This story is takes place sometime around Autumn of Harry's seventh year. The timeline diverges from canon before this at the beginning of Half-Blood Prince, where Dumbledore (for whatever reason) hadn't learned as much about the Horcruxes as in canon. He didn't die until Harry's seventh year, followed shortly after by Voldemort staging a coup against the Ministry.

This is when Harry, the DA, and possibly a few others escape as the Death Eaters/Ministry Officials swoop down on Hogwarts. After near capture the group leaves Hogwarts grounds and Apparates (or side-along Apparates) to the only place Harry can think of that is remotely secure. That's where this story picks up. (This part may be described more in the story by the characters if it comes up)

Please note that this story shares its title with my other deleted Harry Potter fic. If anyone out there read it, think of this as a retconed version of that story.

Traditional pairings to start – and will likely continue –, but who knows what might happen later (I've always been partial to Harry/Hermione, but only if it makes sense).

Chapter One

Flight

Harry flung the black door open after a brief tap with his wand. "Ron," he called over his shoulder, "you check ground and the kitchen, I'll check upstairs!" He heard his friend's acknowledgement over the stifled cries of their companions who followed them into the dank entry hall.

A flash of red hair passed further into the darkness as Harry bounded up the stairs, taking them three at a time. His blood pounded in his veins and his chest heaved from what they had already been through that night. A sort of mold in the stale air filled his nose with every breath. The prickle on his forehead could have just been sweat sticking his hair to him, but he knew that wasn't so.

Just cresting the second floor landing, a loud voice screeched from down below. "Filth! Scum! You dare defile this noble house with your despicable presence! Blood traitors and Mudbloods all! Begone!" There was more, but Harry ignored it as he burst into room after room, lighting his wand as he searched for intruders. Confident there was no one there, he bolted up to the next floor. Nearly kicking the bedroom door in, he gasped in surprise.

"Kreacher!" He felt irritated at himself that he'd forgotten all about the elf.

For his part, Kreacher seemed to hide something in his grubby loincloth before turning a resentful eye on the interruption. "It is Harry Potter, looking ready to hex Kreacher. Kreacher wonders if the blood-traitor and the Mudblood are here with him?"

"Stay in this room, Kreacher," Harry barked. "Don't come out till I call for you!" Without waiting for an answer, he closed the door and locked it.

The few minutes it took to complete the search seemed unforgivably long to Harry, even though he knew he couldn't move any faster without a broom. The screams of Mrs. Black didn't help the perception, either. Sliding down the banister, he saw someone had lit the gas lamps on the first floor. There were still people there, but it seemed that Ginny and Justin Finch-Fletchley were guiding everyone down into the kitchen.

The stragglers were helping the few who had been injured in their dash for freedom. He saw Terry Boot with an arm around each of his friends, Anthony Goldstein and Michael Corner, as they helped him along. He was heavily favoring his left leg as they went. Harry didn't remember him being hit. Then again, he really didn't remember much about the escape itself. The last hour or so was a blur in his mind.

"Seamus," he called out as he landed on the worn carpet, "give me a hand! Grab that curtain!"

Pocketing their wands, the pair struggled for what, again, seemed like forever to cover the wailing painting of Sirius' mother. Finally they stood shoulder to shoulder, leaning heavily on the curtains and what lay beyond. Panting, the two looked at each other. "You live here?"

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Grab Neville and Ginny and watch the door. If it opens and no one's there, don't fire." Seamus seemed a bit confused by the last part, but nodded and ran back toward the kitchen. Harry trotted through an open door in the hallway and into a shadowy dining room near the front door, lit only by the slivers of pale light that made it past the curtains.

He nodded toward the barely moonlit face of Ron, whose gaze quickly turned back to the small opening in the moth eaten hangings around the pane. Breathing deeply to try and slow his racing heart, Harry moved up to the next window.

Harry nervously watched, prodding aside the heavy, dark curtains with his wand just enough to peer through the grimy windows to the street beyond. Sweat still beaded on his face and made his shirt stick uncomfortably to him under his school robes. His breathing had only now begun to slow to less than a pant. Could it be? Did we really make it?

But he didn't dare take his eyes from the moonlit street in front of Grimmauld Place. If the Death Eaters followed them here, it would be all over.

"D'you see anything?" Ron's voice was a bit higher than normal, but Harry had to admit that his best friend sounded far better than he himself felt.

"No," Harry replied in a near whisper, "I don't see anyone. You?"

"No." He sounded no more relieved than Harry was at the apparent lack of pursuit.

"How much more do you think Hermione's got left?"

Ron twitched a bit at this. "Too long," he replied nervously. "Why'd you leave Luna with her?"

Harry didn't take his eyes off the street. "If the Death Eaters show up while they're still out there, do you think Hermione would get out of there like I told her to?"

"Why not Ginny then? She'd fit under the cloak, no problem."

He knew what Ron was getting at. Why not give the girl Harry loved the chance to escape, too? "She wouldn't run either. At least this way someone will make it out alive if they come after us."

