Chapter 21 - You Know This is the Only Way

As tired as he was, Harry only slept for four hours after hearing about Oliver Wood's death. He hadn't known Oliver got married, much less to a muggle, or that he'd had a child. Now he was gone. How many others had they lost?

When he woke it was to an empty bed. He showered quickly and headed downstairs, eager to see how Draco was getting along with a house full of Weasleys. Not surprisingly, Mrs. Weasley was busy in the kitchen while the others waited patiently at the table. Ron and Hermione were trying– and failing– to get Ginny and Draco involved in a conversation to end a staring contest they seemed to be having with each other. The couple looked helplessly at Harry when he entered.

"Harry, dear, here's some toast. I'm going to fatten you all up while I'm here." She was trying to keep her usual motherly tone, but he could hear the fear and anxiety in her voice.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," he answered, taking a seat at the end of the table, between Draco and Ginny. He looked between them curiously. They didn't look angry, but merely interested.

"Draco?" He leaned over to peck Draco on the cheek, which finally drew his eye away from Ginny.

"Good morning. You sleep okay?"

Harry nodded. "Considering."

Draco frowned. "If you woke me I could have gotten you a potion."

"I'm fine. I'll sleep better tonight."

Ginny had been following their conversation intently, but let her eyes rest on Draco again. And just like that they were back to their original positions. Harry wanted to know what was going on, but didn't really want Mrs. Weasley hearing everything, so he was relieved when an owl came and she went into the library to answer it.

"Okay. What the fuck is wrong with you two?"

"Just checking," said Ginny. "You didn't honestly expect us both to just accept everything. We had to check each other out a bit, right?"

"Right," said Draco.

"Honestly, Harry, until you kissed him good morning, I was having a hard time believing it all."

"Let's be very straightforward about this," Draco began in a very business-like tone, "since everyone expects us to hate each other. If you try to get him back I'll use you for experimental curse practice."

Ginny smiled sweetly. "He's all yours, babe. But if you hurt him I'll rip your balls off and use them for bludgers."

Harry, Ron and Hermione were all staring, a bit in shock at Ginny's words. Draco, however, smiled and began spreading jam on his bread.

"Excellent. You see, Weasley, even your little sister can intimidate people better than you."

"Oh, Ron isn't scary at all," she agreed. "Unless you're watching him eat."

And somehow Draco and Ginny got along. Harry didn't know how or why, but they were perfectly happy ignoring the others at the table and chatting about little things like school and Quidditch. He glanced down the table to Ron and Hermione, who looked every bit as confused as he was feeling. Even when the meal was over they continued to talk and it was beginning to make Harry nervous.

"You seem to be getting along with Ginny wonderfully," Harry said when they finally managed to get alone in their room.

"Is there a problem with that?" Draco smirked. He knew that Harry was feeling just a little jealous.

"I don't suppose so, but the two of you have been talking all afternoon. What could you possibly have to talk about?"

"Worried we're going to compare notes on you?" He laughed when Harry blushed. "You know, she's a lot smarter than her brother. More powerful magically, too, if I remember her hexing capabilities correctly."

He sat down on the bed and flipped through a Quidditch magazine that Harry had left sitting out.

"Yeah, she's... creative."

"I get the feeling she can be a bit sneaky. Maybe a little on the manipulative side if she wanted to be. She would have made a good Slytherin."

"She isn't like that though, which is why she's in Gryffindor."

"No, she isn't," Draco agreed. "But she has the ability, the ambition. And she's tough. Tougher than Granger."

"What's your point?"

Draco looked up at him then. "Just noticing why you love her so much. Honestly, Dark magic aside, I'd say she's a lot like me. With boobs."

"Impossible. She doesn't spend more than ten minutes in front of the mirror." Draco scowled at him. "And she doesn't go around reminding people that she's better than them."

"No, but she has a bit of an arrogant side. Perhaps not quite as pronounced as mine..."

"Like you or not, she's not the one I want."

"I know that now. And I think you were right last night."

"What?"

"I think she is a little turned on by us."

Harry laughed. "Did she ask to watch?"

"No, thank Merlin."

Then came a knock at the door that interrupted their conversation. Ron and Hermione had arrived for their Horcrux meeting. The Order was going to be meeting downstairs in two hours and they wanted to have a tentative plan for the exploration of Hogwarts so they could talk to Professor McGonagall about getting into the school.

