Harry was blinded by the smoke and he was barely able to breathe. The only sound in his ears was that of the raging flames and he knew that the gags in the mouths of the four women in the room were preventing any of them from screaming. He had no idea if the flames had managed to get any of the prisoners, but he was trying his hardest to find them. During his scramble to remove the blindfold, Harry had dropped his wand and he had decided against trying to find it on the burning floor. The main thought in his mind was that the four women might be able to drag themselves clear of the flames or manage to get out of the ropes tying them to their chairs, Teddy was completely helpless. Harry had to get to Teddy.

Suddenly out of the deafening roars, Harry heard a baby's cry and he turned in the direction from where the noise had come. His vision was still obscured from the smoke, but he followed Teddy's cries. He crawled along the floor, trying his hardest to stay out of the smoke and away from the flickering waves of heat and within a few moments he found Teddy, lying on the floor and screaming his lungs out. He could only assume that Teddy had been Imperiused to be silent or Petrified and that either the Death Eater who had cast the spell was now dead or that the spell had been broken by someone in the room using wandless magic. Harry scooped Teddy up into his arms and tried to cover his face from the smoke. He knew that Andromeda could not be far away and with his free hand, Harry searched the area trying to find a chair leg. As his fingertips brushed the chair, Harry heard a yell from across the room and it belonged to Ron.

"I've found Luna!" The yell was followed by large hacking coughs from Ron, which Harry copied and Teddy cried louder.

"I'll try and find the exit," Luna shouted over the smoke. Her voice was raspy and clearly irritated by the smoke.

Assuming that Ron would continue trying to find Ginny and Narcissa, Harry worked one-handedly to untie Andromeda and then passed Teddy to her. "I've got Andromeda and Teddy!" Harry yelled to alert the others. "Stay close to the floor," he commanded and felt Andromeda as she complied. His vision was still impaired by the smoke and he knew that he needed to find Ginny and Narcissa. "Ron?"

"I'm trying to find them," Ron yelled in reply and Harry knew that it was simply a matter of finding the next person in the room, hoping that they were moving in the right direction.

"Have you got your wand?" Harry shouted over the flames, hoping that Ron did and that he could try and put the fire out. Before Ron could answer however there was a loud ear-splitting scream and Harry knew that it was Ginny. "Ginny!"

"I've got her," Ron shouted before adding, "She's on fire!"

All he could hear was the blood pumping in his ears. There was not enough oxygen getting to his lungs and Harry's head started to feel light. The flames began to blur in front of him and Harry fell to the floor.

HP – HP – HP

Clutching the bundle of wands in her hand, Hermione pointed hers and said, "Accio Dean's broom." Within seconds a broom appeared in front of her and with a slight hesitation, Hermione climbed onto it and flew upwards. She was not as good on a broom as Ron or Harry, especially with a completely unknown one, at least Ron had called for Ginny's which he had probably flown on at some point. Hermione had considered going back to Molly, but the flames at the top of the tower were getting stronger and stronger. She had no idea if Harry had been incapacitated prior to the Death Eaters' retreat and if that were the case then Ron could be up there alone trying to rescue everyone. With the Death Eaters gone, Molly should be fine alone at the bottom of the tower and everyone else within the school should be gathering in the hall by now. Not that Hermione was sure how the celebrations were going with three guests of honour missing and the star of the Quidditch show also missing. Surely Kingsley or Professor McGonagall would notice they were all absent, Hermione hoped so.

Soon Hermione reached the window and felt the heat of the fire radiating out and warming her instantly. She paused wondering if it were simply a normal fire or if it were Fiendfyre blazing close by. Hermione flew into the room through the heat and smoke, hoping that no part of her cloak or hair got singed. Immediately she cast, "Aguamenti," and the spell worked which thankfully meant the fire was not Fiendfyre and had probably been caused by a simpler charm. Hermione then quickly used a charm to clear the room of all the smoke before searching the room with her eyes for everyone and ensuring that everyone was okay. First she spotted Ron, crouching behind Narcissa and trying to untie her ropes. He glanced over at her to see who had stopped the fire and smiled a relieved thank you to her. She smiled in reply. Next she saw Luna who finished having a coughing fit and then opened the door which lead to the stairs, Andromeda was behind her, Teddy safely in her arms although he was still crying.

"Hermione." She turned at Ginny's voice and saw her crouching next to Harry who was lying on the floor. Ginny's face was bruised and there seemed to be a burn mark on her arm. She was also incredibly concerned for Harry.

