The Man of the Moment

Chapter Thirty-Four: A Prophecy Fulfilled- Part One

Harry watched helplessly as Persephone held the glowing torch in her arms, and looked almost pleadingly at him. The wind howled through the leafless trees and whipped against Harry's pyjamas. He had known this to happen countless times- sometimes, Persephone goaded him into taking the torch; only he could not, and she burned into nothing, consumed by its engulfing flames. Sometimes, she made to hand him the glowing, fiercely lit torch, only to renege on the whole idea, and shake her head, saying how it wasn't right, he shouldn't have to take it.

This version, however, had only happened a couple of times before. Sirius appeared from behind the barren trees, a vision in white, and put his arms protectively around her. The torch dimmed a little.

"You want to protect her- she's the link between us, you know," he explained, smiling at Harry. "As long as she's around, we'll always be together."

"I don't understand," Harry said lamely. Sirius smiled, and took out a small penknife from his robe belt. He gestured for Harry to hold out his, which Harry did without question. Sirius swiftly dragged the blade across Harry's palm and blood began to bubble through the wound. Sirius did the same to Persephone, who winced, and held their palms out for Harry to see.

"Do you see that?" he asked. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, it's blood," he replied, not sure where this whole conversation was going. Sirius nodded.

"You're right- it is blood. But look more closely- it's the same," he explained. Harry watched as their blood flowed from each of their wounds, and mingled together on the floor. Grass began to sprout thickly where the blood fell, but Harry could still see what Sirius meant.

"We're the same," he commented. Sirius shook his head.

"Not exactly," he replied. "She's going down a path you have yet to tread. If you ever go there, bring her back."

"I'll try," Harry replied. Sirius cupped Harry's chin in his hand and gently lifted his face so that their eyes met.

"You will," he insisted."

* * *

"Harry, wake up, it's time for breakfast," Neville's voice called. Harry felt large hands shake him gently.

"Alright, I'm getting up," he mumbled, trying to shake off the dream he had just been awoken from. He had read things in Aunt Petunia's magazines- when she hadn't been around, of course- about Muggle Psychiatrists analysing peoples' dreams to find out their innermost worries and problems. He hoped he would never be unfortunate enough to encounter one of these Psychiatrists, for he was convinced that they would demand to study him for years, given the wealth of odd dreams and visions he had experienced during his lifetime.

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked, as he pulled out his school clothes for that day, and secured his pendant made from tribal silver around his neck.

"Beats me," Neville replied, as he also fastened his own pendant around his neck. "I didn't hear him come in, and you know how noisy he is- he usually always wakes me up. When I got up this morning, he wasn't here, either."

"Perhaps he left really early?" Harry suggested. Neville smirked.

"Ron? A willing early riser? I doubt it- don't you remember you, me, Dean and Seamus having to literally drag him out of bed for Quidditch practice the other year?"

Harry smiled. Neville made a very good point. However, none of this explained where Ron had been all evening. He only hoped that Hermione was keeping him in check.

Once they had washed and got dressed, Harry and Neville made their way down to the kitchen of number 12 Grimmauld Place, only to find that Ginny and Luna had beaten them to it. Hermione and Ron were nowhere to be seen.

"Morning," Harry said. Ginny merely grunted, but Luna returned his greeting with a cheerful smile.

"I take it Ron's fondness for early mornings runs in the family?" Neville commented, cheekily. Ginny glowered at him.

"It's 6:30 in the morning," she grumbled. "Even the sun hasn't risen yet."

Luna looked towards the window, from which Harry could see sunlight streaming in, bathing the kitchen in a warm glow.

"Yes it has," she replied. "Sunrise is around 4:30 in the morning during the summer."

"Yes, well, then the sun is stupid, too," Ginny complained, as she slowly began munching her way through a round of toast. Harry and Neville looked at each other, shrugged, and sat down to breakfast, too.

Not long after Neville had passed the toast rack along to Harry, Bill walked in, his long hair neatly plaited out of his face, and wearing a somewhat sober black set of work robes. Even his dragonhide boots were dark in colour.

"Morning, everyone," he said, grabbing a slice of toast from the rack. He didn't sit down to eat, choosing instead to pace around the room as he consumed his toast.

"Did you go to see Fleur last night?" Ginny asked. Bill nodded.

"Sure did," he replied, with a grin. "She doesn't really know what I'm up to today- she worries enough as it is. I keep telling her, I'm not going anywhere... Women, hey?" he teased. Ginny smiled, but still threw a nearby tea towel at him.

"Don't be cheeky!" she demanded. He laughed.

"Here, where are love's young dream this morning?" he asked. Ginny smirked.

"Ron would be so mad if he heard you," she stated. Bill chewed more of his toast, and reached over Harry's shoulder for another slice.

"Just as well he didn't hear me, then," he replied.

"We haven't seen them since yesterday evening," Harry replied. Bill looked thoughtful for a moment, until his facial expression swiftly suggested he knew something Harry, and Neville did not. He coughed nervously.

"When Mum comes back, if she asks you where they are, just tell her they're still getting ready," he advised, sagely.

"Why?" Neville asked. Harry noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Ginny looked a little uncomfortable. Bill hissed though his teeth.