"Wow, look at all those people," said Hermione when Harry had activated the map.

"There are more since last night. All homeless. And the ones in the dungeon are all the orphans and a few of the kids whose parents are up in the hospital. That's how we found out about Oliver. That's his little girl there." He pointed to a dot and name in the Slytherin common room.

"Oh god," muttered Hermione. "All those..." She took a deep breath and seemed to struggle to maintain composure. "I never thought about the children. We hear the numbers of the dead and wounded, but we never consider who the dead leave behind. Even after knowing you all these years, Harry, and knowing what happened to your parents, it didn't hit me until just now. As horrible as war is for the rest of us, how much worse must it be for the children who are parentless because of our actions?"

Ron put an arm around her and no one spoke for several moments. There was nothing to add to that. She was right and Harry felt ashamed suddenly, that although he was orphaned by war, he had never considered this either until he saw Lynette Wood's name on the map. They were always so focused on how many had been killed that no one realized that the casualty count was actually much higher.

"Then let's end it," said Draco, his voice unusually bitter. "So these children will be the last Voldemort ever orphans. So they will know that their parents' killers didn't get away with it."

Harry nodded and began to point out where the secret Slytherin room was. Every now and then his eyes wandered back to Lynette Wood.

By the time Order members began showing up for their meeting they had a plan started. They were in agreement about their search of Hogwarts, but the thing that had caused the most argument had been Harry's plan to finish Voldemort off. Even as they descended the stairs for the Order meeting, none of them were speaking to each other.

There were many familiar faces showing up. Tonks and Remus were bringing everyone over individually from the Ministry and McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley were stationed outside the house, making sure everyone made it from the apparition point to the building. They weren't risking anymore leaks.

Harry was glad to see Neville, Dean and Seamus. It was like old times in Dumbledore's Army. There were others. Katie Bell had joined the Order since leaving school, although Harry noticed that Draco stayed as far away from her as possible after he had inadvertently nearly killed her.

Ginny collected her galleon from Neville for the bet on Draco, but then was quickly ushered out of the room by Mrs. Weasley. All the underage members were to wait in the kitchen for their assignments, but weren't privy the entire meeting.

"You'd better fill me in after, Neville," she whispered.

He nodded and took a seat for the meeting.

"Okay," Professor McGonagall began in her very crisp business tone. "I know we all have a lot to talk about, but let me start by explaining where we are. The exact location will, at the present time, be kept secret, but you are standing in the current residence of Harry Potter, who has agreed to take in some of our members and let us use his home for our meetings. You'll notice that he, along with Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley are here tonight, joined by one Draco Malfoy. We're not going to give the full story, for our time is better spent on other things. Suffice to say that Mr. Malfoy is no longer a Death Eater and has given invaluable information and aide to our members over the past several months. I will ask that we all put any hostile feelings aside and work together.

"Let's first talk about the Ministry. Kingsly?"

"He couldn't make it, Minerva," said Mr. Weasley from the back. "He sent word that the Minister is safe at the present. The Order, combined with the remaining Aurors, has the Ministry under control."

"Were many Aurors killed?" asked one man.

"Several," answered Tonks. "And some who weren't were revealed as spies. Most likely under the Imperius. Moody is working on sorting out that mess right now."

McGonagall nodded. "And if the Ministry is hit again?"

Tonks frowned and glanced at Mr. Weasley. They shared a worried look before she answered again. "We don't know for sure how many Death Eaters may have been killed or injured during these attacks, so it's hard to say for sure. But... in our current state... we wouldn't be able to hold them again. Unless we got reinforcements, there's no way the Ministry would withstand another attack like last night. Moody says... He believes the Ministry will fall. It's only a matter of when."

"Which means," said Mr. Weasley, "we have to be ready with possible evacuation plans. If they can get the Ministry then our refugees at Hogwarts will no longer be safe. We have to think about setting up safe houses. Possibly use the Fidelius Charm again."

"Who's going to be Secret Keeper," asked Mundungus Fletcher. "I don' trust a one of ya with them runnin' around Imperioin' everyone. There's no one who's safe from them now. I say we have to rely on ourselves. Each of us responsible for their own safety."

The murmuring began right away, but Draco's voice carried over the others and silenced them.

"And what about those kids who are sitting down in the Hogwarts dungeons without homes or parents? What are they supposed to do? Should they just fend for themselves too?"

