“It means,” Albus said, through bloodless lips, “that Harry Potter is dead.”

Molly’s wail could have rent stone, and she was far from the only one crying. Bones and her aurors managed – barely – to retain their composure, but the faculty and Weasleys were distraught, and Dobby was nearly demented with grief. Charlie had to wrap him in a hug to keep him from leaping out the window.

Dumbledore finally managed to pull himself together and he called for the others’ attention. “Please – we must keep our heads. Severus may yet be alive, and we must try to rescue him... or at least recover the bodies.”

His words prompted a new outburst of grief from Molly and Dobby, but there were resolute nods through the tears. “How can we do it, Albus?” Arthur asked. “You heard Dobby. Even if he brings us there, it will take us a while to break through the wards, and the Death Eaters will have plenty of time to flee or attack us.”

Dumbledore took a deep breath. “If our elvish friends will bring us to the site, I will lower the wards immediately. It can be done through brute force if one is powerful enough, and even at my age,” he smiled grimly, “I have the strength to break any ward, even if it was made by Voldemort himself. I must warn you though, the effort will likely exhaust me. I will be unable to assist in the ensuing fight. I may even lose consciousness, if the wards are powerful enough to drain my core.”

“Albus,” Minerva said reluctantly, “it appears that we have already lost Harry, and likely Severus too, as I cannot imagine him not protecting Harry with his own life. With You-Know-Who gaining in power, we cannot risk losing you as well. It would be an unconscionable gamble and could mean that this coming war will be over before it’s begun.”

For once, Albus’ eyes were cold when they looked at his old friend. “I will not leave my boys there to be desecrated by those monsters, Minerva. Not while there is breath in my body.”

Minerva choked back a sob and nodded her understanding even as she continued to argue. “But Albus –“

Flitwick interrupted, his eyes shining with tears but his mind working busily. “There is a solution. Use Navitas Transfero. It allows you to pull strength from another. Use it once you have lowered the wards for the rest of us.”

Dumbledore shook his head. “I had thought of that, Filius, despite its being a Dark spell, but with all due modesty, my power is so great and my exhaustion likely to be so complete, that there is a very real likelihood that I would drain all the magic from whomever I tap. I will not be responsible for making someone a squib – and at such a vulnerable time at that.”

Remus stepped forward. “Choose me, and that won’t happen. As soon as you drain all my wizarding magic, the Wolf will be loosed. Dose me with Wolfsbane first, and you’ll have a werewolf outside of the full moon, fighting on your side.”

Dumbledore and Flitwick exchanged glances. “It might work,” the Charms professor admitted. “We know that lycanthropy magic is different from wizards’…”

“It’s our best shot to save Severus and to get Ha-Harry back.” Remus’ voice broke, but his determination didn’t waver.

“Very well,” Dumbledore nodded once. “Dobby, please go down to the Potions lab and see if there is any spare Wolfsbane.”

“There’s bound to be,” Remus assured him as Dobby popped away. “Ever since I came to Hogwarts, Severus has made sure to have an extra supply. Just in case,” he added with a wry twist to his lips. “He wouldn’t take any chances, having me around Harry.”

“Remus, I must warn you,” Flitwick spoke up, “that while being a werewolf might allow you to regenerate your Wizarding magical core, it might not. If that happens, you could well be stuck permanently in your wolf form.”

Remus nodded soberly. “I understand. But it’s still our best option.” He glanced at Sirius, and the two friends locked eyes for a long moment. “And if the worse were to happen, I have a friend who will make sure I’m taken care of.”

Sirius swallowed hard, understanding what Remus was demanding, but he nodded, struggling not to break down. He forced his thoughts away from the possibility. He could not deal with that right now. Not on top of losing Harry.

Molly had forced down her tears and was now in a somber debate with Arthur. With five of their children still in school, it was impossible to risk both of their lives. Bill and Charlie had made it clear that they were going on the rescue mission, but one of their parents would have to stay behind to ensure someone remained safe for the younger children.

“I’ll go,” Molly announced. Bones and the Aurors tried to hide their surprise, but they were obviously unsuccessful, as Flitwick rather haughtily reminded them that Molly Prewitt had been his protégé and the two of them had competed in - and won - the International Mixed Doubles Dueling Competition her last two years at Hogwarts. He patted Molly’s hand fondly. “It will be like old times for the two of us, eh Molly?”

The witch smiled down at the little wizard. “We’ll show them a thing or two, Filius. We always did, didn’t we?”

