Redemption For A Monster (Marauder fanfic) Book Three

73- A Taste Of Freedom

Only a few weeks after Harry's escape from Malfoy Manor, Sara heard more about what he had been up to since then, from Snape, who informed her that Harry and his friends had broken into Gringotts.
After getting all the information she could out of Snape, about Harry's adventures in Gringotts, Sara began to worry about where Harry was now.
Snape had told her that he wouldn't be returning for the rest of the day, as he had important business at Hogwarts that he couldn't get out of. So he had left her more food than normal, because she would be eating lunch and dinner by herself.
Sara could tell that there was something Snape wasn't telling her, but she was used to him keeping secrets from her. However, this didn't stop her from worrying about what he was getting up to.

Sara was lying on her bed later that day, when she suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the cupboard.
She immediately shot out of bed, and began to cautiously walk towards the cupboard.
After yanking the door open, Sara found that the box which contained her wand, was open.
Assuming that this meant she was in danger, Sara quickly grabbed her wand and pointed it at the door. And after months of being without it, Sara felt happy to have her wand back in her hand.
But after a few minutes of standing defensively in front of the basement door, Sara relaxed her arm, deciding that it was safe to do so.

Even though Sara was glad to have her wand back, she was worried about where Snape was, and why he had decided that she could have it.
Luckily she didn't have to wait for long, as Snape's doe Patronus entered the basement a few minutes later.
"The Hog's Head" said the doe, with Snape's voice.
Sara had no idea why Snape was instructing her to go to the pub owned by Albus Dumbledore's younger brother Aberforth, but she wasn't going to go against his wishes.
"Accio" instructed Sara, pointing to her belongings, and packing them inside her bag, since she was being freed from her imprisonmemt, and she no intention of coming back.

After taking one last look around the basement that had been her home for so many months, Sara Disapparated.
It had been a while since Sara had needed to Apparate, so when she arrived at her destination, she slipped and fell onto her bottom.
"Ouch" she winced as she stood to her feet.
"Another one".
Sara looked up and saw Aberforth standing in front of her. She hadn't spoken to him since the first war, even though she had seen him from a distance at his brother's funeral.
"Hello Aberforth. Remember me?" Asked Sara.
"Yes, of course I do. You're Sara Burne. I expect you want to head to Hogwarts as well. So get going" instructed Aberforth, pointing to the large hole in the wall, that seemed to lead into a dark passage.

"And where will this take me?" Questioned Sara suspiciously.
"Hogwarts. Isn't that what I just said?" Demanded Aberforth.
"Yeah, but where in Hogwarts?"
"Why don't you go and find out?".
Although Sara was hesitant to trust Aberforth, as he hadn't been much help since Voldemort's rebirth. But she realised that she didn't really have any choice.
Snape had sent her there for a reason, and she had to put her faith in the man who had kept her alive in his basement for months.
"I'll be coming back for this" muttered Sara, as she dropped her bag on the floor, thinking that it would not be safe to bring with her.
After taking a deep breath, Sara then climbed inside the hole and began walking through the tunnel, using her wand to light the way.
Since she'd spent ages in a small dark room, squeezing through a tiny tunnel with no end in sight, no longer bothered Sara.

After walking for ages, Sara eventually came to the end of the tunnel.
Even though she had no idea what she'd find on the other side, Sara pushed open the door and stepped out of the passage.
She was greeted by a huge, bright, colourful room, covered in hamocks and tapestry's of all the houses except Slytherin.
There were also dozens of Hogwarts students, who all looked like they'd been through the wars. They all had cuts and bruises on their faces, and their uniforms were tatty and torn.
But they weren't the only people in the room, as Sara could see the Order of the Phoenix standing in the middle of the room, and Remus was with them.

Not caring about anything else, Sara jumped out of the portrait hole and ran towards her best friend, throwing herself into his arms.
"Sara! I thought you were dead" gasped Remus, as he hugged her tight.
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm still here" smiled Sara.
"Looking like hell though. What the hell happened to you? Where have you been?" Questioned Remus, as he released Sara.
"It's a long story, for another time. But the more important thing is, what are we all doing here?"
"I don't know. We were just about to...".
Remus faltered and looked behind Sara, forcing her to spin around to see what he was staring at.

Harry had just entered the Room of Requirement and was already making his way towards her, as quickly as possible.
Sara jumped into his arms, when he reached her, just has she had done with Remus.
"Mischief" whispered Harry.
"Managed" finished Sara.
"It's good to see you again. Even though you look terrible" commented Harry.
"So I've heard. Well, we're all here, so care to tell us what is going on?"
"Voldemort is on his way. The teachers are barricading the school. The Carrows are down and Snape's made a run for it. I think they are going to evacuate the younger kids. Everyone's meeting in the Great Hall to get organised. We're fighting!"
"I'm glad to hear it. I've been in many small battles in my time, but nothing like this. We've never had one massive fight between good and evil before, so this should be interesting".

The students in the hall began to leave and make their way towards the Great Hall. Meaning that just Sara, Harry, Remus and the Weasley's were left standing in the room if requirement.
"Molly. It's so good to see you" smiled Sara, as she gave her friend a quick hug.
"Oh my- Sara. I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again" admitted Molly.
"Well, here I am. Ready to fight"
"I'm glad to hear it-".
Molly was interupted by the sudden arrival of another red-headed boy, with spectacles, who had just climbed out of the portrait hole.
"Am I too late? I only just found out that..." Percy faltered, and began to turn red, as he apparently hadn't expected to bump into his whole family.

To break the awkward silence, Fleur turned to face Remus.
"So, how eez leetle Teddy?" She asked.
Sara frowned.
"Teddy?".
"Of course- you don't know. You've been away for so long, and I didn't know how to get word to you. Teddy is my son. He's with Tonks and her mother at the moment" revealed Remus.
"Oh Remus. I'm so happy for you" grinned Sara.
"I've got a picture of him I can show you" announced Remus, as he pulled out a photo from his pocket, showing her a tiny baby with bright turquoise hair.
"I take it that he's a Metamorphmagus like his mother then?"
"Yes, he is".

Sara, Remus and Harry decided to make their way out of the room, so that the Weasley's could talk to their son without any interuptions.
"So how did you both know to come here?" Asked Harry.
"Dumbledore's Army has been communicating with the Order for a while now. So when you turned up, they sent us a message, saying that there was going to be a fight" explained Remus.
"Cool. Look, I've got to find Ron and Hermione, I'll catch up with you later" replied Harry, before running off into the school.
"You didn't tell Harry how you knew to get here" Remus said quietly.
"It's complicated" admitted Sara, her thoughts on what Harry had said about Snape running away.
Remus frowned and said nothing.
"Look, if we both make it out of this alive, I will tell you everything. But right now, we've got a war to win" continued Sara.

"Is that a promise?" Asked Remus.
"Yes" answered Sara.
"O.K... You are alright though, aren't you? You haven't been hurt?"
"No, I'm fine. I've just been somewhere safe, that I couldn't communicate from. But I have been listening to the radio. Hearing your voice gave me the strength that I needed to keep going"
"Good. I'm glad you heard me"
"Me too... Looks like we've got one more battle to fight. But hopefully this will be the last one"
"I hope you are right".
Sara laced her fingers through Remus', as the pair made their way through the Hogwarts corridor's towards the Great Hall, where the defense of Hogwarts was being planned.