"Just trust me on this one," he replied, "Otherwise we'll both be in trouble." Upon uttering these words, he said his goodbyes and exited the kitchen.

Harry suddenly heard Bill exclaim, "Oh, sorry, Hermione," out of sight, which suggested to Harry that at least one of his two missing friends had surfaced. Indeed, Hermione swiftly entered the kitchen and sat down to breakfast, looking rather pleased with herself. It was very strange indeed.

"I take it you managed to read some tricky magical theory before bed, or something," Neville teased. Hermione blushed.

"Something like that, Neville," she replied, before reaching lazily over Harry's arm to grab a slice of toast. She started buttering it, and was humming slightly to herself. For a moment, Harry thought she had gone stark raving mad. In approximately five hours, they stood a fair to middling chance of dying in horrible ways, and she was humming?

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked, looking carefully at her, in case she suddenly snapped. Hermione merely beamed at him.

"I'm fine, Harry," she replied, as she started to chew on her toast.

Mrs Weasley bustled in.

"Oh, good, you're all up," she said, in a falsely cheery voice. "I was beginning to think I might have to wake you all... Would you like any more toast?"

Before anybody had a chance to answer, Mrs Weasley pulled out her wand and busied herself with toasting enough bread to feed a small army. Which, in a sense, she was.

"Hold on a minute- where's Ron?" she asked.

"He's... I don't know," Hermione said, quickly. "He's probably still getting ready, given the number of times I've had to wait for him and Harry to go down to breakfast at Hogwarts."

Mrs Weasley looked puzzled for a moment, and then smiled.

"He's not a morning person," she agreed, before looking at Ginny.

"Your father will be down in a minute," she said. Ginny looked back at her.

"Okay," she replied. Harry thought Ginny looked puzzled as to why Mrs Weasley had chosen to share that bit of information with her. Then he saw the copy of the Daily Prophet she had been balancing on her lap. He gestured towards it.

"Does your dad get to read it first?" he asked. Ginny smiled.

"Ah, yes, he does," she replied, before putting the paper on a nearby table mat.

Just as Harry thought things couldn't get any stranger, Ron stumbled into the kitchen.

"Morning, love- would you like some toast, or some porridge?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Ron thought about this for a moment.

"I'd like both, please, Mum; I'm starving," he replied. Mrs. Weasley looked curiously at him.

"Alright, Ron," she replied, handing him a bowl of porridge, and toasting two more pieces of bread with her wand.

"Hey, Ron," Harry said, as Ron walked towards where he and Hermione were sitting. "Are you ready to face our possible death?"

Ron shrugged.

"I think so," he replied, as nonchalantly as Harry had asked the question. They both laughed bitterly.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, can't you try to be a little optimistic?" Ginny exclaimed hotly, as Mr Weasley walked in and sat down, apparently unwilling to get involved in their slightly heated debate. Neville nodded.

"She's right- we might not die. We might just lose a limb, or get our faces mangled," he suggested, sarcastically.

"Or, we might just see lots of other people die," Luna added, stirring her pumpkin juice with her index finger.

"The optimism of youth- such a wonderful thing to behold," Mr. Weasley piped up from behind his paper, in an equally sardonic tone of voice.

Ron finally sat himself between Harry and Hermione.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Ron whispered into Hermione's hair as he wrapped his arms around her. She held his arms in place, and kissed him.

"Morning," she whispered back, before attempting to reach for another piece of toast. Ron kissed her on her left temple, and rested his head against hers, his arms still lazily surrounding her as though he was proudly displaying ownership.

Harry, Neville, Ginny and Luna stared aghast at them. This was just too weird; for a moment, Harry wondered if he had entered some bizarre alternative reality, which at least had the chance of not containing Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you two?" Neville practically yelled, as though they had just sprouted an extra head each.

"Stop," Ginny begged, clearly horrified with the scene in front of her. "Just... stop."

Ron turned away from Hermione for a moment, and stared at her.

"What?" he asked, indignantly.

"You two!" she retorted. "Given the situation we're about to face at school, I'm having enough difficulty keeping my breakfast down; you are not helping!"

"Alright; we're just being friendly, though," Ron retorted, settling down to eat his breakfast, and looking very nervous. "It's not like we're up to anything weird."

"Of course not," Hermione added.

"Are you lot okay?" Mrs Weasley asked. "I'm beginning to worry about you all... well, more than usual."

"We're fine," Ginny said, hastily. "It's just... nerves, you know?"

Mrs Weasley nodded.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, do be careful today!" she pleaded. "I can't believe they've all agreed to this insane plan..."

"The children will be safer this way, Molly," Mr Weasley said, lowering his newspaper. "It's the best we can do with a terrible situation."

Fred and George soon hurried into the kitchen.

"Morning, everyone," George chimed.

"Here, Mum- why have we got seventeen new toothbrushes in the bathroom?" Fred enquired, as he sat down in a nearby empty seat.

Mrs. Weasley looked at him.

"I would imagine, Fred, that's because we've got a lot of guests here at the moment," she replied, slowly. George shook his head.