“Padfoot, once we’re there, take care of yourself,” Remus said, laying a hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “The wolf will fight best alone but just... watch out, all right?”

Sirius struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. “S-sure,” he choked.

“He’ll stay by me,” Minerva McGonagall said, coming up behind the men and placing a proprietary hand on Sirius' arm. “We shall go in as animagi, stay low, and use the element of surprise.” She quirked an eyebrow at the expressions of shock on the two men’s faces. “What?”

“You – you know I’m an animagus?” Sirius gasped, his emotional turmoil momentarily forgotten by the stunning revelation. “Did Harry tell you? Or Snape?”

McGonagall rolled her eyes. “I was your Head of House, Mr Black, and not exactly senile. Did you and the others really imagine you were subtle in your quest to become animagi? Did it never occur to you that all those library books about the transformation are not normally so easy to find? Did you think I would allow you to engage in such potentially dangerous experiments unmonitored?”

“But – but Dumbledore didn’t know!” Sirius protested.

Minerva shrugged. “Do you think I tell him everything?”

Sirius let out a bark of laughter – albeit a bit subdued – and hugged his old instructor.

Bill and Charlie were busy checking each other over. “We’ll fight together, Dad, and we’ll keep Mum safe,” Bill promised.

Molly overheard and stepped away from where she and Filius had been reviewing their fighting strategy. “Oh, no, you won’t, William Weasley!” she said firmly. “I would rather die than have to bury one of you, so you are to leave me and Filius to ourselves and protect each other. And – “ her voice wobbled “ – if by some miracle, the instruments are all wrong and Harry is alive, then you are to rescue him as your first priority.”

The young men glanced at their father, but seeing a resolve every bit as firm as Molly’s, they nodded.

“All right, Shack,” Madame Bones concluded her orders. “You get back to the Ministry and wait for my patronus. I’ll send it as soon as we arrive so you can come with as many Aurors as you can assemble. In the meantime, Moody and I will go in and do our best to contain the Death Eaters until you can get there.”

Moody grinned. “Ahhhh, I ‘member taking you into your first battle when you was a wet-behind-the-ears newbie,” he reminded the Minister.

“And I’ve learned a few new tricks since then, Mad Eye,” she grinned back, putting away her monocle.

“Show me what you got, guv. You knock ‘em down and I’ll lay ‘em out,” he promised. “Just remember: CON-“

“-STANT VIGILANCE!” Amelia and Kingsley shouted with him.

Pomona had long since dried her eyes, and had rapidly gone over the lockdown plans for the castle with Dumbledore, as she would be left in charge. In the event that things went disastrously wrong, the Death Eaters might take advantage of Hogwarts’ loss of its Headmaster and seek to attack the castle. “Don’t worry, Albus,” Pomona said, the glint of battle in her eye. “There are plenty of unpleasant plants strategically placed around the castle walls. I’ve kept them pruned back quite ruthlessly for these last ten years or so, but I’ll use some Quik-Gro fertilizer and within an hour, no one will be able to get through without fiendfyre – or a Herbology expert.”

“I’m pleased to hear it, my dear, but there are a multitude of secret passages in this castle, and I’m quite certain that even I don’t know all of them. As we learned from the Chamber of Secrets last term, there are surprises within the castle as well as outside it. Please confine the students to their towers and ward them tightly. With Hagrid and the other teachers, you should be able to patrol the corridors and ensure that the school and grounds remain safe.”

Pomona nodded. “I’ll include the older prefects as well – I doubt I could keep them out even if I wanted to, and frankly we need the extra wands, though Kingsley promised to send over any Aurors he can spare.”

The Headmaster twinkled briefly. “I rather fear for any Death Eater who encounters Miss Jones or Mr Weasley.”

“Is yous ready?” Dobby asked, having returned with the Wolfsbane potion for Remus. The werewolf downed it with a shudder, gave Sirius one last hug, and squared his shoulders.

Dumbledore glanced around the room. Shacklebolt gave the group a thumbs up and left via floo for the Ministry. “We are, Dobby.”

Dobby snapped his fingers once, and Kreacher and several Hogwarts elves materialized. One elf stood between each pair of wizards: Flitwick and Molly, Dumbledore and Lupin, Bill and Charlie, Sirius and Minerva, and Bones and Moody.

Dobby twisted his ears nervously. It wasn’t a very large group to take on the more than three dozen Bad Wizards that he had counted, but the grim determination in the room was palpable. “We is going now!” he warned, and with a loud pop, the group vanished.