The next morning, they all sat around the table. "Okay," Harry began, "If you're going to fight with us, then you'll need to know the plan. Ginny, you already know about the secret passages into Hogwarts. We are planning to use one of those-"
"Harry," Ginny cut in. "The passages have all been sealed. Every one of them. You-Know-Who knew all about them and he ordered them all to be closed up."
"Bloody hell! There goes that plan!" Ron said. "Now what do you suppose we do?"
"Well, thanks to Neville, we do have a way in. A secret passage that the Death Eaters know nothing about." Ginny told them. "The only problem is getting to the passage."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"Well, the passage is inside the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. But the problem is getting in." Ginny answered.
"How is that a problem?" Harry looked to Ginny.
Dean answered. "You-Know-Who has placed a curfew on Hogsmeade. Nobody's allowed in after dark. And it's not like we can just walk in there anyhow. I mean, they are looking for us. If they see us, we're as good as dead."
There was a moment of silence. "What about Polyjuice Potion?" Luna asked. "Hermione is great with potions. She could make it."
"We don't have all the ingredients. It could take months to gather them all. And we just don't have that kind of time." Harry explained.
"Actually, Harry," Hermione said, "I have most of the ingredients. We only need one or two more. We could find them in only about a week."
"But it takes a month to brew it Hermione." Harry argued.
She sighed. "We don't exactly have a choice Harry. There's no way to get in without it."
Murmurs of agreement came from the others. Harry sighed and nodded. "Fine. But who are we going to become?"
"Muggles" Dean responded immediately. "We can become muggles. Nobody will recognize us that way." He said, smiling at Hermione. "Right?"
"Actually, that's a brilliant idea. Death Eaters don't pay attention to muggles, so we could get by completely unnoticed." She agreed, grinning back. "Now that we have that settled, let's see if we can find out were we need to go for the last few ingredients. Then we can get started immediately."
It took nearly an hour to figure out what ingredients they needed to gather and where they could be found. It wouldn't be too difficult to get them. Hermione estimated that it would take about a week. The only two ingredients they needed were in virtually the same place.
They would then have an entire month to choose with muggles they would become. They would also need to find an extremely safe place to stay for that month since they wouldn't be able to move while the potion is brewing. That would be the most difficult. Hermione even suggested that they stay in the muggle world for the duration of the month.
"Are you crazy Hermione?" Ron asked. "How in the bloody hell do you imagine we could pull that off?"
"Ron, I'm a muggle-born." she told him.
"So am I." Dean added.
"And Harry was raised as a muggle as well. We know all about living as muggles. Plus I have some money in my bank account in the muggle world. I can get some of it when we find a town close by."
"We could have to show I.D. in order to get a place anywhere." Harry piped in.
"We could get fake IDs in the black market." Dean offered up, more to Hermione than anyone else.
"And we can change our hair color and eye color too. We'll have to do it the muggle way so that it won't come undone by any magic detection spells. Then we can rent an apartment and stay there. With fake names, we'll be perfectly safe."
"That sounds like a lot of work. How long will all this take?" Ginny asked.
"Well, I have some of my muggle money with me now. I suppose Dean and I could apparate to a nearby town and buy the dye and IDs."
"Why do you need him to go?" asked Ron, looking at the tall Gryffindor.
"Because he knows about the black market. And I'm sure he knows more about it than me, like where to find it." Hermoine explained.
"Sure. I know just where to go." Dean said, grinning at her. "I used to spend the summer getting into trouble with my friends back home."
"Great, that's settled then. When are you guys going to go then?" Harry asked.
"I think you should go now." Luna said. She hadn't said a word the entire time, but now she looked at Hermione.
"Luna's right. We should go now." She stood up. Dean stood as well.
"Alright, we'll be back soon guys. Be careful." She told them, smiling. She turned and led Dean out past the barriers of their camp. She reached out and took his hand. Closing her eyes, Hermione twisted her wand. Moments later, they were standing in a field alone.