Chapter Nine: Departures

Ginny wasn’t sure how long she and Harry sat on the ground after Snape’s departure.  At first, Harry was so distraught she feared he might chase the Professor into the village to persuade him to reconsider.  After several moments, though, Harry’s anguish over the encounter with the Potions Master dulled and he obliged her with a thin smile, thanking her for her presence.  Ginny consoled him by running her fingers through his tangled mop while he lay with his head in her lap.  At a loss for words herself, Ginny hadn’t a clue what Harry may be thinking.

“Harry?” said Ginny, cocking her head at strange sounds breaking in the distance.  “Do you hear that?”

“It’s the battle, Gin,” said Harry with a deep sigh and hollow voice.  “Death Eaters are in the castle.  I reckon I failed my first objective, eh?”

“What’s that?” said Ginny with a slight look of contempt.

“Well, McGonagall wanted me to strengthen the wards and fortify the castle,” said Harry flatly.  “I suppose I still have a chance to try to help — before…”

“Is it ever going to be enough, Harry?  Is what you’ve done ever going to be enough?” said Ginny.  “Why do you feel like you have to go back and save everyone?  Isn’t killing Voldemort — isn’t sacrificing yourself plenty?  What about the last year of your life?  That dreadful existence you told me about…running from Snatchers…starving and freezing so you could hunt for Horcruxes?  Isn’t it more than anyone’s done?”  Ginny took a deep breath and exhaled, calming herself before she continued on.  She had no intention of berating or nagging Harry, but making him see his contribution to the effort to destroy Voldemort as something other than a one-man vendetta was nearly impossible.

Harry blinked at her, his beautiful green eyes blood-shot and swollen.  Deep circles had appeared beneath them and he looked pushed to the brink of emotional breakdown.

Ginny smoothed the hair from his forehead and then looked up, glancing off into the direction of the village.  “You brought me here to show me things — I think I understand why.  If I experienced these things the way you have, I might never be able to forget them, let alone understand or deal with them.  But I’ve come because I want to help you; you must let me help you understand the responsibility for this battle isn’t yours.  You’ve done your part…please let me do mine?”

“When did you get so wise, Gin?”

“Oh, it may have something to do with all the conversations I’ve overheard with the Extendable Ears — the ones where Mum is telling someone some bit of sage advice,” she smiled.  Ginny felt an odd prickle in her nose and felt the mist from her eyes threatening her lashes.  “She did that a lot with Tonks, y’know,” said Ginny, “before she and Moony straightened things out.”

“Your mum is priceless, Gin,” said Harry, “I don’t know what I’d be without her.”

“You’d be Harry,” said Ginny simply.  “And I would love you, like I always have.”

“Humph…” grunted Harry as he sat up and looked at his girlfriend.  “I thought you got over me for awhile — what about Michael and Dean?” he ribbed.

“I gave up on you.  There’s a very distinct difference.  You don’t think it’s possible to love someone and still have fun with someone else, Potter?” said Ginny with a sardonic smile.  “Someone had to learn the art of a good snog.  Merlin knows you weren’t getting any practice with drippy, old Cho.”  Ginny made a sickening face, sticking out her tongue and pretending to gag herself.  “Besides, now I know exactly what I’m not missing…” said Ginny smiling as she leaned over and kissed Harry lightly on the lips.  When she finished, she opened her eyes to find Harry’s intense, green eyes staring at her.

When Ginny kissed him, something snapped in Harry.  The idea of losing her, along with everyone else in his life, no matter how ridiculous the idea seemed, overwhelmed him and he yanked her back to him.  He kissed her — but this time he wasn’t at all gentle.  He needed her.  He wanted to have her as close to him as possible; he dragged her into his lap and wrapped his long arms around her tiny body.  He kissed her until he felt dizzy for air and his head was swimming with thoughts he’d only considered in dreams…  He plunged his hands into the lengths of her silky hair, ran them over her shoulders and down onto her breasts, finally settling them on her hips and pressing her firmly into him, hungry for affection.

“Harry,” gasped Ginny.  “Harry, we can’t do this here — I’m sorry,” she panted.  “I-I-don’t want it to be like this, in the dirt in the middle of a battle…I thought it would be more…”

“Oh God, Gin,” cringed Harry into his hands, “I’m so sorry!”  Horrified by his behavior, Harry’s eyes begged for forgiveness.  “I didn’t mean to…,” he stuttered, “I just…,” he stammered, “I don’t know I wasn’t thinking.”

