Harry glanced from one Ravenclaw face to another, then at Ron and Neville beside him.
Terry Boot, wand half-lowered but still ready for a fight, stood at the front of the Ravenclaw group.
Behind him, Lisa Turpin and a few other determined faces hovered in a tight semicircle, clearly unwilling to surrender the library.
Hermione, her wand still raised defensively, shot Harry a pleading look.
She wanted this resolved without hexes, and Harry could feel the burden of leadership settling heavily on his shoulders.
"We have to ensure that no one side can weaponise this place," the Ravenclaw girl reiterated, her voice trembling slightly with conviction. "We only came to lock it up until everyone could agree on rules."
A slight hush followed.
Harry exhaled tiredly, bracing himself.
"Listen," he began, taking a careful step forward. "We're on the same side here—believe it or not. I agree we can't let one group—and that includes my group—take over the library. We can't defend it all on our own, not every bloody hour of the day. If we start fighting amongst ourselves, we'll lose this place to the first outside threat that comes along. That's no good for any of us."
A murmur spread through the Ravenclaws as they exchanged uncertain looks.
Lisa Turpin frowned, her brow creased. "But if we stand down now, what's to stop you from setting up your own guard behind our backs?"
Ron shifted, his voice full of annoyance. "We're not scheming to take over. We're too busy just trying everything to—"
Before he could finish, a tall sixth-year Gryffindor with a perpetually anxious look—Damon Rutherford—snapped his wand arm upward.
He'd been keeping close to Ron's side all this time, his knuckles white against the wood.
The tension in the room, crackling with fear and suspicion, seemed to coalesce around him all at once.
A jolt of panic shot through Harry—he could see Damon's intentions as clear as daylight.
"Damon, stop!" Harry barked.
But Damon's wand was already rising, pointed directly at Terry Boot.
A faint red shimmer flickered at the tip of the wand, as though he was about to cast a Blasting Curse or a Stunner.
Harry immediately darted forward and clamped a hand around Damon's wrist, forcing the wand arm upward.
"We're not cursing anyone tonight!" he hissed through clenched teeth.
Damon's eyes were wild, adrenaline fuelling his grip.
"They threatened us first!" he insisted, voice shaking.
Harry took a second, steadying breath—feeling very much like he was back at the Department of Mysteries, trying to keep chaos at bay.
He met Damon's gaze and forced a calm into his tone that he didn't feel.
"They're not the bad guys, Damon. We settle this without hexes."
Gradually, Damon's breathing slowed; he relaxed his grip enough for Harry to gently but firmly lower the wand.
Nearby, Ron and Neville exhaled in relief.
On the other side, the Ravenclaws had tensed, forming tighter ranks with wands at the ready.
Terry Boot's expression flashed between shock and anger, but he hadn't launched a counterattack.
The library had come perilously close to becoming a duelling ground.
And that's just the first night, Harry thought grimly.
If they'd nearly come to blows this quickly, what would happen when real fear and desperation set in? The prospect was chilling.
Hermione strode forward, her voice loud enough to cut through the tension.
"Look, everyone. All of us want the library safe. All of us want to make sure no one house can exploit these books for the wrong reasons. So let's do that—together."
Terry pressed his lips into a thin line. "And you really think that can work?" he asked quietly, making it clear he wasn't convinced.
Harry let Damon step behind him. "Yeah," he said, giving Terry a measured nod. "We establish joint control. Ravenclaws, Gryffindors… maybe even Hufflepuffs if they'll volunteer. We take shifts guarding the doors. We set basic rules—maybe we don't let younger students just waltz in and pick up advanced curses. And if Slytherin tries anything, at least we have a lot more wands working together to fend them off."
A ripple of cautious relief and curiosity spread through both sides.
Terry Boot seemed to weigh Harry's words carefully, glancing over at Lisa Turpin.
She offered a slow nod and they both lowered their wands another fraction.
Thank God, Harry thought, watching the tension slowly drain from both groups.
The library was still a powder keg, but at least it wouldn't explode tonight.
Hermione, eyes alight with purpose, seized the moment. "And about the books themselves… maybe we keep the Restricted Section extra secure. We can have an Open Log for anyone who wants to check out a more advanced text. They'd have to put down their name, House, and reason for reading it."
"Don't forget rotating guards," suggested Neville, clearing his throat. "Even if we trust each other, nobody's going to want to stand watch twenty-four hours a day."
Terry's eyes flickered in thought. "A handful of Ravenclaws, Gryffindors, maybe some Hufflepuffs. That way, no single group claims ownership."
Damon Rutherford, standing sheepishly behind Harry, finally tucked his wand into his pocket and murmured, "Sounds… logical."
He still looked unsettled, but Harry was glad to see the immediate threat of a curse was gone.
That confrontation was way too close.
Lisa Turpin took a tentative step forward. "If we do this, we have to be sure everyone sticks to it. We've already known about the Slytherins on the seventh floor and the Puffs in the kitchen."
Harry gave a short nod, wondering once again how everyone—but them—seemed to know the happenings in the castle.
Ron let out a slow breath, with ****tension still evident in the line of his shoulders. "So that's that, then? We're… working together?"
A tentative, relieved chuckle rose from somewhere in the Ravenclaw ranks.
Terry Boot extended a hand—slightly sweaty, definitely shaky.
Harry reached out and grasped it in a firm handshake that felt momentous in the hush of the library.
In the grand scheme of things, it was just another temporary alliance. But as Hermione started dictating the details of a schedule—rotating guards set at four-hour intervals, an Open Log for accessing advanced texts, and a protective set of wards at each entrance—Harry couldn't help but feel a little lighter.
He surveyed the ancient shelves stretching into the distance, the glow of the floating lamps glinting off rows of carefully bound volumes.
This is Hogwarts' repository of knowledge—the place that could hold answers about our escape.
They'd need it.
"Right then," Harry murmured, catching Hermione's relieved smile. "This is a start. Let's hope it's enough."
To his surprise, Terry Boot echoed the sentiment.
"It'll have to be… because if we lose the library, we lose a major way to get ourselves out of this mess."
And with that shaky but crucial accord, both groups dispersed, leaving four members from each group behind…
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IMPORTANT: COMMENT DOWN WHAT SHIPS YOU WANT OR DON'T WANT TO SEE IN THIS FIC. GO WILD. IF WE GO WITH HARRY/GINNY, I WON'T WRITE A GINNY WE'LL ALL HATE. KEEP IN MIND SOME OTHER CHARACTERS AS WELL: RON, HERMIONE, TERRY BOOT, NEVILLE, ERNIE MACMILLAN, LUNA, SUSAN BONES, HANNAH ABBOT, MALFOY, ETC.
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Latest chapter : "Chapter 18 - Resilient Roots"
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