HARRY'S POV:

"Harry! My dear boy, it's been too long!" said Professor McGonagall.

I heard Ron breath a sigh of relief. My heart stopped pounding and a smile crept across my face.

"How did you know it was us, Professor?" I asked.

"You own the only invisibility cloak around, Harry, dear." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Professor, we need to speak to you in private." said Hermione.

"Hermione Granger? Is that you, as well? Who else is here?" she said in disbelief.

"I'm here, Professor. It's me, Ron Weasley. Ginny's here, too." said Ron.

"Yes, I'm here, but Hermione's right. We need to speak to you." Ginny said.

"Very well. Right this way. Quickly and quietly, please." McGonagall said.

She led us down the hall and ushered us through a doorway. "You can take off the cloak, now. Keep it close, just in case." She said. She directed us to a couch and we sat down. "Now, what is it that you needed to discuss with me?" she asked.

"We were wondering if you had heard anything concerning the whereabouts of he-who-must-not-be-named." said Ron.

Professor McGonagall looked at all of us for a few seconds and then began to speak. "I must admit, I haven't." she said.

My heart sank. She had been our only hope.

"There is one thing I do know. Severus keeps in close contact with him. He and the other Death Eaters have regular meetings with him. Where they meet is an entirely different story." she finished.

She had given us very valuable information. So the traitor was still speaking to Voldemort. "Why are you still here, Professor?" I asked. I realized how rude that question must sound, but she answered me anyway.

"I really have nowhere else to go. If I leave the castle, I am no longer under the protection of Severus Snape. I am a free target for any roaming Death Eater." She said. "I assume that you are in hiding?" she continued.

We nodded and looked around anxiously. "I can see that you are very worried, but I'm afraid you can't leave just yet." McGonagall said.

I sucked in a breath. Was McGonagall a traitor, too? She continued talking, "The hour is almost over and the teachers will be in the halls for a period of time. Fortunately for you four, Severus teaches a class. He will not be in the halls when you leave."

We breathed a sigh of relief. We sat and waited for the okay from McGonagall. At long last, she said that we were free to go. Right as we were about to throw the cloak over ourselves, the door burst open. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" said a voice.

GINNY'S POV:

I gasped. There in the doorway stood Snape and his fellow Death Eater, Dolohov. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I drew our wands. I looked in McGonagall's direction. She, too, had her wand at the ready. As Snape and Dolohov entered the room, Amycus Carrow, and Alecto Carrow, and Lestrange filed in. It was an even match, five against five, but there skills far outmatched ours. I looked anxiously over at Harry and he forced a weak smile to his face to try and reassure me that everything would be ok.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Harry Potter and his little friends." Snape said. He shot a dark look at Professor McGonagall and immediately, she knew she had been caught.

"I assure you, Severus, I was not assisting them. I was merely detaining them until your class was over." McGonagall said.

"Likely story, Minerva, but I'm afraid that I don't believe you." Snape sneered. Snape advanced on Professor McGonagall with his wand drawn.

"Professor!" I yelled. "Watch out!"

Professor McGonagall readied her wand and called to us, "Don't let them get you! They'll kill you on the spot. I hope that I'll see you again someday. One day we'll be free."

Harry motioned us towards the door, but stopped short because our exit was blocked by Dolohov, Lestrange, and the Carrows. "I've got Lestrange. Pick your opponent and battle your way out." Harry said. He wore a worried expression on his face.

I turned to find myself face to face with Amycus Carrow. I readied my wand and started yelling curses. Curses flew all over the room. "Expelliarmus!" I called.

"Protego!" yelled Amycus. He smiled evily. I spared a second to look around the room. Ron was fighting Alecto Carrow, Hermione was fighting Dolohov, and Harry was fighting Lestrange.

"Petrificus Totalus!" someone called. I felt myself being thrown backwards and then I felt nothing.

HARRY'S POV:

My heart stopped when I saw Ginny being thrown backwards. I tried to get to her, but Lestrange pointed his wand at me.

"You want her, you've got to get through me and him." He said as he pointed over to Dolohov.

I could easily fend off Dolohov, but him and Lestrange? I spared a glance in Ginny's direction. She was not stirring. I was shaking with fury. Something was terribly wrong. This was not me. I could easily get through a fight without becoming upset. That's when I realized why I was upset. They had hurt Ginny. My Ginny, the Ginny that I loved.

"Petrificus Totalus!" I shouted. Dolohov was taken by surprise and he was down in an instant.

"You think you're clever, boy? You think that you can win?" he taunted. "I was trained by Lord Voldemort himself. I know all of his tricks. This is no longer a game, this is real. You're just a boy, too young to protect yourself against us." He laughed loudly.

"What makes you think that he is alone?" Hermione said. I looked back at her. She was bleeding and Ron was limping beside her. Professor McGonagall was dealing with Snape and Ginny was starting to stir.

Lestrange aimed his wand in Hermione's direction. "Cruc-"he started.

I interrupted him and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!"

He was down in a second. I breathed a sigh of relief. I walked over to Ginny who was sitting up against the wall and offered her my hand. She took it gratefully, but instead of getting up, she pulled me down. I sat down next to her and took her hand.

"Are you okay, Ginny?" I asked her. Her eyes had fear in them.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just hit my head on the floor, that's all." She answered. She could tell I wasn't convinced, but she looked at the floor. There was an awkward silence.

A voice startled me. "Harry, dear, you need to get out. Other death eaters may swarm the castle in minutes." said Professor McGonagall.

"What about you, Professor? You aren't safe here anymore." Hermione said.

"Come with us. We can't just leave you here." Ginny said. Her voice still sounded shaky and weak.

"I need to find my own family, children. That is, if they are still alive. Now, you really must be going. Maybe someday, we'll meet again." McGonagall said.

We threw the invisibility cloak over us and took off down the hall. Using the Marauder's Map, we navigated safely out of the castle. We had to get back to the camp and warn the Weasley's before we were all discovered and killed.