Slightly embarrassed by the intensity of Harry’s reaction to her kiss, Ginny reassured him.  “It’s all right, Harry, really…” she said as a blush made its way up her chest and into her cheeks.  “It’s just not the way I pictured it happening, that’s all,” said Ginny quietly as she turned a deeper shade of red.  “I thought it might be more romantic,” she said, almost inaudibly.

Stifling a nervous giggle, Harry snorted.  “Yeah, I suppose so,” he agreed.  “I can’t say I’d really want to claim this place for, uh, the first…” said Harry with his own blush.

“How about we figure out what’s next?” said Ginny, artfully changing the topic of conversation, even though she still straddled Harry precariously.  “What time is it?”

Harry removed Fabian Prewitt’s dented pocket watch from his jeans with some difficulty and noted the hour.  When he realized how little time he and Ginny had to leave the forest, Harry spurred into action.  “We’ve got to go, Gin!  I think we may have less than half an hour or so until Voldemort sends Malfoy out for Snape…he’s set up in the Shrieking Shack by then,” running his hand through his hair, Harry couldn’t believe he’d let so much time go by.  “We’ve got to get out of Hogsmeade!”

Scrambling up, Ginny was frightened by Harry’s outburst.  “Where are we going to go, Harry?  The school isn’t safe either, is it?”

“It’s got to be safer than here,” protested Harry.  He moved through the clearing removing the wards he placed earlier.  As he was about to lift the Disillusionment Charm, he threw the Invisibility Cloak over Ginny and himself.  He lifted the charm and took Ginny’s hands.  “We’re going to go out the same way we came in,” explained Harry.  “When we get close to the tree line we’ll be able to see what’s going on.”

The pair shuffled carefully through the brush, careful not to make unnecessary noise, until they reached the edge of the forest.  Just as Harry had feared, their escape route was gone.  Light appeared through the gaps of the boarded windows — the Shrieking Shack was occupied.

“Shit!” cursed Harry.  “He’s here!  I thought I’d be able to feel him when he got close…”

“What are we going to do now?” worried Ginny.  Her brown eyes filled with anxiety and her body began to shiver even though she wasn’t the slightest bit cold.  “How are we going to get back to the castle?  Will we be safe in the forest until they leave?”

Harry looked at Ginny with an odd grimace.  He turned round surveying the area where they stood with disdain.  “Ginny, we are standing in the edge of the Forbidden Forest.  Who knows what Voldemort has hiding here…” he gulped, remembering how the giant Trolls and Acromantulas had attacked the castle during the worst of the onslaught.  “Not to mention the Dementors, werewolves and vampires along with the Forest’s normal, creepy occupants.  Do you still think you want to try to wait it out here?” questioned Harry as he raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

“So I reckon my idea’s a bit barking…,” conceded Ginny in a snip, “but what other plan have you got?  We can’t exactly knock on the door of the Shrieking Shack and ask them to let us use the tunnel back to the school!” whispered Ginny fiercely as terror gripped her fully.  “Harry, the village is full of Death Eaters — there are lights shining in all the windows now!  Everyone in the village must be up!  Good Merlin!  What was McGonagall thinking when she mentioned this to you?  The woman had to be stark, raving, smoking mad to consider sending you back into all of this!” she panicked.

Ginny’s fright was affecting Harry.  He hadn’t expected to react to Snape in the way he did; he hadn’t intended to lie on the forest floor in a numb stupor for so long; his escapade into the past was quickly becoming everything Hermione feared.  Why didn’t he ever listen to Hermione?  He made a mental note never to disregard Hermione’s advice again.  Realizing he had precious little time to calm Ginny before they both succumbed to the very real crisis he in which he had placed them, Harry let his instinct take over.  “Muffliato!” he chanted as he quickly followed with “Silencio!” hoping his spells would be enough to counteract the Caterwauling Charm in the village.  He grabbed hold of Ginny with both arms, became as deliberate and determined as he could be about his destination and Apparated them both away with a muffled ‘Crack!’

