HP : No way out of Hogwarts

Ron jogged beside his best friend, his face grim. "You think Malfoy's thought this far ahead? That he's already targeting the kitchens?"

Harry paused, his eyes narrowing as he weighed Ron's question

His mind raced with possibilities, each one worse than the last. "If I were him, I would. Controlling the food at the current stage means controlling the castle."

Neville glanced over his shoulder nervously, his voice low. "And if we don't get there first?"

"Then we're in real trouble," Harry said bluntly.

They descended the staircase to the lower levels, slowing down as they neared the entrance to the kitchens, the portrait of the bowl of fruit looming ahead.

"Quiet," Harry whispered, holding up a hand to halt them.

He stepped closer to the painting, his ears straining for any sound from the other side.

"Do you hear anything?" Ron leaned in, his voice barely audible.

Harry nodded grimly. "Voices. Someone's already inside."

Fuck.

"Are you all ready?" Harry asked very quietly, turning to look back at his dorm mates.

They all nodded, their expressions set with determination despite the tension visible in their shoulders.

He reached out and tickled the pear on the portrait.

It let out a soft giggle and swung open, revealing the entrance to the kitchens.

Wasting no time, Harry stepped inside, his wand raised.

The moment they entered, half a dozen wands turned toward them and Harry instinctively cast a protego, catching a stunner midway.

The kitchens were far from empty.

Around the central table stood a group of students, their faces tense and wary.

Most wore Hufflepuff ties, though Harry spotted a few Ravenclaws among them.

No one from the group we saw before is here, he noted immediately, wondering if his earlier fears were confirmed.

"Stop!" came a voice from the centre of the group.

It was Ernie Macmillan—a fellow seventh-year.

His chest puffed out as he stepped forward, his wand still raised. "We don't want trouble, Potter."

"Neither do we," Harry replied quickly.

Though he didn't lower his wand, it was Ernie who had fired the stunner. "We're here to secure the kitchens before Malfoy decides to take them."

Ernie snorted. "You're a bit late for that. We've already got them."

Ron bristled. "You can't just claim the kitchens! Everyone's going to need food."

"And we intend to share," Ernie shot back, his voice steady but firm. "But only with those who play by the rules."

Harry frowned, lowering his wand slightly but keeping his posture guarded. "What rules?"

He suddenly felt terribly tired with all that was going on.

"Our rules," said Hannah Abbott, stepping forward from Ernie's side.

Her wand was lowered, though her expression was guarded. "No hoarding. No stealing. And no threatening others to get what you want. We've heard what Malfoy was doing upstairs, and we're not going to let it happen down here."

"That's reasonable," Harry said carefully, wondering just how they knew about the Room of Requirement so fast. "But you're going to need help. You can't hold this place on your own if Malfoy decides to make a move."

Hannah glanced at Ernie—the de facto leader of the newest group—who seemed to hesitate before nodding. "Maybe. But we're not just going to hand it over to you, Potter."

Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Great, just fucking great.

"I'm not asking you to. Look, we're all in the same boat here. If we start dividing ourselves into little factions, Malfoy's going to win. We need to work together."

There was a murmur among the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Harry could see the uncertainty on their faces, the flickers of doubt in their eyes. They knew he was making a point, even if they didn't want to admit it.

"We'll cooperate," Ernie said at last, though his tone was reluctant. "But we're keeping control of the kitchens. If you need supplies, you'll have to go through us."

"Fine," Harry agreed, extending a hand. "But we'll help you protect it. If Malfoy or anyone else comes down here, we'll stand with you."

Ernie hesitated, then shook Harry's hand. "Deal."

Ron muttered under his breath, "We'll see how long that lasts."

Ignoring him, Harry turned to the others. "Right. Do you have any idea what Malfoy is planning upstairs?"

"Yes, we actually do. Do you know how last year he brought the death eaters in the school through a vanishing cabinet?"

Harry nodded, stunned. "Yeah..."

The memory of that night was still fresh in his mind, along with everything that followed.

How can Ernie possibly know that? I only know because Draco said so to Dumbledore.

Ernie crossed his arms, his expression serious. "Well, he tried to use it again. That's what this is all about—Slytherins taking over the Room of Requirement. He thought he could use the vanishing cabinet to leave the school."