"Nah, besides those ones. There's a load, and they definitely weren't there yesterday evening," he explained. Harry saw, out of the corner of his eye, Ron's ears turn a brilliant shade of red. Apparently, Mr. Weasley had noticed too, for he coughed violently and hid behind his paper for the rest of breakfast.

"Well, I don't know," Mrs Weasley replied, crossly. "I've got bigger things to worry about this morning!"

"Alright, we were just curious," Fred replied, sitting down to a bowl of porridge.

"So, how is everyone this fine morning?" George asked.

"As well as can be expected, really," Luna replied, thoughtfully. George nodded.

"It's a bit scary, huh?" he said. Luna nodded.

"Well, not as scary as for you," she replied. "After all, we're going to be hidden away. You'll actually be out there fighting..."

A loud smashing noise made Harry jump. He looked around, and saw Mrs Weasley standing next to a crushed teapot, the contents of which were spilling out over the wooden kitchen floor.

"Don't worry- I'm just being terrible clumsy today," she giggled, nervously. Hermione swiftly got up out of her chair.

"Sit down, Mrs Weasley; I'll clean it up," she said kindly, but firmly. Mrs Weasley sank into the nearest chair, looking rather pale.

"Thanks, love," she said.

Ginny looked anxiously around the room.

"Look at the time," she announced. "We'd better start packing our things up; don't want to be late!"

Ron looked confused.

"What are you on about?" he enquired. "We've got loads of..."

Harry heard a dull thud from underneath the table, which was swiftly followed by Ron grimacing in pain.

"Right, yeah; loads to do," he said, before staggering up onto his feet- apparently, he had suddenly developed a bit of a limp.

"Ronald, could I have a quick word?" Mr. Weasley called, as they were all about to pack up their overnight bags and leave for Hogwarts.

"Sure, Dad," Ron replied, looking very nervous indeed.

On their way out of the kitchen, Harry heard the words 'protection' and 'commitment' come out of Mr. Weasley's mouth, which made little sense to Harry, for the words 'protection' and 'try not to die horribly' were at the forefront of his mind.

Two hours, and seventeen of Mrs Weasley's hugs later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny were sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room, along with the whole of Gryffindor House. Nobody looked very relaxed, considering their exams had finished.

"Right, you remember the drill we did yesterday?" Hermione queried. The congregation nodded solemnly.

"When we feel the pendant vibrate, follow your spell route in the Great Hall," Nathalie MacDonald said, glumly.

"Not forgetting to alert everyone if you see anything odd," Jeremy added, with a grin. "These are amazing, Hermione." He held the pendant with the piece of Sirius' two-way mirror between his thumb and forefinger, and Harry saw the sunlight bounce off it, shining a small circle of light on the wall of the common-room.

"Do you really think it'll come to that?" Dean asked. Harry nodded.

"Personally, I've got a nasty feeling about today," he replied.

"Yeah, and Harry knows these things," Ron added. Seamus raised an eyebrow in what could only be described as a deeply cynical gesture.

"Sure," he said sarcastically.

"He's very intuitive," Hermione pointed out, before letting out a long sigh. "Alright; the thing is, we've been expecting Voldemort to try and attack Hogwarts for a while," she explained. "The longer it goes on, the more likely it seems that he'll try. I suppose we just want to be prepared."

Hermione's lie appeared to mollify the rest of the congregation in the common room, and they nodded in collective agreement. Hermione sighed.

"Right, is everybody wearing their mirror pendant?" she asked. The congregation fished their pendants from under their robes and showed them to Hermione, who smiled.

"Excellent. Now, has everybody got their silver crosses?"

Again, the congregation waved their silver crosses in the air for Hermione to see.

"Good," Ron said, in a stern voice. "Now, don't ever take those pendants off. It could be a matter of life and death."

Everybody in the room nodded, although Harry and Ginny exchanged concerned glances. They knew more than the rest of the common-room the certainty of danger occurring on this very day.

Jeremy stood up.

"Right- who's for breakfast, then?" he asked, before walking steadily out of the common room. One by one, the rest of the students began to file out as well, until only Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Harry remained.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Ginny said.

"It's all sorted," Ron said, with a tone of finality, before he offered his arm out to Hermione, who took it. The two of them walked arm in arm out of the common room. Harry looked at Ginny.

"What is up with those two?" he asked. Ginny shook her head, her cheeks flushed with colour.

"I'm sure you can guess," she replied, before following Ron and Hermione out of the common room. Harry sighed, before following her. He couldn't hope to guess what she was on about, and he hoped it wouldn't be too noticeable, for he was under the impression that he really should know. Then, he back-tracked on himself, and rushed up to the boys' dormitory. He went over to his magical trunk and opened the fifth key, pulling out the sword Persephone had given him as a Christmas present- the one that could, apparently, blind your opponents for thirty seconds on pronunciation of the word 'oatcakes'. He tucked it under his robes. He didn't know why, but he felt a little safer with it. Perhaps it would help them all, in case something went wrong with the emergency escape? Harry locked his trunk back up, and made his way downstairs to the Gryffindor common room and out to the Great Hall.

He passed the painting of the Fat Lady, who seemed engrossed in her newspaper, and wondered if he'd ever see her again. Worse still, he wondered if Persephone would ever see her again...

