr. Nott, I believe it would be best for you to oversee the safety of the students. So, too, would it be best for Hufflepuff to be seen as a house that can be relied upon to protect."

Nott nodded, seeming to know that it was not the entire truth, but it was the truth he needed to know. "And when would you like this done, sir?"

"Tonight," he said. "It appears the Carrows are already in their cups. The process should take no more than an hour, and you can have the youngest settled into bed and asleep soon enough." When none of them made to move anywhere, he simply said, "Go."

Longbottom and Lovegood did so, but Finch-Fletchley and Nott stayed. When Severus was about to ask why they weren't doing as asked, he saw Nott glancing at Sirius.

"Do not worry about him," he said. "He's been teaching you Potions for the last four months."

"Really?" Finch-Fletchley asked. "How? Polyjuice?"

"A Glamour and an underlying desire to be a witch for a while," Sirius quipped back with a roguish grin. Nott snorted and turned away, heading for the door. Finch-Fletchley appeared thoughtful as he followed.

When they'd gone, Severus looked to Sirius. "Are you returning to Nymphadora and Lupin?"

Sirius thought it over. "No. They have each other."

"It's not as though I'm alone here," Severus pointed out.

"I know," Sirius agreed. "But I feel less adrift here." He frowned. "Hogwarts, as they say, will always be here for those who need it. When Harry was here for most of the year, I was never phased. I had the odd investigation to make on Dumbledore's behalf, though the truth is he hardly ever trusted me with nothing more than listening in on conversations at a tavern. I had a house to run. But now that things aren't good for anyone not following You-Know-Who's word, I find I have nowhere to go. I'm adrift. And if I must be so, I wish to drift where I have always felt a sense of home. With people I like. You, Hermione, Minerva." He smiled half-heartedly. "The end is nigh, and I want to be with those who have been there for me, even if I wasn't always worthy."

Severus nodded. "Then you may also make yourself useful. Many of the children have come to see Longbottom, Lovegood, and Ginevra as someone to rely on. They will be absent during a time when the children will be worried and scared. Help Hermione comfort them."

"Yes, sir," Sirius said, devilish grin in place before he turned and sauntered out of the office.

—————L—————

He was nervous, though he'd never admit it. Watching Longbottom pace in front of where the room was, seeming in silent meditation with the castle, had Leo's heart racing. Having Ginevra and Luna on either side of him made him feel older and bolder. Aurora was out there having a proper adventure, and that was fine for her. But right now, he was about to have one himself. A small one, but his own contribution to the war.

When the door reappeared, slightly different than before, Leo had to take a deep breath. Occlumency was well and good, but this was beyond any emotion he'd experienced in his life.

"Okay," Longbottom said, shaking out his arms. "Let's do this." He opened the door and waved the rest of them to enter.

The room was an utter disaster: there were piles of random junk, stacks of furniture, random rugs dotting the floor, lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

"This is mad," Longbottom said, head tilted back as he looked around the room in awe. "Suppose we could just Accio the things."

Leo, who was admittedly also gobsmacked, sobered to look at Longbottom. "Yes, let's have sharp fangs laced with incurable venom hurtle through the air toward us. It's a superb idea, truly."

"Do you talk like this to everyone?" Longbottom snapped.

"I told Fred and George they were being complete idiots at least a half dozen times a day when I was working with them. I speak like that to anyone who says stupid things."

They ventured just a bit further in.

"It may be a good idea for us to split up," Luna said, eyeing the piles. "It may take us a few hours to go through all this."

"And what if one of us finds them?" Neville asked.

"Well, one would think we would call out for the others," Leo replied.

"How? Only Gin and Luna can conjure a Patronus."

Leo took out his wand, keeping his face impassive as he lifted his arm and shot off a bang of blue sparks.

"Right," Longbottom said.

"That doesn't help, though," Ginevra said. "If we're behind a stack of something, we won't see the sparks. And the bang might be dangerous."

"So, we work in groups but on separate piles," Luna said with a gentle smile. "Near enough that we can see and hear each other, but without wasting time in the same space."

And so they went to work. Leo could honestly say he'd never seen so much junk in all his life. Everything from broken wands and destroyed textbooks, to old shoes and (thankfully) preserved pumpkin pasties. He heard Ginevra cringe and whine when she had the unfortunate experience of sticking her hand into a mystery substance, which was quickly Vanished. Longbottom had a small pile of cauldrons fall on him. Luna was busy collecting small odds and ends like butterbeer caps and safety pins.

Deeper and deeper into the room they went. There were more chairs inside than Hogwarts could have use for. Cluster of brooms in unknown condition. A rattling box of Quidditch balls, which clearly didn't have the Bludger locked in.

"Beginning to think this room should have been called the Room of Junk Disposal," Longbottom groaned as they moved on to the next set of stacks.

"Wouldn't sound as clever or tempting, would it," Ginevra said.

Leo moved around his own pile, circling, getting an idea of what was there, when his heart stopped. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.

