Text in bold from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pp491 and 499, UK edition paperback.
Thanks to 1917farmgirl for her help with this one-shot.
The Great Hall was quiet as those present tried to digest what had just happened. Lord Voldemort himself had offered to spare everyone's lives in return for that of Harry Potter, and after a hysterical Slytherin had tried to convince people to turn Harry in – he was, after all, right there in the room with them – those who were prepared to fight had formed a solid wall between her and Harry, and the teachers had started taking the younger students away.
The whole thing was almost surreal until McGonagall had started barking out orders and Kingsley had begun directing the troops.
"Good to see old McGonagall's still the same as ever," Fred said with a grin, turning to his twin. "And Kingsley. This past year or so hasn't changed them at all, has it?"
"I'd hate to be the one who ends up taking either of them on," George agreed. "That wouldn't be pretty." He paused. "Fun to watch ..."
"But not pretty," Fred finished.
His ears pricked up as he heard Kingsley say that someone would have to check the secret passageways into the school to make sure that no Death Eaters got in that way. Well, he thought, no one knows them better than us, do they?
"Sounds like a job for us!" he called, indicating himself and George, and he grinned again when Kingsley indicated he approved of that idea.
"Perfect role for us, isn't it?" George said conversationally as they stood up and made their way to a relatively empty part of the Hall so people could join them. "I reckon we've still got the Marauder's Map memorised, don't you?"
"Pity we gave it to Harry, almost," Fred agreed. "Though I dare say he made good use of it."
"Almost as good as we did," George said. They grinned at each other and surveyed the group standing in front of them – those who had volunteered to help defend the passageways.
"Right," Fred said authoritatively, "there are seven secret passages leading out of Hogwarts."
George picked up for him. "One has caved in so we don't need to worry about that one, one comes out underneath the Whomping Willow so we don't reckon anyone's ever used it, but there are still five that could be used by the Death Eaters so we'll need to cover those. You all prepared to help out?"
A dozen heads nodded, and Fred felt satisfied that this, at least, they could manage without too much difficulty and without anyone getting hurt. He had no qualms about himself or George – they could look after themselves, they'd proven that already – but these teenagers in front of him looked young, naive and terrified. Fortunately Lee had joined them too and would be able to become a third figurehead.
"Now, the passages are all over the school," he said, again authoritatively. He enjoyed the sense of power being in control of things gave him, it was one of the nicer parts of running the joke shop.
"There's one on the third floor behind that statue of the humpbacked witch," George continued. "You open it by saying Dissendium. Some of us will have to go there."
"Another one comes out on the second floor just near the old entrance to the Headmaster's office," Fred went on. "We never used that one because Filch knew about it," – he grinned at George and Lee – "but as far as we know it's still useable so we'd better check it out."
"There's another one on this floor – the ground floor," George added. "Down that corridor past classroom eleven and stop at the bust of Pierre Bonaccord, it's right behind him."
Fred was counting on his fingers. "Third floor witch, second floor Headmasters office, ground floor bust of Pierre Bonaccord. Don't worry about the Whomping Willow or the fourth floor mirror ... that's five. What else is there?"
"Don't forget the fifth floor just behind Gregory the Smarmy," Lee put in. Fred chuckled to himself – he and George had chosen to put their temporary swamp there for a reason, having used the passage to hide in when Mrs Norris had come by just before they set it up.
"Yeah, that's six," George agreed. "Oh, of course, the staff room. There's one that leads right into the staff room, there's a false back in the wardrobe they keep their cloaks in and that one goes to ... well, we actually don't know where it goes, it's the only one we never got to try. Somewhere in Hogsmeade, anyway, we think."
"Right," Fred said again. "So we need two groups on the ground floor, one on the second, one on the third and one on the fifth. Who wants to go where?"
The group was soon sorted into fifths, with Ernie Macmillan leading a group to the fifth floor, George taking on the humpbacked witch on the third, Cho Chang heading for the second floor, Lee going to the staff room and Fred going to the bust of Pierre Bonaccord on the ground floor.
"What do we do when we get there?" a girl with blonde hair asked as she followed him.
He shrugged. "Listen for any activity in the passage, and if we hear anything, open up and attack. We'll have the benefit of surprise. That okay with you, er ..." He trailed off, realising he didn't know her name.
"Hannah," she said, not batting an eyelid at the thought of fighting. "Hannah Abbott. And yes, of course that's fine. Death Eaters killed my mother; I want to fight."
Fred noticed her swallow as she said the words, but her face set grimly and he understood – the desire for revenge could, he'd heard, be overwhelming. "Well, you've come to the right place," he said.
The group stopped when they reached the plinth holding Bonaccord's bust. "What now?" asked a boy who didn't look much older than fifth year, though he had to be of age if McGonagall had let him stay.
"We wait," Fred said, pulling his wand out. "And we listen. If ANYONE comes through this passageway, we'll know about it, and we'll be the last thing that Death Eater ever sees."
The blonde girl looked pale but determined. "So we're to kill them."
"If necessary," Fred elaborated, a little disquieted by her grim resolve.
Just then they heard a loud bang and a crash, and it felt like the castle itself shook. Turning around to look for a window, Fred saw that the giants had joined the fight, and from the look of things on the other side. The thought didn't fill him with confidence.
"How," said a familiar voice, "are we ever going to hear anything over this racket?" Fred turned around to see Lee Jordan grinning at him. "Bit loud for the stealthy approach, don't you think?" Lee went on.
There was another crash, the walls shook and the bust of Pierre Bonaccord fell of its plinth and shattered on the stone floor, narrowly missing Lee's foot.
Fred laughed. "Maybe just a bit," he conceded. "Thought you were in the staff room?"
"That one's covered," Lee explained. "You know, with the staff going in and out all the time? I don't think ANY Death Eater would make it out of there without getting caught."
"So where are your troops?" Fred asked, trying to keep an ear on the tunnel just in case.
Lee shrugged. "Out there somewhere," he said dismissively, indicating the rest of the castle with a wave of his arm.
"Hey, did I hear something then?" Hannah Abbott asked suddenly, and Fred immediately leaned in towards the tunnel again, wand at the ready, trying in vain to hear any miniscule sounds over the roar of the battle around them.
On the wall behind them Sir Cadogan was racing through the portraits, shouting as he went, and in the din and confusion Fred almost missed the fast-moving shape of Harry Potter as it sprinted past them in search of something or other.
"Nice night for it!" Fred shouted at Harry's departing form, not able to resist saying something to the boy expected to be the hero of the day. The castle quaked yet again as the giants outside threw everything they had at it, and he found himself grinning, revelling in the adrenaline. "How do you reckon George is going?" he went on, turning around to find Lee.
"Where is he?" Lee asked, his wand still on the spot the tunnel came out.
"Third floor," Fred answered. "Though he's got the Honeydukes tunnel, so probably if anyone comes through that they'll be so full they won't be able to fight anyway. And if they've got their pockets full, George'll make the most of that too." Smiling to himself at this thought, he turned back to the empty plinth.
"How long will we be doing this?" Hannah Abbott asked suddenly, though she didn't move her wand. The castle shook yet again and she glanced towards the ceiling nervously. "Do we really think that anyone's going to try to come in this way?"
Fred shrugged. "Thing is, we can't rule it out," he explained. "If you want to go off and fight somewhere else, go for it. I'll stay here. After all," he said, still grinning and still high on adrenaline, "we've got a castle to defend."