Mundungus' eyes narrowed and he stood, looking eye-level at Draco with disdain. "Now you're so concerned about kids? You didn't give a damn about them last year when you led Death Eaters into their school. You got all these nice people trustin' you, but I say 'like father, like son.' Or didn't they tell you that Lucius Malfoy's the one that orphaned a good number of those kids? They're sayin' he went mudblood hunting before joining his friends at the Ministry. How do we know you wasn't with him?"

Harry watched the blood drain from Draco's face and decided it was time for him to take charge. "Enough," he said. "Draco Malfoy was not involved in these attacks, or in any of the others this year. He's got three witnesses who can provide an alibi for him since last July. He has saved my life and was nearly killed by his own father for his loyalty to our side. His allegiance will not be questioned here. You, on the other hand, Mundungus, are lucky I even allow you in my house after you stole from my godfather. If you don't have anything constructive to add to this meeting I suggest you leave."

The man sat back down and the whole room waited for Harry to continue. "You all have the right to go into hiding and take care of yourselves and your families. I'm not arguing with that. But Draco was right. There are a lot of people up at the school who can't defend themselves. Many are children. We have to organize a way to take care of them."

"What do you suggest, Harry?"

"We're already doing it. The Ministry is the first priority and Hogwarts is already protected. Those willing can move their families into the school. It's probably safer than their homes."

"And if the school is attacked?"

"He'll try to take the Ministry before he does the school, so we'll have some warning. But if there is an attack I know of some passages to use for evacuation. Mr. Weasley's idea about safe houses under the Fidelius Charm is probably the best way to go. We should start setting those up immediately. I volunteer this house as the first of those."

"What happens if the Ministry falls?"

"Then the people of Hogwarts need to start evacuating to the safe houses. They need to have an escape plan in place right away. If that happens, then we save as many as possible."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Pomona, you have the report on the state of the refugees at the school."

Professor Sprout began rattling off numbers indicating how many were staying at the castle and in what areas. And then they started listing the deaths. Too many.

"It could have been a lot worse," Remus reminded them. "We have a possible spy in the Death Eaters who sent word just before the attacks. Without him many of us would have been caught off guard at the old headquarters and the Minister may not have been secured in time."

"So he's playing both sides, waiting to see who comes out on top!" shouted a witch standing near Fleur and Bill.

"I don't think he is. This isn't the first time he's helped."

"If he's so wonderful then why didn't he warn you before Hogwarts was attacked in October?"

Remus didn't have an answer for that. Neither did Harry. He was still conflicted about Snape. He hated the man and always had, but even before his trip to the Seer Harry knew that he was missing a piece of the proverbial puzzle. Without mentioning him by name, they argued about Snape for a while. Then they would argue about something else. There were too many reports of all the things people were doing. Harry, having not slept well, began yawning long before it was over.

In the end, they decided that Professors McGonagall and Sprout and Mrs. Weasley would be in charge of the refugees at the school. Harry told them about the Room of Requirement and suggested it was a more comfortable and secure place for the children. Remus was in charge of organizing the evacuation using the various secret passages and they assigned others to set up safe houses.

Tonks, Moody, and Kingsly would lead the Order's forces at the Ministry, cooperating with the Auror Department. Everyone else was divided between the two places to act as guards. When it was over Harry motioned Tonks, Remus and McGonagall to follow him to the library to talk in private. Draco, Ron and Hermione followed reluctantly. They knew what this was about.

"I need to give you something, Remus. I may need it again at some point, but since you'll be there..."

Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map and handed it to him. Then he explained to McGonagall and Tonks what it was. "Remus, you know the passages better than any of the others. Except the twins. I really think you should reconsider assigning them to the Ministry. They would be more help at the school. They've used the map and have snuck around that castle more than any of us. Filch knows about some of the passages, but not all, and I don't know if he's thought to have them guarded, but you should. Wormtail will know them, so if they wanted to get into the castle he would help them. I just didn't want to talk about it in there with everyone."

"These passages will be useful in helping people evacuate if need be," said McGonagall. "And we'll have someone trade places at the Ministry with Fred and George."

"And the map will tell you if there are any unfriendlies in the area. Even animagi. There's something else. Tomorrow evening, we're going to need to get into the castle. We're looking for something. Probably near the Slytherin dorms or even in the Chamber of Secrets."