Harry blinked, his mind reeling. "Leave the school? You're sure about this?"

Ernie nodded firmly. "Positive."

"Wait, what do you mean 'tried to use it again'? And how could you possibly know all this?"

Ernie's gaze hardened, and for a moment, it looked as though he might not answer at all.

When he finally spoke, his voice was edged with caution. "Look, Potter, I'm not going to explain every little detail. Let's just say the Room of Requirement… isn't quite itself any more. Malfoy wanted to use it like before—turn it into that place he hid the cabinet—but something changed. It's stuck in a different form now."

Ernie pressed his lips together, as if that was all he was willing to say.

More secrets… First Malfoy, now Ernie. Everyone seems to play their own game, Harry thought with growing frustration.

His mind whirled, going over the new information.

Stuck in a different form?

That didn't make any sense.

The Room of Requirement was supposed to shift to a person's needs.

He wanted to demand more details—what form was it stuck in?—but Ernie's guarded expression told him he'd get no further answers right now.

"How do you even—" Harry began, but Ernie cut him off.

"We've got our ways," the Hufflepuff said shortly, then swept a glance around the circle of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. "And that's all you need to know."

Ron let out a frustrated huff. "How do you expect us to keep up with Malfoy if you're not telling us anything?"

"I told you enough," Ernie replied, meeting Ron's glare head-on. "What matters is that Malfoy's plan to sneak out was a huge disaster and that he's mad about it. And you don't want a cornered ferret lashing out at everyone."

His lips twitched into a humourless smirk.

Harry shook his head in exasperation. "So that's it? The Room's off-limits, locked up in some other form, but we're just supposed to guess what it is?"

"You're free to guess all you like," Ernie said stiffly. "Our business is making sure the castle doesn't starve while the Slytherins run around trying to put together another scheme. And you can't protect the school on an empty stomach."

Harry's frustration flared, but he fought to keep his voice level. "Alright. Fine. If the room's not a threat right now, we'll focus on making sure Malfoy can't force his way down here."

Ernie gave a curt nod. "Good luck with that. You've got the rest of the school to worry about, and we've got the kitchens. Deal stands, Potter—we'll share, you'll help defend it. But we call the shots here."

Ron opened his mouth again, probably to argue, but Neville placed a calming hand on his arm. "It's something," Neville said quietly, shooting Harry a meaningful look.

Harry drew in a steadying breath.

He wanted to push Ernie harder, to rip away every secret the Hufflepuffs were clearly hiding, but he knew if he burned that bridge, the whole castle might suffer. "We'll do our part," he said at last. "But if Malfoy shows up with more than just a handful of Slytherins—"

"Then we'll all defend this place," Ernie finished, nodding. "We're not stupid, Potter. We know we can't do this alone."

A strange silence fell among them. Despite the truce, tension sizzled in the air—an uneasy alliance between former classmates who still didn't fully trust each other.

Finally, Hannah cleared her throat.

"We should check the entrances," she said. "Make sure there aren't any more secret passages."

"There aren't," Harry simply said, getting a few raised eyebrows in response.

"How do you know?" Ernie asked curiously.

"Really?" Harry asked, amused and flashed them a grin.

"Fine. Don't tell," Ernie said, his tone clipped.

It appeared he also didn't like being kept in the dark…

Harry didn't bother responding; he simply turned on his heel, motioning for the others to follow.

"We'll do a sweep of the corridors leading here. See if any of Malfoy's goons are hovering about."

The moment they were out of earshot, Ron let out a curse under his breath.

"Can you believe that lot? Acting like we're the enemy."

Neville shrugged, though he still looked uneasy. "At least they're not siding with Malfoy."

Harry nodded, though his thoughts were already turning back to what Ernie had said.

The Room of Requirement is stuck. And Ernie somehow knows.

"Something's going on," he murmured, half to himself. "Malfoy wants out—maybe to bring someone in. But Ernie's not telling us how they got all this information. Or what else they know."

Ron's jaw tightened. "We'll figure it out. But for now, let's do what we said we'd do—secure the corridors and keep our eyes open. If Malfoy's roaming around, he's bound to show himself sooner or later."

Harry glanced over his shoulder at the closed kitchen entrance.

Ernie's hiding something, he thought grimly. And we don't have time for secrets.

"Yeah," he said out loud, "sooner or later."