Hermione dashed over to Ginny and Harry, she was soon joined by Ron. She checked Harry over and whispered a simple charm which healed his lungs from the smoke damage. He sat up and eagerly looked around the room, checking that everyone was okay. When he was satisfied that everyone was okay, he smiled at Hermione. "Thank you."

"Some Auror you are," Hermione joked. "Didn't they teach you Aguamenti?"

"I dropped my wand."

"Speaking of wands," Hermione said as she stood back up and took out the bundle she still had within her cloak. Luna, Andromeda and Narcissa approached her. "I have two made of elm." She held it out and Narcissa smiled politely, taking them both from her and then passing one to Andromeda.

"My new one since the War," Narcissa explained. "And this is Andromeda's." Hermione was suddenly aware that the two sisters had possibly not been in such close proximity in years. "Thank you."

Luna plucked one wand from Hermione's hand which she had recognised as the new one Ollivander had made for her a year ago. Hermione then handed the final two to Ginny who was gently holding onto Harry's arm, Ginny knew which one was her wand and which belonged to her mother. Ron had already bent down and picked up Harry's phoenix feather wand and passed it to him. Everyone said a chorus of thank you's and Harry turned to Andromeda and Teddy.

"Is he okay?" Harry asked and Andromeda nodded.

"He'll be fine. I don't understand what broke the charms on him. He was under Langlock to keep him quiet."

Quietly Narcissa answered her sister, "That was me. I had to become quite proficient at some wandless magic during the war when Draco had my wand and Lucius' had been removed." An uneasy silence fell over everyone at the tension between the sisters.

"Thank you," Harry replied for Andromeda. "Where's Molly?"

"I, um, I left her down on the grass."

"But LeStrange is still in command of her," Ron objected.

"That's why I, kind of, punched your mother." Ron, Ginny and Harry looked at Hermione in shock and she felt the need to apologise. "I'm really sorry, but if she's unconscious then she can't be made to do anything."

"Come on," said Harry, heading to the window, "there are still three Death Eaters out there, too." Ron automatically passed Ginny's broom back to her and then took the broom Hermione held out to him. "We'll go and get Mrs Weasley and I'll head out for the Death Eaters. Luna, can you get Andromeda and Mrs Malfoy back to the Hall, alert Headmistress McGonagall and Minister Shacklebolt?"

"Of course I can, Harry." Luna then beckoned the two elder ladies to follow her down the spiral staircase. The remaining four did not wait long as Hermione climbed onto a broom behind Ron and Harry shared with Ginny, Ginny flying it. They flew side by side down to the ground and scanned the area for Molly, but she was no longer where Hermione had left her lying unconscious. The other three looked at her questioningly.

"I left her right here." All four of them ran around a bit, trying to search the area but there was no sign of Molly. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Ginny replied which made Hermione feel a bit relieved.

"What direction did the Death Eaters fly off in?" Harry asked as he took the broom from Ginny without asking.

Hermione turned and pointed towards the Forbidden Forest. "Somewhere in there."

Nodding, Harry mounted the broom he had just taken from Ginny. "You three head to the Hall and tell the others. I'll go and see if I can find them, scout things out and wait for other Aurors."

"You're not going after my mother without me?" Ginny declared.

"Harry, you can't go after them on your own," Hermione agreed.

"It's my job, Hermione."

"What we not good enough anymore?" Ron argued. "There's three of them and three of us."

"Four, Ron," Ginny said angrily, "I'm going too."

Harry shook his head. "No, Ginny, you're not. Please go and get your Dad. I can't be worried about you. Please. This is my job now."

"Fine," Ginny relented but it was clear that she was not happy about the situation.

Harry then turned to Ron and Hermione, before he could try and argue with them they climbed onto their broom and rose up into the air. "Guys, you really should stay here."

Hermione shook her head. "Harry, just because you've trained to be an Auror, that's not all that you are. I thought you learnt during our hunt to work as a team. You're not just an Auror, you're a wizard with friends. You don't have anything to prove to us. Or anyone else." Hermione had never fully been able to understand Harry's point of view, or see how his life was from his eyes. He had always had a reputation to live up to and so many expectations put upon him. Now he was putting new ones upon himself. Harry shook his head and flew off with them both towards the Forest. Hermione glanced behind her and saw Ginny wait a few moments before running off in the direction of the main entrance.

HP – HP – HP