Harry and Ron leaned against the old shed’s wall, Ron lightly dozing and Harry deep in thought. Hermione kept a watch through a crack in the boards, waiting for a sign that the Aurors were starting their attack, and studiously avoiding Ron.

Harry let his eyes close, trusting Hermione to pull his attention away from his thoughts when the time came. She’d been quite insistent that she come along. Harry didn’t have a problem with that, had actually assumed she would be, like Ron. Ron, however, had had a few words to the contrary. He didn’t think she should be there with them, but when both Hermione and Ginny had pounced on that and demanded he explain himself, he’d only sputtered.

Harry thought he knew what Ron was going to say, and had to admit that Ron was showing some signs of survival by not saying, because you’re a girl. Hermione was the only reason that they’d gotten as far in their lives as they had, without being killed or expelled. Year one of their adventures at Hogwarts would have ended very differently with her help with the Philosopher’s Stone, let alone the basilisk, Lockheart, Lupin, Sirius, etc.

He’d kept silent during the argument, sitting beside a fuming Ginny, with books scattered all across the large table at the Burrow. The girls knew where he stood, and Ron asked for it whenever he got all over-protective of Hermione. It was sort of sweet, Tonks had explained to him once over the summer, but it was annoying as anything.

At least, Harry thought with a sigh, Ginny hadn’t asked to come along. She’d said that she would stay behind and continue looking for the Horcruxs in the books at Grimmald Place. Some of Sirius’s book might have more, she’d explained, being the Dark material it was.

“Remind me again,” Ron grumbled, pulling Harry’s attention back to the moment, “why we are out here looking for the murderous git?” Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron’s ineptness, but let Harry answer. It was his idea to be doing this, after all.

Raising his head, Harry looked at his friend’s faces; Hermione’s resolution and Ron’s sceptical. Choosing his words carefully, he said slowly, “I need to make sure Tonks and Kingsley are right.” He paused, looking out at the slowly lightening sky. “Because if they are, then a lot of Dumbledore’s plans are useless now.”