Harry, Draco, and Hermione were packed. Hermione had apparently been packed since they got to the manor and had had most of the boys things ready as well. They each had a bag with an invisible extension charm as well as a feather light charm. Each bag contained a stasis charm with enough food for two weeks, clothes, and a varied collection of potions. Hermione’s also held several books and a tent. Just in case. Everything in those bags were for just in case.

None of them were expecting the war to last much longer now. Not when they were seeking the danger out. Not when they were heading straight to Hogwarts to confront the man.

In some ways, Harry was relieved. He was finally going to end this battle.

In other ways he was extremely sad. Regardless of what the end results were going to be, his parents were going to kill him.

Draco, though he would never admit it, was scared.

So was Hermione.

But they had a job to do. They were on a mission.

A mission they would accomplish one way or another.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Ron Weasley woke up with a start. Something felt off. Very off.

He didn’t know right away what it was, but he could feel something. He looked around the room. Seamus and Dean were still sleeping, but Neville was also up, looking around.

“Did you feel that?” Ron asked the other boy.

“Yes. I felt it. Ron. I think that…I think that perhaps we should get the younger years into safety.” Neville said quietly.

While Ron had not been told that Neville was on their side for safety purposes, Neville’s Gran had told him that when the time came, he could trust Ron because Professor Snape was going to talk to the boy.

And it seemed that Ron understood. He understood that Neville was on his side as well. He understood that he was not alone.

“Okay. Where to?” Ron asked. He was now putting every ounce of trust he had into a boy, a friend, who he had thought was afraid of his own shadow.

Oh how times changed.

~*~*~*~*~

Luna Lovegood woke up the moment she felt the shift. The magic in the castle was shifting. Someone was trying to force the wards to fall from the inside, but the castle was already beginning to fight back. Luna knew that no one else would be able to feel what she could. She had been able to feel magic since she was born, and it was a very rare gift. It was even rarer than being a metamorphous.

Luna could do a lot of things that no one knew. It was one of the reasons that she had been put in Ravenclaw.

But the hat had told her that she had the heart of a Gryffindor. Right now she needed that courage.

She snuck out of the fourth year dormitory and into the first year girls, then second year, and third year. She did the same for the boys. She then woke the fourth years. Since they were all half awake, it was easier to get them herded into the secret path that was hidden behind a bookcase and led to the Room of the Refugee Once the door was closed, they would not be able to get out through the Ravenclaw passage until she opened it. Filch would be waiting for them to take them to safety. So would, other people, though Luna was not sure who.

If she died, which Luna knew was a possibility, the door was charmed to open when the battle was over to allow people to get out this way, if there was no other way out. Hogwarts would know when it was over, for Hogwarts would protect her own.

She knew, now that she had the younger years safe, she had to wake up the older years. She had to see who would be willing to fight.

She was ready. She hoped they would be.

~*~*~*~*~

Justin Finch-Fletchly ushered the first through fourth years into a secret tunnel behind the fireplace in Hufflepuff. He had to get them into the tunnel and down to Filch. Then he had things to do.

First on his list was to set the upper years into place. He had known the night before that it would be today. He had Seen. Though he kept it a secret, he’d had the Sight for his entire life. It was meant for this. So, he had gotten Hufflepuff ready the night before explaining what was happening, what would happen. They knew that they were going to have to fight and every single Hufflepuff from fifth to seventh year was ready. The younger years had wanted to help, but he had refused.

His Sight was to help people live.

Today was the day he was going to die.

But it was okay. He had accepted it years before.

~*~*~*~*~

Marcus Flint handed off the youngest of the Slytherins to Maddie Malton. Along with Filch, she was going to make sure that the children all remained safe.

The youngest in Slytherin were exactly that: young. Only the eleven to twelve year olds were forced into the Room of Refugees. Any students older than that were given a choice. Even though Marcus told them that they could only fight if the battle got close to the Room of Refugee in the Dungeons, many had refused to go to the Room of Refugees, instead choosing to stand guard and keep the little ones safe.