At that point, he walked straight into Persephone, who looked as though last night hadn't exactly involved much in the way of sleep.

"Are you alright, Harry?" she asked, before frowning momentarily. "Okay, that was probably a stupid question..."

"I'm fine," he replied quickly, before looking down at the floor. "I was more worried about you, actually," he added, looking back up at her. She smiled in a way Harry had never known before, but could guess at its meaning- whatever she was about to say to him would be a complete lie.

"I'm good," she replied. "Obviously, I've had better days, but it's just a matter of waiting, you know?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, "I know." Persephone looked at him for a moment, before reaching over and putting her arms around him.

"Promise me that, whatever happens, you'll look after yourself," she insisted.

"I promise," Harry replied. Clearly his voice was a little half-hearted in tone, for Persephone cupped his head in her hands, forcing him to look her in the eye.

"I mean it," she said, in a very serious voice. "It doesn't matter about any of us. Only you. You're the key to all this, so try not to get yourself killed. Don't be a hero this time, Harry. We'll need you to be soon enough, I'm sure." She kissed him on the head, before removing her hands from his face.

"I love you, little bro- even if you are a pain sometimes," she said, with a smile, before she walked away down the corridor, leaving Harry feeling even more worried. He fingered at the two pendants around his neck- the piece of mirror from Sirius' two-way mirror that Hermione had nabbed, and the small silver cross, which had been activated by Persephone, along with every other cross worn by both the students and the teachers, to repel all werewolves. Not for the first time, he felt certain that he wasn't worth all these desperate methods of protection. How much trust could you really put in a prophecy, anyway?

At that moment, Neville, who Harry assumed must have been waiting for him, stood next to a nearby suit of armour, before falling into step with Harry.

"Everything alright?" he asked, in the most dour voice Harry had ever heard. He couldn't help but laugh.

"I am now," he replied, clapping Neville on the back. Neville looked somewhat perturbed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, frowning as he did so. Harry smiled.

"Yeah- I just appreciate your pessimism," he replied. "Everyone else has been putting on such a brave face for me..."

"I've never been much of an actor," Neville confessed. "Even when I was seven, and I accidentally destroyed Gran's prize begonias and tried to blame it on the cat, she knew."

Harry smiled, in spite of the fact he though nothing today should be allowed to make him feel remotely cheerful.

"To think, this is it," he said. "I mean, we'll be leaving Hogwarts forever in a matter of weeks."

Neville nodded.

"True- supposing that we don't, you know, die or anything," he commented, thoughtfully. "What are you planning to do? I mean, after Hogwarts?"
Harry thought for a moment, and then shrugged a reply. The truth was, he really hadn't given it much thought since their fifth year. Whilst he was sure Hermione had ambitions with SPEW, and Ron had dreams of Auror training, or, when the mood took him, pursuing a less secure career in Quidditch; Harry knew one thing for certain- that he didn't really know what he wanted out of life, career wise. It perhaps made sense to become an Auror- he would receive invaluable training which might help him face Voldemort for the last time, when that day comes. Plus, the wandless magic skills and such he had acquired; he would surely make a valuable addition to any Auror team?

However, it suddenly dawned on Harry, after thinking this through in the two seconds or so after Neville had asked him about his plans; that he didn't really want to. If he had to, of course, he'd fight with the Order until they won, or died. After that? He wasn't really particularly interested in a career as an Auror; at least, he didn't think he was.

"I didn't realise it until just," Harry replied, "but I haven't got a clue."

Neville smiled.

"I guess you don't have to, not in your situation," he commented, evenly. "You've got Voldemort to worry about first."

Harry sighed.

"It's not really a good idea for me to postpone any plans until after that, though," Harry pondered. "That's acting like I've got a death wish- you know, as though there's no point, because he'll kill me. I don't believe that- not really."

Neville's eyes widened in, what appeared to Harry, a little like admiration.

"You think you'll beat him? Really?" he asked, with a smile that suggested he was impressed, rather than sceptical. Harry nodded.

"I suppose I do, when the time comes," he replied. "I've probably got more to fight for than him... maybe that's enough sometimes?"

He mulled the words over in his head. Would it? Would the simple fact that he had people he would miss, things he wanted to do, and things he cared about in his life make him a more dangerous opponent for Voldemort? Drake himself had made mention of Harry's hope...

"You could go travelling," Neville suggested, neatly sidestepping Harry's queries. "Go and visit loads of places in the world. Maybe Persephone would go with you; although she's probably seen a fair few herself. I can't be the only person who's noticed all those odd books in her class..."

Suddenly, Neville's words were cut off. Not because he stopped speaking, but because both Harry and Neville's pendants began emanating a loud, piercing siren noise.

"I guess this is it!" Neville yelled, above the din. Harry's pendant began to glow a violent orange.

"What's happening?" Harry shouted. To his surprise, he heard Hermione's voice, from within the mirrored pendant.

"Change of plan, everybody," she said, in brusque tones. "Just keep hold of those mirrors- I'm going to activate the emergency exit spell on you all..."

