Roses and Thorns 10

Chapter 10: Lockdown

Lockdown. Yes, a major lockdown. Worse than curfew, because the lockdown is for security manners. "A lockdown is an emergency protocol to prevent people or information escaping, which usually can only be ordered by someone in command."


Whispers, whispered fears and worries passed from mouth to mouth, the lockdown had been announced. Roselyn knew that it was a manner of hours until such an act would be done, they were now, "officially" target number one. Dumbledore, the Headmaster had returned and with his return it brought hope to many students. But to Rose it had brought a greater fear, once he had entered those doors, and she had said his name, from that moment, she knew that things would quickly happen from there. Fear. Yes, Roselyn Marie Synders, the Gryffindor felt fear, not for herself but towards the one she treasured dearly. Along with her fellow students who, had no idea whom they were up against.

How cruel… Expect the students to fight and do their best when they do not know what they were up against. Sure, "bad people" who wanted to "destroy Hogwarts" but, that information wasn't enough. It was like sending the first lined soldiers to face technology that outdated their own. Rose disagreed deeply with this, most of the students had no idea whatsoever whom they were facing, they did not know why they were fighting. A lot of students could not produce a shield charm to protect themselves, and a lot were underage! How could one ask a first year to fight? …It felt like injustice to the red head, it felt unfair and somehow, wrong. To listen blindly to a leader was not her thing, and she knew this once she had heard the headmaster, and seen her classmates nod, nod without knowing what they were going to face. "Everyone needs their obedient soldiers" someone had told her, but she didn't agree to that… Red couldn't believe in such a thing, using her wits is what she was doing now. And even if this angered her hopeful boyfriend, she carried on.

It was done, the lockdown was complete and they were all trapped inside the stone walls. Even if those who remained were those who agreed to stay no matter what, Roselyn started to see the fear spread once the lockdown was complete. It would be ridiculous to say that one was not afraid one bit of the situation, a pure lie, for everyone had much to lose. Up high, in the Gryffindor Tower, it was morning, Tom was downstairs somewhere and she had slept in, not caring for class, if there was one, for she knew the teachers were surly busy protecting the castle with their magic. She got up from the beds warm covers and walked to face the door; she stretched out, and looked at the room for a moment… She looked to the magic photography of her and Tom, and how happy they looked in each other's arms… So much to lose, so much to lose… To lose him… No, she shouldn't think of that, not that nightmare. Even if the redhead did not want to think of such things, it haunted her every thought and every nightmare for the past few days that had passed since Dumbledore's return.

She dreamt about a ruined Hogwarts, fresh from battle, blood, bodies, shattered glass, rumble and spell marks all over the place. She was alone; the only one standing in the castle, her steps would echo in the hall, she saw many familiar faces lifeless, cold dead on the ground. Teachers left for dead while protecting the students behind them, McGonagall… The worst of all from that point, had been her best friend, Samantha, her blond hair on her face Red lifted her from the ground, on her knees screaming, and holding her close. But it was too late, she was dead, and the nightmare continued… There were many corpses at one spot and they were not students, nor teachers. They seemed to be burnt, the smell was terrible, and some were still smoking… From under those black cloaked figures, there was a touch of blond hair… "Non…" Roselyn ran to those bodies and threw them off as best as she could, her heart beating faster, harder it began to be painful.

Once she saw, his angelic sweet face, lifeless and pale something died inside of her. She screamed a high pitched scream, like a lover who had lost her soul mate. She pushed the other bodies aside and held him in her arms, crying, screaming, like she was enduring the Cruciatus Curse. She held his broken body in her arms, she wouldn't let go, and she couldn't. Tom was dead, he was dead and there was nothing, nothing in her power that she could do about it… She had failed.
And she had awoken violently, tears on her cheeks her heart beating like she had just ran a mile. The very first thing she had done was check on Tom, to feel his warm skin and even check if he was breathing! …It had been just a nightmare.

Her green eyes looked at her drawing of the Gryffindor Lion, it meant something, that she was sorted in this house, so there had to be a reason to it. Was it her Bravery? Her Loyalty? She didn't know, at this point, she did not feel brave, she felt afraid and unprepared. She sighed deeply and pressed her back against the door, why had she stayed? To protect those she loved. To defend the place she had come to call home. To save whom she could… They were all noble reasons, the one that seemed to be the most naïve of them all was the thought that she and Tom could be happy together after all this was over. It seemed to be one of the reasons that made her keep going; it was the fire burning inside of her a promise to happiness.

The Head boy might have seen it foolish; to him we are all promised death at some point… And that hope was not what would save them all. Red didn't care what he would think of it, she would hope for it and achieve that hope by using her mind to plan, to plot and finally to prevail. Maybe it was more of a goal then hope, but she needed something to hold on to, and if it was her fiery tempered boyfriend, then she would stick to that. But Red felt that something had to be done before anything, and that was to train all those who needed it. So the prefects had their own little meetings and trainings, but this was no longer just their problem, this was the whole school, and all its students that had stayed. …She wondered if such a thing would be organized… For now, she had to speak with Tom, and she knew the right place.