Ron glanced up at him. "You think Luna will get them out?"

"I told her to take Hermione and Apperate if something went wrong."

"Yeah, mate, but will she actually do it?"

Harry met Ron's eyes but said nothing. A series of clicks reached their ears, and the pair were wrenched from their discussion. Both bolted to the entryway just in time to see the front door close. There was no one standing close to it. Harry waved to the nearby Seamus, Neville, and Ginny to lower their wands.

In an instant two girls appeared from beneath the Invisibility Cloak, both looking somewhat disheveled. Ron reached forward and embraced Hermione (who hugged him back rather fiercely). Luna bundled up the cloak and handed it to Harry with what was, to him, an unfathomable calm.

"Well?" He was looking expectantly at Hermione, who pulled back from Ron but did not let go of his hand.

"I did what I could, Harry," she answered, looking extremely worried, "I put up every charm I could think of. I think even members of the Order would have trouble getting in, but…"

Harry didn't want to hear any 'buts.' "What is it?" Ron gave Harry a look, but he ignored it.

"Well, I mean, what if I made a mistake? What if the charms aren't strong enough?" She became more and more frantic with each word. "What if I messed up and the Death Eaters come in and…"

"Hermione, you sound like you did after your O.W.L.S," Ron assured her, "and you beat the stuffing out of the rest of us!"

Ginny moved behind Hermione, gently squeezing her shoulders. Luna reached over and took her free hand, "He's right, you know. You're very clever at this sort of thing. I'm sure even a Googleparf couldn't find us, and they're the best searchers out there."

Taking a brief second glance at Luna at the mention of a new creature that she had apparently just created, Harry looked back at Hermione with a small smile. "Go take it easy for a while." She seemed about to object, but he cut across her. "You just saved the life of everyone in this house. You deserve it."

She sniffed a little, worried eyes glistening, before she nodded and let Ron lead her away. Harry spoke over his shoulder to them, just loud enough for them to hear. "Go upstairs, it'll be quieter. Kreacher's in a bedroom on the third floor, just so you know."

Turning back, he looked at Ginny. "Go down and tell everyone that we're safe for now. And see what kind of food we've got. No one will be hungry now, but I reckon we'll need something later."

She looked at him for a second, expressionless. He was about to ask what was wrong when she quickly closed the distance between them. It was all Harry could to not to let out a wheeze at the bone-crushing hug. How does such a small girl get so strong? The thought was gone in an instant, though. He instead felt a great deal of relief.

It wasn't permanent, but for the moment they were safe.

He melted into the hug, grateful that they had made it out alive. It seemed like less than an hour ago that they were at Hogwarts, and everything was normal. It was an hour ago that we were at Hogwarts, you fool.

With a quick kiss that Harry wished could last much longer, she quietly trod down the lamp lit hall. Looking around, he saw Seamus with his back against the wall, looking up at the high ceiling with a sigh of relief. Neville seemed to have flopped down onto the second step of the stairs, his head in his hands.

Turning back to the unlit dining room, he started at the calm stare of Luna, who was still standing behind him. Taking another deep breath, he gripped her shoulder briefly as he strode around her. Making his way to the opposite wall where an old sofa sat, he sprawled onto it. Sighing as some (but not all) of the tension faded from his body, he rubbed his eyes with his knuckles for a moment before he realized that Luna had followed him. She was settling herself on the floor with her back against the middle of the couch, barely visible in the darkness.

"Uh, Luna?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing?"

He thought he saw her smile at him. "Why, that's not a rude question at all. I'm keeping you company."

He hesitated a moment, expecting a bit more, but none came. "Yeah, I see that, but why?"

"Ginny is helping downstairs and Ronald is helping Hermione. I couldn't let my friend go off by himself and get depressed. You do get rather cross when left to brood about things you don't like, did you know that?"

Harry let out a short, half-hearted laugh; something he didn't think would be possible given the circumstances. "No, I guess I never quite thought of it that way," he said. They were quiet for several minutes before something sprung to mind. "Luna, if the Death Eaters had shown while you and Hermione were setting up the extra wards outside, would you have taken her and Disapparated?"

As his eyes adjusted better to the dark, he thought he could see her staring at the crack in the moth-eaten drapes. She might have smiled at this question, too, but he couldn't be certain. "I really don't think I would have. I couldn't leave all of you like that, and I think Hermione would have been very upset with me if we had done as you asked. Besides, you wouldn't have left had you been in my place, would you?" The last was more of a statement than a question, one he had no argument for.

Hesitating for a second, Harry asked, "Luna, do you ever regret being close to me? I mean, you and everyone else are in harm's way because you're my friends."

He could see her dirty blonde hair move as she shook her head gently. "Oh, I would never regret that. You always treated me so nicely, except when you'd been brooding, but that's alright. I don't mind that so much."

Harry lay back down with a half-smile. "Thanks, Luna."

