The Art of Living - R. Black

twenty five

June 30th, 1997

I always used to feel safe at Hogwarts. Even during the first war when things were starting to heat up and the death toll was starting to rise, I always felt safe when I was at Hogwarts. I spent most of my seventh year patrolling the corridors with Regulus. Now, I'm back at Hogwarts, patrolling the corridors again, but feeling anything but safe this time.

My mind keeps going to my kids. Atlas, asleep in Gryffindor Tower, Elio, asleep in the dungeons, and Cassie, fast asleep at Jack's house. Regulus and I received a Patronus two hours ago saying that we were needed at Hogwarts. The Death Eaters might try and infiltrate the castle tonight. So here I am, wand at the ready, as I walk through the deserted corridors with Remus. Tonks and Regulus are someone in the castle as well, but it was in everyone's best interest to split up just in case anything goes south.

"Where is Dumbledore even?" I mutter, walking past the empty Great Hall.

Remus shrugs, "He told McGonagall that he had business to tend to."

"There's something off about this whole situation," I say.

"There's always been something off about Dumbledore," Remus adds.

He's not wrong.

There's the sound of rapid footsteps, and Remus and I quickly turn around with our wands raised. I lower my wand immediately after seeing Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood running towards us.

"Professor Snape said that there's something wrong on the seventh floor," Hermione explains, slightly out of breath.

Luna nods, "We have to tell the others." She is the spitting image of her mother that at this moment I briefly think that it's Pandora I'm talking to.

Remus and I exchange a look and I send off a Patronus to alert Regulus, Tonks, and Bill. The four of us take off towards the seventh floor. Even though we're moving fast it takes awhile to reach the seventh floor.

By the time that we reach the corridor outside of the Room of Requirement, Regulus, Tonks, and Bill are coming from an adjoining corridor and we meet in the middle.

There's a lingering cloud of dark smoke in the corridor that is almost obscuring my vision and I choke on it as I accidentally inhale it in order to catch my breath.

"What happened?" Bill yells. I see a small flicker of light but it doesn't help with the cloud of darkness that has just only started to disperse.

"It's one of Fred and George's inventions," Ron replies.

I can't see anything through the darkness except for the general shapes. There's three people in front of the Room of Requirement, Ron, Ginny, and Neville. I can feel Regulus standing at my side, and everyone else is scattered around.

"Peruvian Darkness powder," Ginny says.

"Here, it's clearer over here," Tonks calls.

I turn around and follow her voice, coming back in the direction that we came from. The entire corridor is clouded in a hazy darkness, but it gets easier to see the further you get from the Room of Requirement.

"What happened-"

I feel a wave of something wash over me. It feels like a spell is slowly being reversed. My head feels clearer for some reason.

"Something just happened," Regulus says, looking over at me with a slight look of panic in his eyes. Based on his expression, the same thing just happened to him.

There's a flash of bright green light coming from outside. Remus runs over to the closest window and peers out of it. "Fuck," Remus yells.

I run over to the window and all of us are crowding around.