Marcus rubbed his forehead. The minute the wards started fighting to stay alive from the inside, his head had been killing him. The magical impulse had been almost too much.

Now, though, he had too much to do. There was a battle to get ready for. A man to hide from.

But that wasn’t going to be easy. On the contrary, they were in the middle of the Dragon’s nest.

And they always said to never tickle a sleeping dragon.

Too bad they were fixing to tickle one who was wide awake.

~*~*~*~*~

The trio ran once they finally bypassed all of the protection and security wards. Even after avoiding the wards inside the manor, they still had to be careful not to trip any of the wards that were set up on the outskirts of the manor as well. If they were caught, their parents would literally lock them up and probably do more than just threaten to throw away the keys. They would never see the light of day again.

Once, however, they got out of the warding zone, about two miles from the manor, Hermione stopped and looked at the two boys.

“We can apparate now.” Hermione said. Harry and Draco stared at her.

“Hermione, you know that we don’t know how to apparate.” Draco pointed out.

“I know that neither of you know how too, but I do. I have been practicing since Christmas. The ministry will never know because there is no longer any ministry.”

The boys both stared at her. Sometimes she really surprised them. They walked over to

Hermione and she grabbed them both, pulling them close.

The next thing the boys knew, they were being apparated away.

~*~*~*~*~

Minerva McGonagall knew the children were on the move. All were doing various things. Some were getting ready to fight. Some were sneaking away to fight with Dumbledore, the few that he had been able to bribe to his side.

She knew that Harry, Hermione, and Draco were getting closer. She could sense it. She had not gone to the meeting tonight because Dumbledore had summoned her. His “most trusted friend” he liked to call her.

It made her want to spit fire. His most trusted friend indeed. The man had lied to her for years. Of course she had known. She had known that the man trusted James Potter with everything.

And look at what that had gotten Lily. Death. Lily Evans had never had feelings for James Potter, and the man had always been jealous of that fact. He had always tried to get Lily to go out with him. It had almost been painful to watch.

Then, while James was terrorizing half of Slytherin, and especially Severus, Dumbledore had turned a blind eye. What Minerva didn’t know, however, was how the man had made people think that James had finally gotten Lily. That had bothered her for years.

She didn’t know where the man’s mind had gone, but within the last several years it was obvious that he had gone insane. It was ridiculous just how badly the man wanted to make sure that Harry was not held liable for anything he did.

Minerva just shook her head and then began to walk. It was going to be a hard day.

~*~*~*~*~

They were within the Forbidden Forest. They had never felt so…unsafe.

There was a moment of silence while Draco pulled out a roll of parchment and spread it out on the ground.

“Do you think that they know yet?” Hermione whispered. They were sitting between several trees. The area was warded as tightly as they could manage, but that didn’t make them feel much safer. Hermione looked over towards Draco who was holding the map they had up for the other two to see.

“Okay, this is a map of Hogwarts. It is similar to the Marauder’s map, except that I have charmed it to show all of the tunnels, hallways, and places on the grounds that are the easiest attack points. It is really like a game of chess. If we access here,” Draco pointed to a tunnel

that was in the forbidden forest. Severus had pointed it out to him, “it leads into the Gryffindor Common rooms. If everything goes as planned, then there should be people waiting for us. I overheard McGongall tell my Dad that she had people ready, and that they would know when the battle was fixing to start. I don’t know how, but the point is that they will be there.”

The trio was taking a short stop to let Hermione regain her strength. It has been hard on her, apparating the three of them, even though they had made several short jumps instead of one large one to ensure that she didn’t deplete her magical core to nothing. She had taken a Pepper- Up Potion, so she would be ready soon. They were going to make their way towards the castle shortly and the information that map had could be the difference between life and death in the end.