Harry was about to ask two questions- what in Merlin's name was she talking about, and how was it possible, anyway; but before he could, the hand in which he had gripped the mirrored pendant began to tingle, almost painfully. Slowly, the sensation crept up his arm and spread throughout his body, as though every muscle there had simultaneously gone to sleep. He turned to see if Neville was experiencing the same thing, only to find that Neville was no longer there.

Suddenly, Harry felt as though the piece of mirror in his hand had generated such a force, he had been sucked into it, and was now falling through the air on the other side at an unprecedented pace. Soon enough, he realised that was exactly what had happened, but before he got to think on it too much, he found himself standing in a large, bare chamber, along with every other member of his school. The entire room was made of rough hewn stone and contained very little, save for one glowing magical door and a set of torches bathing the chamber in warm light.

"Good," Hermione said, at the front of the group. "Very good. We're all here. This safe house took weeks to fashion- we're the only ones that know it exists."

Pansy Parkinson looked most displeased.

"Why didn't you think to tell us, Granger!" she shrieked, before falling to her knees, as though she was about to vomit copiously. "You said we would all meet in the Great Hall, and follow your blasted emergency passage spell! You didn't say one thing about turning my innards inside out and pushing me through a mirror the size of a peanut!"

"I'm sorry," Hermione replied. "It was something I only though about last night. I thought it would be much quicker this way than assembling everyone in the Great Hall." She looked around at everyone present, and then added. "Do you need anything to throw up in?"

"I'm fine," Parkinson replied, sourly.

"Well, I think it was a jolly good call on your part, Hermione," Szeto Ang commented, breezily. The rest of Slytherin House appeared torn between half-hearted agreement, and full-hearted disapproval.

"We haven't got time for this," Ron barked. "We need to get out. Right- see that open door on your left? Take that passageway, and it'll lead you straight to Hogsmeade; but hurry! We've got about five minutes before the Death Eaters reach the building.

"Five minutes, you say?" Draco enquired, calmly. Hermione rolled her eyes, as she ushered the younger students along the emergency passageway.

"Yes, Malfoy," she replied, crossly. Harry watched her, and was about to tell Draco to stop dragging his feet, when he swiftly saw Hermione's irritation give way to a more perturbed expression upon looking at Draco. It didn't take Harry long to work out why.

"I think you'll find," Draco continued, smoothly, "that it's nearer one..."

The glowing door melted open, spitting out a group of Death Eaters. The congregation of pupils screamed. Ron and Hermione thrust themselves in front of them all, almost instinctively. Harry joined them, but not before he turned to face Draco.

"What were you thinking?" he spat angrily. Draco merely smirked.

"What is it those mudbloods say?" he mused eventually. "Something about charity beginning at home? What did you expect me to do, Potter? Let my father get himself punished by the Dark Lord because of Weasel and that idiot mud blood's stupid escape plan?"

"You moron!" Ginny yelled. "You honestly think they won't kill us all?"

"I honestly think they won't kill me," Draco replied, as the Death Eater heading the group pulled back his mask. To Harry's complete lack of surprise, it was Lucius Malfoy.

"How delightful," he drawled. "I just love it when a plan comes together."

Pansy looked at Draco with a mixture of disgust and fear.

"So, you'd happily sell all of us Slytherins out to You-Know-Who?" she asked, quietly. "We're supposed to be your friends."

Draco laughed nervously.

"What are you talking about? We'll be fine! My dad's here- he won't hurt us. Why would he need to? Most of our parents see the way of the Dark Lord..."

Pansy's glare did not abate.

"Have you forgotten," she hissed, "who our Head of House is? Have you forgotten that horrific threat he received? Have you forgotten that he actually cares for our wellbeing?"

The initial smug laugh that Draco had begun died in his throat. Harry fought a tense internal battle with Steve not to smile maliciously. It was clear to him that Draco had forgotten. Voldemort would want to see Snape suffer. The Slytherins were in just as much danger as any other house, and Draco had put them all in mortal peril.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Malfoy drawled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say we have a secret escape route, in case the big, bad Death Eaters come to Hogwarts..." He pulled out his wand and fondled it in a threatening manner. "But, I do know better."

The other Death Eaters did not unmask themselves, but they did step forward, their wands raised, and surrounded the group of students.

"Now then, let's not have any trouble," Malfoy commanded, softly. "Then I won't have to kill you..."

"Yeah, right!" Seamus shouted, defiantly. The other students began to murmur in similar, indignant tones. Malfoy inspected his fingertips momentarily.

"Now, now- whatever happened to good, old-fashioned respect for your elders and betters?" he enquired, staring down at Hermione as though she were a particularly bad smell. "It went, I presume, the same way as you respect for good, old-fashioned wizarding standards..." He shook his head in disappointment. "It pains me to see scum like you here in our world, Miss Granger."

"Oi!" Ron roared, before Harry got the chance. "Watch your mouth, Malfoy- looks like somebody has got confused over what is classed as scum nowadays."

"Yeah, and judging by the Daily Prophet; scum, nowadays, would generally mean you," Harry added, in as calm a voice as he could muster.

Malfoy chuckled softly, and pushed his wand against Hermione's neck, whom, Harry noticed, was aiming her own wand at Malfoy through a tiny hole in the cloth of her school robes.