Ginny, who was totally unprepared for Harry’s silencing spells, was completely gob-smacked when she suddenly felt Harry’s arms around her in a bone-crushing hug as she had the feeling of being squashed inside-out, backside-through and upside-down while twirling, Flooing and traveling by Portkey simultaneously.  Stunned by the experience of Side-along Apparition, Ginny found she was unable to speak when she opened her eyes and found herself standing in front of the dimly-lit sales counter of Honeydukes Sweetshop.

“Petrificus Totalus!” Harry reacted in a gruff whisper as soon as he was able to gain his bearings.  He had been staring at the business end of the wand of a very startled Ambrosius Flume, who had been surveying the village in concern out of the gap in the shop’s window curtains.

“Ambrosius?” said Mrs. Flume as she peered around the doorframe of the flat they occupied in the loft of the shop.  When she heard no reply from her husband, she tentatively stepped out onto the landing clad in her dressing gown, holding her wand in front of her with a visibly shaking hand.  “Ambrosius, dear?”

Harry was perplexed.  If he petrified Mrs. Flume, she was likely to fall down the stairs into the shop — which would cause her bodily harm.  Neither he nor Ginny were adept with healing spells nor did he want to reveal their presence by lifting the Invisibility Cloak.  He stood looking at Ginny, his dilemma written clearly on his face.

Once Ginny gained her bearings, she realized why she was standing in the chocolate shop.  The secret passageway through the cellar of Honeydukes into Hogwart’s third-floor corridor was a favorite topic of Fred and George’s — they knew all the secret passageways out of the castle.  Aware of Harry’s predicament, she looked into his green eyes with confidence as she spoke loudly, “Mrs. Flume, its Ginny Weasley.”

Mr. Flume, still Petrified, lay wide-eyed on the floor.

“Ginny Weasley?” shrilled the shopkeeper’s wife in obvious confusion, “where is my husband?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Flume, we had to Petrify him,” explained Ginny calmly.  “He is lying here on the floor beside me.  I was afraid he would call the attention of the Death Eaters.”

Mrs. Flume was half-way down the stairs now, trembling with fright.  “Ginny Weasley, I don’t see you in this shop.”

Still enunciating calmly so she wouldn’t provoke the terrified woman, Ginny answered, “I’m under an Invisibility Cloak.  You won’t be able to see me until I come out.”  Ginny continued to look at Harry as she talked, grabbing his hands in reassurance.  “I’m here with Harry Potter.  I need to get him into the school.”

Still Petrified, Mr. Flume’s eyes rolled up into his head as if he might faint.

“Harry Potter?” said Mrs. Flume in a squeak as she stumbled down the stairs, “Harry Potter is in our shop?”

“Yes, Mrs. Flume.  I need you to trust me,” asked Ginny.

“Why should I?  How do I know it’s really you, Ginny?” pleaded Mrs. Flume, still scared for her life.

“Mrs. Flume, I’m just going to do my best, okay?  My dad is Arthur Weasley and he works for the Ministry.  My mum is Molly, and her brothers were the twins Gideon and Fabian Prewitt who were killed in the first war with You-Know-Who.  I have six brothers, all of whom have been here to buy sweets for, well, forever.  First there was Bill, and he was Head Boy.  Then came Charlie and he was Gryffindor’s Seeker and Quidditch captain for awhile.  Then came Percy who was also Head Boy.  Then came the twins Fred and George who probably nicked more chocolate than they bought from you — although if they had ever gotten around to actually buying Zonko’s they would have made it up to you, I reckon…  Next was Ron, who should have been a Seventh-Year this year, but he’s been home with Spattergroit.  Now, I guess that leaves me, and technically I’m not supposed to be here because I left at the Easter holiday,” rambled Ginny.  “Oh, I forgot a few other things…we all have frighteningly red hair and are considered the worst blood-traitors around.”

Mrs. Flume crept farther down the stairs with a hopeful look on her face rather than the petrified scowl she bore previously.  Her wand had stopped its furious shaking and she appeared to be breathing more evenly.  “Tell me, Ginny Weasley,” she challenged, “which ones of you were Hufflepuffs?”

Ginny grinned widely at Harry.  Mr. Flume, while still Petrified, looked somewhat relaxed.

“That’s easy, Mrs. Flume!  The whole lot of us are Gryffindor!” exclaimed Ginny.