"Hey," he said, his voice not very loud. He continued to stare at the item on the bust, feeling something like joy and panic. The others continued grumbling. "Hey," he tried again, and his voice broke in a very unbecoming way. When no one had the audacity to comment, he withdrew his wand and sent up the blue bang.

"Ah!" Ginevra shouted. "Leo, what the hell!" she said, a few things falling off her pile. She stomped over to him, brushing herself off, but in his peripheral, Leo could also see she stopped short.

"That's what I think it is, right?" he asked her.

"Luna?"

"Yes, dear?" Luna said as she skipped over to them. "Oh, you found the lost diadem. Well, I suppose it's not really lost anymore, is it? It's been found. Good job, Leonidas."

There was a loud thud, and then, "Guys! Guys, I found them!" Leo was reluctant to pull his eyes away from the silver diadem with the splendid blue gem, but he managed. He followed the girls around his pile to where Longbottom knelt in front of what looked to be a broken Vanishing Cabinet. There was a small chest at his feet, and inside were six pristine basilisk fangs. The velvet lining of the interior was stained black.

"No one touch those without dragonhide gloves," Leo said. He then darted around the pile behind him, facing the diadem once more. He took a breath, then another. He took out his wand, then as an afterthought, the small vial of Liquid Luck. He considered drinking it, but then thought better of it. Keeping it in hand, he focused. "Wingardium Leviosa," he said quietly, watching as the diadem lifted off the bust. He smiled, laughing quietly to himself as he brought it down.

He was surprised when Ginevra snatched it out of the air with her bare hand, a basilisk fang in the other wrapped in nothing more than an old sock.

"What are you doing?" he asked, unable to decide which decision was more outrageously dangerous: the way she held the fang or the way she held the Horcrux.

"I carried around a bit of You-Know-Who's soul for the better part of a year. I slept with it, connected with it, poured my soul into it until it was literally draining the life from me," she said with steeled determination, setting the diadem on the floor and kneeling. "There's always been a part of me that I hates how easily I was manipulated. I had Rory, it was hardly as though I was friendless. Yet that thing made me lonely, made me do things I've never forgiven myself for. Harry destroyed that piece, and good for him. He had a lifetime of misery because of Vold.... But that-that snake-faced demon messed with my life, too. And I'm damn well getting back at him for it," she said, face scrunching up in determination before she stabbed the diadem with the fang straight through the jewel.

Black mist trickled out of it, punctuated with a long painful scream.

"Grab the box," Leo said, gesturing to Longbottom while never taking his eyes off the mist that started to form into a skull.

Longbottom closed the box and stood just as the mist swirled around them and started tipping the nearby piles over. No one needed to say they should run, all four of them turned and took off toward the entrance the second the mist started attacking them.

Leo ran, cursing himself for being so inadequate in PE, trying not to let the others know that if he tripped, he wouldn't be getting back up. He pushed himself, but it was getting ridiculously hard to outrun the towers of falling stuff.

And then it happened. He tripped. It might have been on something or his own two feet, but Leo hit the floor hard and rolled. He ached, fairly certain he'd cracked his elbow hard, and that was the reason he couldn't push himself to his feet. Things were falling closer. The piles of things near him shaking, smaller objects hitting the ground around him, one or two hitting him in the back. He staggered, getting up, but knew in his gut he wasn't going to move fast enough.

If his father was in a situation like that, he'd still keep going. He'd still fight. He'd defend himself.

" Protego !" Leo shouted, crouching down as things started hitting his shield. He covered his head with this other hand, still clenched in a fist, even though nothing came through. He panted. " Protego ," he kept whispering to himself over and over again, too afraid to look up and see what was hitting his shield, lest he psych himself out and drop the spell. He heard Ginevra, Luna, and Longbottom shouting for him in varying degrees of distress, but he couldn't respond. Responding would mean distraction, distraction would mean failure, failure of his shield would mean....

The items began to slow, fewer and fewer things hitting his shield until they stopped. Refusing to lower his shield just yet, Leo slowly straightened, taking in his surroundings with wide eyes. He was standing in a crater no bigger than four feet in diameter, the walls at least two feet over his head. It was utterly silent except the odd toppling of something further in the room and Leo turned around to take it all in. There were no more piles, and it was likely he was standing on the only clear patch of floor left.

He giggled. Then the giggle turned into a snicker, changing swiftly to a chuckle. The chuckle grew to a laugh, which turned damn near manic as he opened his tightly clenched fist and saw that the vial had cracked, likely when he tripped, cut his palm, and leaked the potion into his hand. He fell to his knees, hyperventilating with laughter as Ginevra, Luna, and Longbottom appeared above him on the brooms they'd passed on their way in.

"I think he's lost it," Neville said.

"No," Luna said. "He's high from luck and adrenaline."

"I thought your dad was going to kill us," Ginevra said as she lowered her broom toward him. "And then your mother, and then your sister."

"Oh, wait until I tell Rory about this. This, this is my war story," he said as his laughter finally started to die. He climbed onto the broom behind Ginevra.