Ariana smiled, turned, and walked away, not as people in portraits usually did, one of the sides of their fras, but along what seed to be a long tunnel painted behind her. They watched her slight figure retreating until finally she was swallowed by the darkness.
"Er - what - ?" began Ron.
"There's only one way in now," said Aberforth. "You must know they've got all the old secret passageways covered at both ends, dentors all around the boundary walls, and regular patrols inside the school from what my sources tell . The place has never been so heavily guarded."
"We know that," Ginny replied at Aberforth's still grim tone.
"Yes, I'm aware. My sources have told ."
"Your sources aning —"
But before Ginny could confirm, their attention caught the portrait. A tiny white dot reappeared at the end of the painted tunnel, and now Ariana was walking back toward them, growing bigger and bigger as she ca. But there were two people with her now, both of them taller than she was, one of them limping along, but looking excited. Larger and larger the three figures grew until only their heads and shoulders filled the portrait.
Then the whole thing swang forward on the wall like a little door, and the entrance to a real tunnel was revealed. And out of it, two figures erged. With his hair overgrown, his face cut, robes ripped, clambered the real Neville Longbottom, and behind him a ssy and worn out but without any serious physical injuries, Draco Malfoy. Neville gave a roar of delight, leaped down from the mantelpiece, and yelled.
"I knew you'd co!"
But what surprised Chris more was the big smile Draco Malfoy broke into when he saw Ginny in the crowded room.
"Ginny!" He sounded breathless like he couldn't believe it and Chris noticed tears shining in his eyes.
"Draco!" Without any thought as if Ginny had completely forgotten that his brother was in the room, she sprinted and jumped into Draco's outstretched arms.
"What?" Ron stuttered like he had seen a ghost and Hermione's jaw dropped. Harry just looked slightly surprised, but not completely shocked as if he guessed sothing like this.
"You are ok. I'm so glad you are ok," Draco mumbled more to himself as he buried his face in her flaming hair.
"I'm glad too," Ginny breathed.
Maybe to distract them from Ginny and Draco, Neville turned to Harry and Chris, while trying to hide a smile.
"Chris! Harry!" Neville hugged her and Harry, looking extrely pleased but Chris didn't feel the sa.
The longer Chris looked at Neville, the worse he appeared: One of his eyes was swollen yellow and purple, there were gouge marks on his face, and his general air of unkemptness suggested that he had been living enough. Nevertheless, his battered visage shone with happiness as he hugged Colin and Luna next, and finally, Hermione and Ron, who still couldn't believe his eyes.
"Neville, what's happened to you?" Chris stared at Neville.
"What? This?" Neville dismissed his injuries with a shake of the head. "This is nothing, Seamus is worse. And so others. You'll see."
"What?" That seed to break Ron out of his daze. "The others are worse?"
"Yes, well," Neville let out a small sigh. "I will tell you on the way. C'mon."
Neville turned to the portrait just as Ginny and Draco separated. Ginny hastily wiped a few tears out of her eyes and hugged Neville.
"I am just happy you all are alive."
"Sa here, Ginny," Neville smiled brightly. "When we got the news of you, Luna, and Colin dying, almost all of the other DA mbers gave up, if it wasn't for Malfoy, I don't know if we would have hope."
"Excuse ?" Hermione looked at Neville bewildered and Ron mirrored the expression.
"What the Hell is going on?" Ron couldn't hold it in anymore. "Ginny, what -?"
"Ron, quiet down," Hermione said furiously. "We can still get heard."
But Ron barely listened to Hermione, his eyes glaring daggers at Draco.
"Weasley, listen," Draco began seriously turning to Ron but Ginny jumped in.
"It's Draco," She said calmly. "He was the one I was talking to. The one giving us information about Hogwarts."
"And he is also the one who told us about Ginny and you all being alive," Neville said enthusiastically. "Draco has been a great help. Since the beginning of the year."
Ron just stared at happy-looking Neville, then at Ginny and Draco. One could actually see him trying to process this new information and failing.
"What? Malfoy? But - I - you - Ginny?"
"Draco helped us last year too, rember?" Colin muttered.
"Yes, but I thought it was a coincidence," Ron said, and Draco snorted.
"Really? You think sticking my neck out for a bunch of Gryffindors was a coincidence?" Draco asked rolling his eyes but stopped short noticing Ginny's raised eyebrow. He mumbled under his breath. "Not that I mind sticking my neck out for very lovely Gryffindors."
Chris pressed her lips together to stop herself from chuckling.
"Dumbledore helped him and his family, so it makes sense for him to help us, Ron," Harry said trying to salvage the situation.
"Yeah," Ginny shot Harry a grateful look. "He is sincere in helping us."
"So it's just a friendly thing, nothing else?" Ron looked like he was daring Ginny to say otherwise.
"Ron, don't try to be -" Ginny began angrily but Chris caught her arm.
"This is not the ti," Chris whispered. "We can't start a shouting contest in Mr. Dumbledore's house, especially when there are enemies roaming around outside?"
"Yes, Ron, let's talk on the way," Neville said directing Ron towards the passageway.
"Or later," Harry said with a sigh.
"Or never," Ginny muttered under her breath.
Chris chuckled as one by one all of them climbed into the passageway. Neville took Ron first followed by Hermione, Luna, and Colin, then Ginny and Draco climbed in. Harry waited for Chris as she turned to Aberforth.
"Regardless of whatever we said today, we are still grateful for your help, Mr. Dumbledore," Chris said politely.
"Good. Keep the others safe then," Aberforth grunted and was ready to turn around.
"Despite your relationship with your brother, I think you would agree that's one thing, he taught us right, how to help people," Chris smiled and Aberforth paused. "Anyway, thank you again."
"Yes, thank you," Harry repeated.
They both turned towards the tunnel but Aberforth started speaking.
"The scar on my brother's nose, did you know how he got it?"
Chris and Harry exchanged a confused look and turned back to Aberforth.
"I punched him and broke his nose at Ariana's funeral. More or less that was the end of our relationship," Aberforth spoke staring at the fireplace. "I didn't let him take anything from our ho after that. Just his things, not like he didn't have much. He had enough . . . but he still took sothing. Our sister's locket." Aberforth moved to a corner of the room and grabbed a small wooden box with a shaky hand. "I looked for it for years but couldn't find it. I think I guessed he had it but didn't say anything. But after he died I found out he left the locket for you."
Aberforth slowly retrieved a small silver locket from the box and held it against the light and Chris realized he was talking about her. Dumbledore left her the family locket in his will.
"It was in our family for decades, I think more than that. It was passed down to girls in our family but to know he left that for one of his students, I was beyond angry," but Aberforth didn't sound that angry. "After the Ministry couldn't find you anymore, they were supposed to hand it to as the only living Dumbledore. I wasn't planning to give it to you, mind you. It was my sister's. Our sister's, how can he just leave it like that?"
But as he spoke, he held out the locket to Chris. She didn't respond and looked at him hesitatingly.
"Take good care of it, will you?" He grunted at last almost thrusting it on her hands and turning around.
"Mr. Dumbledore -" Chris began, her voice thick with emotions.
"Just survive. Go."
Aberforth barked before walking downstairs. Chris looked down at the locket in her hand and saw a small, round, silver locket with flower pattern on it.
"Chris, we should get going," Harry nudged her toward the tunnel and Chris smiled tucking the locket inside her pocket.
"Let's go."
[To be continued]
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