Mrs. Flume stepped from the stairs and into the shop, dropping her wand with relief.  “Miss Weasley, please show yourself, you dear girl!”

Ginny pulled the cloak from their heads as Harry lifted the spell from the aging shopkeeper.  “I’m so sorry, Mr. Flume!” croaked Harry as he helped the man from the floor.  “I didn’t want to do that!”

“Merlin’s Beard, Ambrosius…it’s Harry Potter!” said Mrs. Flume as she ran to her husband in astonishment while he stood smoothing out his dressing gown.

“We’re really very sorry to cause such a fuss,” apologized Ginny.  “We have to get into the school and we hoped we could use the passageway through the cellar.”

The couple, who sighed in relief, looked to Ginny and Harry in confusion.  Mr. Flume answered first.  “Miss Weasley, that passageway has been sealed.  I believe the Carrows sealed it sometime after Mr. Snape took over as Headmaster.”

Harry groaned in frustration.  “Do you know how they sealed it?  I mean, did they seal it here or at the school?”

“Have some chocolate, dears.  It will calm you,” offered Mrs. Flume, who opened a bar from the stack on the counter.  She offered Ginny and Harry each a portion, took a piece for herself and then handed the remainder to her husband.

“Thank you,” replied Ginny and Harry in unison, looking at each other in surprise at their stereo response.

“Er, thanks, Mr. Flume.  Especially considering I Petrified you,” uttered Harry in embarrassment.

“Lad, you’ve been in this shop enough for me to know what sort of boy you are,” stressed Mr. Flume.  “Now, since you’re here with Miss Weasley in the dead of night at the same time Death Eaters have invaded the village and You-Know-Who is making random proclamations, well…I reckon I’ll go with my own gut than the rubbish the Ministry and Prophet have spread around.”

Harry gave the man his famous lop-sided smile.  “Thanks, Mr. Flume.  I appreciate that.  You know, you could renovate the shop with the money on my head…”

“Harry!” gasped Ginny and Mrs. Flume together.  Mr. Flume chuckled.

Resuming his seriousness, Mr. Flume explained the passageway to the students: “I don’t know how they sealed it.  I’ve not seen that type of spell before.  The barrier is somewhere close to the middle of the passage.  I suspect they did that on purpose so they’d have a place to hide things if necessary…”

Mrs. Flume shuddered at the thought of what the Carrows might need to hide in the passageway.

“I haven’t tested the wall, meself…,” continued Mr. Flume.  “Reckoned they’d have some sort of monitor on it…I couldn’t risk my shop on it.”

“The school has been overthrown, Mr. Flume.  The Death Eaters are no longer in control,” assured Harry.

The proprietor seemed uneasy.

“Students have been evacuating through a passageway into the Hog’s Head since around eleven o’clock and Apparating away…please trust us,” beseeched Ginny.

“Why didn’t you just go in from there?” asked Mrs. Flume.

“The Slytherins…,” explained Ginny as Mrs. Flume accepted her argument with a nod.

“Ambrosius, I’m taking these children to the cellar.  Please continue to watch the window.”

Mr. Flume grabbed several bars of chocolate and packages of Chocolate Frogs.  He handed them to Harry, who stuffed them into his robes with surprise.  “You’ve always liked those frogs, lad,” smiled Mr. Flume.  “When this is all over, you come back here and we’ll find you an Agrippa, eh?” he said as he clapped Harry on the shoulder.

Staring at the shopkeeper open-mouthed, Harry had no idea how to respond.  Ginny, however, squealed and gave the old man a huge hug.  “Thank you, Mr. Flume!  We won’t forget this, ever!” she grinned as Mrs. Flume began to lead them away to the cellar.

Harry glanced back over his shoulder at the man, who nodded at him respectfully.  The man’s glance told Harry he understood just why Harry had Apparated into his shop…even if he and Ginny were technically visiting from the future.  Harry smiled gratefully, vowing to visit the man later so that he could offer proper thanks.

Mrs. Flume lit her wand as they descended into the cellar.  She marched silently to the trapdoor and raised it with her wand, revealing a stone staircase.  “If you don’t make it through, you come back,” she urged.  She looked directly at Harry.  “We’ll get you out of here somehow — I promise you that, lad.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Flume,” gulped Harry.  “Again, please tell Mr. Flume how sorry I am…”

“Nonsense, boy.  Now just go find your way to where you need to be.  That you chose our shop as the way into the school is thanks enough,” declared the woman.  “Good luck, children.  Be safe.”