The light of dawn spilled through the cracks of the moth eaten curtains, and Harry found himself once again peering out at the empty street below. He had done this at least a dozen times over the last few hours, but he still felt a nervous flutter in his stomach from time to time.

Shaking his head, the dark haired young man turned away from the morning sun and swept his eyes across the second floor sitting room. Neville was asleep on the sofa with a thin blanket pulled over him. Dean Thomas and Seamus were on the floor, hidden by similarly tattered covers. Others had found places throughout the house to stretch out and find what rest they could. Harry knew that everyone was exhausted after the previous night's flight from Hogwarts, but at the same time he wondered how any of them could sleep at all.

Quietly stealing down the stairs and into the hall, he passed the covered portrait of Mrs. Black and turned down the stone steps to the kitchen. He could detect the scent of bacon and sausage leftover from when everyone had eaten earlier. It was surprising that the smell was still so strong, but soon he could hear sizzling and he realized someone was still cooking.

Rounding the corner, he was surprised to see Hermione standing next to the stove with her wand raised. No one else was there.

"You're already up?" She jerked at his voice, sending a sausage link flying. It stopped in mid-air as she quickly recovered.

"Harry," she breathed, leading the errant meat back into the skillet, "you startled me."

"Sorry," he mumbled as he moved to find something to drink. "So, did you get any sleep at all?"

Showing a weak smile, she shook her head, "Not really. An hour maybe. Most of it was pretending until Ron went to sleep in the other bed. We were in the room the two of you used when we used to stay here for the end of summer. I persuaded Justin to take the bed I was in before I came down." She paused for a second before turning the subject on him. "Did you get any sleep?"

He considered lying to her, but realized she probably already knew the answer to that question. "No," he admitted with a half-grin, as if it were nothing, "not a wink. I know your wards will hold, Hermione, but I keep expecting to turn around and find Bellatrix strolling in the front door."

"I know what you mean," she replied a bit unevenly. "I keep thinking I must have made a mistake somewhere."

Knowing where this was headed, Harry decided he didn't want his friend to start second guessing herself like this again. Taking a gulp of his butterbeer, he sat at the end of the table closest to the stove. "Hermione, I've got a question I've been thinking about all night. Is it possible to reset the Fidelius Charm on this house? You know, set a new secret keeper so Snape can't lead everyone here?"

Hermione looked back at him, her skillet tipping precariously as she did so. "I…I'm not really sure, Harry. The Fidelius is high level magic to begin with, I don't know if it can be undone like that."

"We've got to," he said, taking another drink, "else we'll have to find another hideout and cast a Fidelius Charm on it, and I sure can't think of any other place we can fit so many other people."

She turned back to the stove, and Harry could tell she was working it in her mind because she didn't correct the tilt of the frying pan. "Well, the only people I can think of that would know something like that would be Professor Flitwick and maybe Professor McGonagall. Professor Flitwick would probably be the one who could best set the charm up in any case…"

"We can't use Professor Flitwick," Harry said quickly, drawing a surprised look from Hermione. "With the Death Eaters in the school, there's no way we could get him out for long enough to do the charm without them knowing. They've probably already got an eye on him cause of his heritage; we can't do anything that would draw any more suspicion to him."

Frowning slightly, she turned back to the skillet again. She noticed its precarious tilt this time and leveled it out. "What if," she started slowly, "what if we could make it so they didn't know he was gone? The Order left some of their supplies here when they abandoned this house. If there was some Polyjuice Potion still here, I could transform into him and handle his classes while he's here!"

Harry almost choked on his butterbeer. "Absolutely not! No way, Hermione!"

"I can do every charm they teach through N.E.W.T. level," she said quickly, trampling his attempts to refuse the idea. "All I would have to do is act polite to everyone and take the potion every once in a while. Barty Crouch Jr. did it for a whole year, why couldn't I do it for a few days?"

"Because it's too risky, Hermione!" He didn't notice himself stand as he spoke. "The only reason we're safe right now is because we have you! Besides, if they did catch you, then they'd have 'Harry Potter's best friend.' What do you think they'll do to you?"

Hermione frowned at him for a moment before waving her wand at the skillet. "Well I don't know what else to do then. Even if we did find another place, I don't have any books that show how to cast a Fidelius Charm. I wouldn't know where to start." She summoned a plate with a flick of the wand, and pushed an egg, a few pieces of bacon, and the sausage onto it. Sliding it in front of him, she added quietly, "At least consider it."

He sat back down reluctantly, glancing questioningly at the plate. "Weren't you making this for yourself?"

She smiled as she levitated the pan back to the stove. "I'll fix more. Just make a decision soon, Harry. I don't know how long we can keep Grimmauld Place hidden."

AN: I don't know why, but I like the idea of there being an extended war with Voldemort. Something that lasts several years at least. There may be time lapses throughout the story of months or even a year, depending on what I decide to do with things.

Let me know what you think. I always try to be true to character and realistic in development. If something sounds completely out of whack, let me know. Just understand that things have happened a little differently over the last year and a half of Harry's life.

Thanks for reading. See you next chapter!

Gunso