"Weasley, Potter; you two are hardly the ones to be lecturing me on wizarding etiquette," he replied, nonchalantly. "If I had my way, I'd remove you from the wizarding world, as well as the frightful little Mudblood." He paused, and looked around at the gaggle of students. "What do you know? It looks as though I do have my way... The Dark Lord is so wise- 'get them while they're young,' he said. The beauty of that being it works either way- persuade them to our cause, or..."

"You leave them alone!" Hermione ordered, glaring at Malfoy and meeting him eye-to-eye. Malfoy's lip curled, before he spat at Hermione.

Then, a number of events occurred. The Gryffindor students gasped in disgust, and wielded their wands with deep conviction. However, they didn't manage this until after Hermione had swiftly kicked Malfoy straight in the crotch. She pulled her wand out from beneath her robes and aimed it directly at him. Ron and Harry both did the same, but out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed Draco. Unlike the rest of the Slytherins, who had, thus far, remained distinct advocates of pacifism, Draco had pulled out his wand. He had aimed it at Hermione, only Ron had noticed a fraction of a second before Harry. He thrust himself between Hermione and Draco.

"Don't you dare, Malfoy!" he yelled. Draco did not heed his warning.

"Avada Kedavara," he said, and a jet of green light hit Ron square in the chest before he had an opportunity to retaliate, or defend himself. Hermione whirled round, her face three shades paler than usual. Harry couldn't feel his legs, and soon the numb sensation spread through his entire body. Ginny screamed. The rest of the students fell deadly silent.

Curiously, though, nothing had happened to Ron.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing?" he spluttered, indignantly, as Hermione gripped his hand, her expression a mixture of relief and bewilderment. "You tried to kill me, Malfoy! I'm going to smash your face in, wand or no..."

Draco, with a puzzled expression, shook his wand as though the spell had become lodged in its tip, before firing another green jet at Ron, who absorbed it as though it were no more than a Cheering charm. He glared at Draco.

"You're so going to get it, Malfoy!" he spat, furiously. Draco looked stunned. His father, however, looked furious.

"What kind of wizard are you, Draco, if you can't even cause this Weasley a nose bleed with the most powerful curse in the known wizarding world!" he hissed.

Hermione looked thoughtful.

"That doesn't make any sense," she said, mostly to herself. "It should have done something..."

"Oh, cheers, Hermione," Ron said, sarcastically. "I thought you loved me!"

"Of course I do," she whispered back. "It's just very strange..."

Harry burst out laughing, a nasty, spiteful laugh that sounded alien to his own ears. He had suddenly had a rather important thought.

"It's really true," he shouted. "For all your posturing, you really don't understand! Not one of you Death Eaters, who claim its importance at every opportunity, can grasp what it truly means!"

Draco glared at him.

"What do you mean!" he snapped. Harry wiped a tear of laughter away from his eye, and glared back.

"You really don't understand the importance of blood." He stood up, and walked purposefully over to where Draco was standing, all the while pointing his wand threateningly at Draco.

"Remember when Ameline Snape ransacked your parents' house and slaughtered your mother?" he demanded, noticing how Draco's stiff resolve faltered, just for a moment, at the memory.

"She would have killed anybody there- she wanted vengeance for the death of her daughter; of all her tribe," Harry continued, now face-to-face with Draco. "She would have killed you too; if you'd been there."

Something akin to realisation flitted across Draco's features. Harry nodded solely at him.

"You remember now, do you? How Hermione lied to prevent you from being expelled? If she had told the truth about what you did, you'd have been at your home on that night, and you'd have been killed too. You owe her; you're in her debt- and the most powerful debt there is, too, because you owe her your life."

Hermione stared at Draco with a look of pure loathing; her hand still gripping Ron's.

"If you'd bothered to do your reading for the last Defence lesson we had, you'd have learned that when you owe someone a life debt, you can never take away their life- not with magic, anyhow," she added.

"That hardly explains why Weasley here is still breathing," Draco spat. Harry noticed Ron and Hermione suddenly grow very red indeed.

"Bonds. The bond of love," Hermione replied, quickly, and Harry was reminded of a paragraph he had read in one of their Defence Against the Dark Arts textbooks: 'The power of a life-debt can also be spread through the blood, which renders the progeny and ancestors of both the one in debt and one to whom the debt is owed, under the same restrictions-for example, the parent of someone whom owes a life-debt cannot harm the wizard whose debt their child is in. Likewise, the child of someone who has saved the debtor's life cannot be harmed by them. Remarkably, this phenomenon is not restricted to blood ties- it has been seen to occur in ties of an altogether different fashion; the bonds of love. Or, to put it more accurately, the bonds of love...' Harry blanched a little- lovely as it was that Hermione and Ron had finally realised their feeling for each other were more than just friendly, the thought of his two best friends doing that was not one that kept the stomach settled; in fact, it was similar to the thought of your parents, or your siblings...

"What are you talking about?" Draco demanded, glaring at Ron and Hermione. "What is 'the bond of love' supposed to mean?"

"For Merlin's sake, Malfoy! Do you want me to draw you a diagram?" Ron spluttered, his cheeks still burning. From the way Draco's face suddenly turned crimson in colour, coupled with his disgusted look, Harry assumed that he didn't require Ron's artistic assistance.