“It has been two hours. I think that if they do not know, they will know soon.” Draco said. He had always been the most practical. He always tried to plan things out several steps ahead of everyone else.

“Guys, this is really going to be it. We need to get ready. We need to leave in thirty minutes. The wards are fighting him. Can you feel it?” Harry asked the other two.

“Yes. I have felt it for a while now.” Hermione said. Draco merely nodded.

“Draco? Are you ready?” Harry asked.

Suddenly, there was a howl. A howl that sent a shiver down each of the three fifteen year olds.

“We have to be careful. With the moon full, there is no telling how many werewolves were running through the woods.

“Where is this tunnel, Draco? How close is it to here? I don’t want to stay out here longer than we need too because those wolves are close. The wards may not be strong enough if they sense us.” Hermione said.

“It is close. That tree over there. The one with the three mushroom caps at the base.” Draco said, glancing quickly at the map.

Suddenly, an influx of magic washed over them, their wards falling almost immediately, causing them to stumble as they did so.

They each froze, and looked around the forest.

“Guys, we have to go. Now. Drop everything but your wands, anything else will only hinder us now.” Harry hissed. He could see, from a distant, something was moving.

“I will open the passage, and then you two get down there, and fast, so that we can close it. We don’t need anything else in there.”

Draco walked over to the tree slowly, so as not to attract attention.

Something howled again. It was closer.

“Harry…” Hermione whimpered.

Harry turned to look at his bonded and his heart nearly froze. Ten feet behind Hermione was exactly what they feared.

A werewolf.

But, not just any werewolf.

It was Remus Lupin. Harry would know that wolf anywhere. Did he take the Wolfsbane potion? Whose side was he on?

“Hermione, move slowly. I will stupefy him if I need too.” Harry hissed. Hermione was calm, much calmer than she should have been, though Harry was not sure if it was because they had stared down the same wolf before, or if it was shock.

“Draco, is it open? We have a problem!” Harry hissed, hoping that the boy behind him could hear.

“Yes! Come!” Draco yelled.

Suddenly, the werewolf who was really Remus Lupin charged at Hermione. Hermione screamed and ducked. It was a heart clinching scream that made Harry draw his wand to send a spell at the wolf,

“STOP, HARRY!” Draco screamed. In that split second, Harry froze. Remus the Werewolf jumped over Hermione’s head and tackled another werewolf.

“Run!” Draco screamed at both of them. It was a quick decision that both Hermione and Harry made at the same time. They ran. Harry leaned towards Hermione and grabbed her hand, then pulled her towards the tree where Draco was waiting. Behind them, they could hear the thrashing and growls of angry werewolves.

Harry pushed Hermione down into the passage, but stopped and looked towards the fighting wolves.

He didn’t get to look long because Draco pulled him into the passage, closed it, then continued pulling both Hermione and Harry through the tunnel. They were all too nervous to say anything.

Finally, they reached a door.

“I guess this is it.” Draco said.

They stared at it for a few seconds. It was seconds they didn’t have, but seconds they definitely needed.

“Whatever happens, remember everything. Remember everything that we have been through since we were seven. Remember that we love each other. Remember that we have always been there for one another.” Hermione whispered.

“And, remember…remember that this time, this one time, if someone attacks you, kill first, ask questions later. This time, there can be no hesitation. We don’t know who is on our side. Not really. Our goal is to rid the world of Dumbledore. The most important thing is to get rid of him and live to tell the tale.” Harry said.

“I love you, both.” Hermione said, and wrapped her arms around both boys.

They each took a deep sigh.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

They opened the door slowly and peered out.

“It’s about bloody time you guys showed up! Let’s get this Quidditch match started!”

There stood Ron Weasley, a grin on his face, though a serious look was in his eyes. Neville was right beside him.

In spite of it all, Harry was actually quite happy to know that at least these two were on their side.

Another influx of magic shook the building. It was time.