Ginny hugged Mrs. Flume and then hurried down the steps into the passageway, lighting her wand as she went.  Harry followed quickly behind.

Harry was struck by the difference in this passage compared to the one under the willow tree.  Whereas the willow’s passage was more like an animal burrow, this passage was well-defined and mortared with large stones — even the floor was paved.  The only thing that differentiated it from a corridor in the castle was its lack of proper lighting.  Harry supposed, though, that proper lighting would only serve to encourage trespassers.

Harry and Ginny trod along carefully in the wake of their wand lights anxious to see if the passage was still blocked and just where they would meet up with the wall.  They didn’t travel far before their question was answered.

“Well, here it is,” said Harry with a groan.

“What shall we do?  I’m not sure how many spells will be affective against this,” said Ginny as she poked at the wall.  The barrier appeared to be made of stone and mortar, but encasing the masonry was a clear, hard, lacquer-like substance.  Ginny guessed any spell they shot at the wall would be promptly rebounded onto them.  She didn’t relish the idea of taking an explosive spell to the gut.

“Do you think we could melt it?” asked Harry.

“Melt it?” said Ginny, nonplussed.  “This wall reminds me of something I’d build around my mind for Occlumency,” she muttered.  “I don’t think we’ll ever get through this thing.  I understand why Mr. Flume didn’t want to try it now…he probably thought he’d be cursed to bits.”

Harry and Ginny stood looking at the wall for several minutes trying to figure out how to approach its removal.  Neither really wanted to be the first person to try a spell on it.   Harry stood rolling spells through his mind trying to come up with something to try that wouldn’t kill them both if the spell rebounded off the lacquer.

“Master has called?” asked Kreacher as he popped into the tunnel with a sharp, echoing ‘Crack!’

“Kreacher!” shrieked Harry as Ginny jumped behind him in fright.  “What are you doing here?”

“Master and Mistress need my help,” answered the elf calmly.

“Your help?” stammered Ginny.  “Harry, I didn’t hear you call for Kreacher!”

“I didn’t!” asserted Harry.

“Master and Mistress do not need to call for my help.  I is knowing when they require assistance,” huffed the house elf indignantly.

“Mistress?” choked Ginny.  “Kreacher, I am not your Mistress.”

“Yes, my lovely, you are,” insisted the elf.  “Master intends for you to be my Mistress — I am already knowing that.”

Ginny looked back and forth between Harry and the elf in shock.  Harry just shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t know what else to say.

Harry took control of the conversation.  “Kreacher, if you know how to get through this wall now would be a good time to tell us.”

“You have what you need to clear the barricade, Master.  You took the wand from the Headmaster earlier,” replied Kreacher.

“Kreacher, the wand doesn’t work!” exclaimed Ginny.  “We’ve already tried it!”

“That is where you is making your mistakes,” Kreacher pointed out patiently.  “You must be using the wand together.”

“Together?” asked Harry.  “Why should we use the wand together?  I’ve never heard of that before.”

“You is never using a wand of this nature before, Master,” explained Kreacher.  “The Elder Wand will only perform for its master.  By coming here you have given it two Masters — the wand cannot function in this realm with only half a Master.”

“What do you mean, Kreacher?” asked Harry in confusion.  “My holly wand works.”

“So does mine,” affirmed Ginny.

“But another Elder Wand is being out in the past now, Masters.  You are creating confusion for it now.  Both of you are Masters…this should not be.  The only way to fix this problem is to be using it together.”

“Kreacher, you’re brilliant!” squealed Ginny as she bent to scoop the elf up into a hug.  Kreacher, taken aback by Ginny’s affection, squawked in confusion and Apparated himself out of her grasp and several feet away in embarrassment.

“I is not deserving Mistress’s affection in that way,” choked Kreacher.  “Kreacher does not know how to take such things,” he said bowing his head in reverence.

“I’m sorry, Kreacher!” apologized Ginny.  “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.  But if I am your Mistress than you must start accepting praise — I will never treat you badly.”

“Kreacher is not deserving of such handling.  Mistress and Master are exceptional people,” uttered the elf.