A smattering of titters echoed through the entire student body present. Ron's face burned an even fiercer red than Harry could have imagined possible.

"Alright; leave it out!" he demanded.

Malfoy looked so disgusted, Harry wouldn't have been surprised if he had retched right there and then.

"It gets worse," he sneered, with a shudder. He clicked his fingers, and the other anonymous Death Eaters seemed to spark to life.

"Eliminate them all!" he ordered. The Death Eaters nodded, and held their wands aloft. Harry was instantly reminded of the pictures around the corridors of Hogwarts, where Knights in the Crusades held their swords as though they were instruments of God.

At that point, everyone- even the more reluctant Slytherins- raise their wands in retaliation. Harry was also ready, poised for attack, and wondering whether he should risk exposing his wandless magic skills just yet. He pointed his wand at an advancing Death Eater, and made the decision in a split second.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled, and a jet of light hit the Death Eater's hand, forcing his wand out into the air and towards Harry, who caught it with ease. He forced his wand closer to the unarmed Death Eater, who slowly began to back away. However, Harry heard a slight noise near his right ear. He whirled around, to find another masked Death Eater by his side, who aimed a red jet of light at him.

"Dissipare!" he countered, and his wand absorbed the unknown spell like a sponge dropped on a small water spill.

"Consopio!" he said, firing at the Death Eater and rendering him- or her, Harry really couldn't tell- unconscious.

Suddenly, the fighting died down considerably. Harry looked around warily, but almost all of the Death Eaters were prostrated on the floor, the result of Harry's classmates utilising knowledge from both the D.A. and their Defence Against the Dark Arts classes- and, in the case of Dean Thomas, delivering a sharp kick to their ribs the moment the nearest Death Eater seem a little distracted. Then he saw Persephone, her eyes wide, manic and dangerous behind black and white stripes of make-up that adorned her face, holding a large ornate knife as though she were a particularly haphazardly chef. She stood as though she had been there a long time, but the first thing Harry noticed were her clothes. She appeared to be wearing black body armour, with while detailing that formed a pattern of concentric shapes- almost like cob webbing. Her attire was dark red in colour, with robe sleeves that billowed out past her black arm guards and trousers that were loose in structure- expect where shin and thigh guards had been strapped on, causing the cloth to gather around the shape of her legs. For the first time, it struck Harry that the Brethren of Tyr had a uniform. The black band tied around her forehead- with the same cob webbing that was present on her body, arm and leg armour- added to this initial impression.

Malfoy had spied her too, for he had suddenly stopped threatening Neville and was staring at Persephone mistrustfully. She caught his glare very quickly.

"Tell me, Lucius," she queried, in a loud voice, whilst drumming the fingers of her free hand against the blade of the knife. "What kind of action would cause such heavy lacerations in such a hefty piece of metalwork? I only ask because-" She laughed a little here- "well, you are quite the expert in torture and the like... I think it would either be hacking away at somebody's bones, or perhaps hitting a necklace, or some kind of jewellery, during the act of chopping somebody to pieces. I'll be damned if I can decide which, though..."

Malfoy blanched, and Harry couldn't understand why, until he realised he had seen that knife before. It was the one Ameline had been carrying that night she was found in the Forbidden Forest. The night she had paid a visit to the Malfoys...

Persephone peered hard at the knife once again.

"Actually, these marks don't look all that deep," she announced, "but boy, are there a lot of them. Perhaps it was caused by smashing somebody's teeth out? But, then again, it needn't be something so obvious. I'd imagine, if you hacked at someone's flesh with just the right force, they'd live for ages." She whistled through her teeth. "Now, that would hurt, don't you think? Imagine what you could do to someone whilst they were in that kind of agony..."

Malfoy gritted his teeth in fury and grief, before pointing his wand directly at Persephone, but she was far too quick for him. Without taking her eyes off Malfoy, she had reached out with her left hand, and grabbed Draco, pinning him against her sinewy body, and holding the knife to his throat.

"Sorry, Draco," she whispered. "Or rather, I'd be sorrier if you hadn't tried to kill one of your classmates." With those words, she pressed the knife a little more firmly into Draco's neck, and he winced with fear. Malfoy put down his wand instantly.

"Good boy," Persephone said. "Now, if you want him; you're going to have to come and get him!"

She backed out of the room, dragging Draco with her. Malfoy grunted in frustration, before he snatched up his wand and ran after them. Harry knew Persephone well enough to know that it would be a while before Malfoy caught up with her. She was strong- certainly strong enough to carry Draco a good distance- and she was fast.

Although the rest of the students looked stunned, Hermione appeared worried. Her wary glance followed the magical doorway. She pointed her wand and announced, "Finite Incantatem!"

"What's up?" Ron asked. Hermione wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

"The Death Eaters are coming our way," she said. "I can't risk using that spell again! If I do, it'll lead them straight to us. At the moment, they're trapped in the gateway between here and Hogsmeade. They won't be doing much damage."

"But the other Death Eaters that haven't yet entered will still be able to find us," Seamus half asked, half stated.

"So, we're screwed," Pansy spat.

"Not necessarily," Harry replied. "Hermione- can you get us to the girls' bathroom on the third floor?" he asked. Hermione frowned momentarily.

"I can probably conjure up a gateway between here and a short passageway Drake found that leads there," she replied. "At least it uses a different spell- the Death Eaters won't be able to follow us..."

"Then do it," Harry said, and Hermione didn't so much as wait for an explanation.

A few seconds later, and Dean was looking around the girls' bathroom with great interest.

"Here, this is uncharted territory, isn't it?" he said, with a grin.

"More importantly, Harry; how is it going to help?" Ernie MacMillan enquired.

"There's a passageway down there that leads to the old cemetery in Hogwarts," Harry explained, as he looked for the tap decorated with serpents. "It's right next to Hogsmeade, and not too far from where the Brethren are supposed to be meeting us..."

"The Brethren?" Theodore Nott interjected, harshly, but Harry ignored him.

"Open up!" he said, in that strange alien voice that took him over whenever he spoke the language of the snakes. He was briefly aware of the nervous shiver that ran through many of his classmates upon hearing him speak Parseltongue, but there wasn't time for Harry to worry about it.

The sink opened up and slid away, leaving the entrance to that dank, dark tunnel. Harry swiftly conjured a rope ladder.

"This way- and hurry!" he ordered, as Ron and Hermione guided the rest of the Hogwarts pupils down into the infamous Chamber.

It all passed as somewhat of a blur to Harry. He got to work opening up the doorway to the Chamber, and then the entrance to Geraldine's tomb, in which the passageway to the cemetery lay. Hermione and Ron conjured up extra rope ladders to increase the flow of students that could ascend up to the grounds. They were the last to climb the make-shift steps up to the surface.

On the last climb, Ron and Hermione pulled Harry up onto the grass verge where the passageway ended.

"You okay?" Ron asked. Harry nodded.

"Just need to get my breath back," Harry said, although he quickly realised he wasn't panting nearly as much as he was expecting to. Perhaps all the wandless magic and Quidditch training had been keeping him fitter than he had first thought. He looked across the simple tombstones arranged in an orderly fashion across the ground, and was able to spot a small style that led to Hogsmeade village. He squinted, and was able to make out the figures of Benjamin Sampson, Fred and George Weasley and another older woman that he didn't recognise, but assumed was a member of the Brethren, given the friendly manner in which she was conversing with Sam.

"Follow that path to the four people over there," Ron commanded. "They're alright- they'll get us all to a safe house."

The students, a little battered and bruised for their encounter with several Death Eaters, silently complied. Neville led the way, brandishing his wand as though expecting an attack any moment- which, given the situation, was a very smart move. Ron and Hermione waited to bring up the rear. Luna, Harry noticed, was also doing her bit to guard the mid-section of the group. In an odd way, she seemed to find the whole affair rather fascinating.

Harry looked around, and saw the ensuing battle across the Hogwarts grounds. Masses of Death Eaters and creatures Harry couldn't recognise from so far away were descending upon the school. However, it looked as though almost every Brethren member had come out to play, for there were swathes of people in the same robes and armour Harry had seen Persephone in when she had managed to get Lucius Malfoy out of their escape route by kidnapping his son. He thought of her, and her desperate plan, known only to a deeply worried Lupin, and he felt a tug in his chest. He couldn't just leave her...

"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione hissed. "Come on!"

Harry looked at her pale, determined face, and back across at where absolute carnage was occurring along the grounds.

"Persephone," he said, finally.

"She'll be okay, mate," Ron said, calmly. "You know what she'd say- she'd want you safe and sound to fight when your time comes..."

"What if it's now?" Harry asked, swiftly. Ron looked taken aback.

"Don't be thick, Harry," he argued, but Harry interrupted him.

"What if I've got to look after her?" he asked. "You must have heard her and Lupin last night- she's planning something, and Lupin thinks that it's dangerous- borderline stupid, even!"

"You know Persephone; she does what she has to- all the Brethren do. None of them would want you to get yourself killed!" Hermione pleaded. Harry shrugged, and gripped his wand more tightly.

"I... I can't leave her," he announced, resolutely. "Look, I'll just sneak over, check she's okay. Then I'll come back. I've got the mirror- I can find you!"

It seemed that neither Ron nor Hermione could think of a way to talk him out of it. They pulled out their wands.

"If we've got to do it this way, mate- we will," Ron warned. Harry smiled, and put his wand in his pocket, before brandishing his hands as though they were weapons.

"You know I can stun you both and get halfway cross the grounds before you've cast a spell," he stated, rather than boasted. "If I've got to do it that way- I will."

Ron and Hermione looked at him with concern and a little awe.

"For Merlin's sake, be careful!" Hermione ordered, before hugging him tightly. Ron patted him on the back.

"Don't do anything too stupid, mate," he said, warily, but Harry was already running, full-pelt, towards the scene of the battle. He heard various shouts of disbelief from the other students, including Neville's, "What in Merlin's name has got into his head!" Bizarrely, he also heard Luna placidly comment, "Well, he has to do what he has to do. His life isn't like ours..."

How true her words were.