Fearing Kreacher may never explain about the wand for all his banter about the well-treatment of his Mistress, Harry questioned the elf about the wand.  “So Kreacher, you’re saying we’re both Masters?”

“Yes, Master Harry.  When Mistress took your wand she made herself the Master as well.  You are creating confusion for the wand.  Try using it together.”

Harry looked at Ginny in surprise.  She had disarmed him so Kreacher’s assertions made sense.  However, it didn’t seem possible to wield a wand between two people.

“You is not two people,” explained Kreacher in response to Harry’s thoughts.  “You is two people making one whole person,” the elf submitted.  “The wand knows your true nature.”

“Whatever, Kreacher,” said Harry somewhat impatiently.  “I’m not going to pretend to try to understand.  So what you’re saying is we have to use it together?”

Kreacher nodded.  He smiled at his Master’s aggravation with the wand.  His Master was still a boy and had much to learn about the nuances of love and magic.

“Okay,” said Ginny who wasn’t about to let Harry and Kreacher continue the debate in the passageway.  “Harry, give me the wand.”

Doing as he was told, Harry dug out the Elder Wand and passed its handle to Ginny.

“No, you thick oaf,” berated Ginny, “didn’t you listen to Kreacher?  We have to do this together,” she insisted as she stepped close to Harry so they could grasp the wand in unison.

When both Ginny and Harry clasped their hands around the handle, the wand began to emit fountains of red and gold sparks.  Gaping in merriment, Harry and Ginny could not believe their eyes.

“I is telling you so,” boasted Kreacher haughtily.

“So now what?” asked Harry of the elf.  “You’ve helped us figure out the wand, but that doesn’t tell us how the wall was built or even how to remove it,” said Harry in frustration.

Kreacher rolled his eyes at his Master’s one-sided thought process.  “Not all magic must be destroyed in order to be removed.”

Ginny understood what the elf was saying.  “He’s saying just to banish it, Harry.  We needn’t explode it at all.  Is that right, Kreacher?” asked Ginny thoughtfully.

“I is telling you my Mistress is exceptionally wise,” puffed Kreacher.  “Master would do well to remember this.”

Ginny blushed and Harry coughed noncommittally.  He wasn’t about to let Kreacher push him to a marriage proposal in the middle of a secret passageway under Hogwarts.  Harry knew just what the elf was on about.

“Well, uh,” stammered Harry who suddenly found it difficult to speak, “do you think we should just try a Finite on it?”

“It seems as good a place to start as any,” agreed Ginny as she grasped the wand again with Harry.  “How about you take the lead with the movements and I’ll follow?  We can say the incantation together,” she suggested.

Harry started the wand movement and together they chanted, “Finite Incantatem!”  A brilliant, white light shot from the end of the wand banishing the wall before them.

“Wicked,” muttered Ginny, “that was some powerful magic.”

“Wow…I’ve never felt anything like that,” said Harry in a daze.  “When I repaired my holly wand I didn’t feel that kind of surge.”

Kreacher bowed low in the passage.  “You have no further need of me, Master.  May I be excused?”

“Wait a minute, Kreacher,” rounded Harry on the elf.  “How did you get here?  How did you know where we were?”

“Elfin magic transcends much of what you know as wizards,” explained Kreacher.  “We are able to move in all types of planes…not just your present plane of existence.”

“Oh…” said Harry, still somewhat confused.

“May I be excused?” asked Kreacher again.

“Sure,” said Harry, “go ahead.  Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.”

Kreacher bowed low and Apparated away, leaving Harry and Ginny to look at each other in stunned silence.

“Planes of existence?” questioned Ginny in awe.

“Telepathy?” countered Harry.

“Mistress?” laughed Ginny.  “I think Kreacher intends for us to marry, love.”

Harry shuffled his feet.  “Apparently Kreacher knows something we don’t, eh?” he chuckled.

“Is that a proposal?” asked Ginny with a wicked grin.

“What?” choked Harry as he met Ginny’s wry smile.  “I, uh…”

“Whatever, Harry,” laughed Ginny.  “Don’t you think we should get on with it now that the wall is gone?”

Grasping her hand, Harry pondered what he’d really like to be getting on with as he pulled Ginny along the tunnel and towards the school.