"What is it? Perhaps I can help."

"I'm sorry, Professor, you can't. I'm almost done with the task Dumbledore assigned me and I plan to keep it secret through the end."

She nodded. "I'll tell Hagrid you're coming. Send word to him and he will let you in the gate. The children will be moved up to the Room of Requirement in the morning so they won't be in your way. Is there anything else you'll need me to do?"

"No. If things go well there, then we should be ready for him. That why I need you, Tonks. If they attack the Ministry again I need to know about it right away."

"Why?"

He took a deep breath before answering her. "Because I'm planning on using Snape to let Voldemort know that I'm there. With any luck, he'll come, hoping to finish me off himself and then we'll end it."

McGonagall drew in a sharp breath. "You're not serious?"

"It's the only way to get him there without raising his suspicions. Assuming he hasn't caught on to Snape yet."

"Harry, he wants you dead! We can't use you as bate!" cried Remus, clearly horrified.

"Tonks, as our only professional Auror in the room, can you see any other way to ensure that he's there?"

Remus was trying to catch her eye, to will her to agree with him, but she was looking straight at Harry.

"As an Auror, no. But as your friend, I have to say that I wish you would reconsider."

"So do we," said Ron.

"So you don't all agree with this plan," stated Remus.

"How can we truly agree to this?" asked Hermione. "But we know that Harry will have to face him sooner or later and as long as we're ready, then this is probably the best option. Once he takes the Ministry we may not get another good chance. But no, we're not at all happy about it."

Draco wouldn't even look at anyone else in the room, let alone speak.

"It's time to end this, Remus," said Harry. "He's hurt too many people for too long. If I have to die so that he can't hurt anyone else, then I'm willing to do it."

Harry barely had the words out when Draco wordlessly stormed out of the room. The door slammed after him, making everyone jump a little. Harry closed his eyes for a moment, willing himself to stay calm. Finally he looked up at Tonks.

"Will you do this for me?"

She nodded. Nobody knew quite what to say, so nothing was said. They separated quietly and everyone went their own way until dinner. Draco didn't come down and Harry made excuses for him to Mrs. Weasley, even though they hadn't spoken since they stood in the library. Ginny kept eyeing him during the meal and he couldn't figure out what she was getting at. Finally when he, Ron and Hermione excused themselves Ginny followed them out and stopped them at the stairs.

"I'm going with you."

"What? Where?"

"I'm not stupid, Harry, and I learned a few tricks from Fred and George. I heard you in the library earlier and I'm going with you to the school."

"You are not!" roared Ron.

"Gin, you know we can't let you. We're not telling anyone else what we're looking for and it could be really dangerous."

"Don't you dare baby me. You know I'm just as capable of taking care of myself as the rest of you!"

"I know you are, but your mum would kill me, not to mention Ron."

"You're not going and that's all there is to it!" Ron crossed his arms in front of him for emphasis.

"Mum is going back to the school in the morning and Dad is going to be organizing safe houses. All my brothers are going to be at the Ministry waiting for war. What am I supposed to be doing while everyone I love is off getting killed? Hell, knowing you, you'll go right from there to your stupid suicide mission and I'll miss the whole fucking thing!"

Ron and Hermione must have recognized the blazing look in her eyes and stayed quiet, but Harry recklessly pressed on.

"Good! You're better off that way! Do you think any of us want to go? Do you think war is something fun? We go because we have to and you're better off if you never have to go through that!"

"Oh get off your goddamn hero complex Potter! You're not the only one who's willing to die for the people they love! You forget I'm not so innocent. I know what war is. I almost died down in the Chamber because of Voldemort! I could have gotten killed when we all followed you to the Department of Mysteries. I knew it, but I still went! And not because I have a glorious idea about war, but because I won't back down when those I love are in danger. I'm not sitting here in your house like a good little housewife waiting for you to come back. I either go with you, or I go alone. Either way, I am going to watch Tom Riddle die!"

Harry's temper had deflated a bit. She was right. And she was certainly able to take care of herself. Wasn't he just as bad as Dean now? Everyone wanted to keep her in a little protective bubble, but it was really the last thing she needed. He was a little afraid to look at her right now and turned away while he came up with something good to say. Then he caught movement out of the corner of his eyes and found Draco standing halfway up the staircase. He had obviously heard most of the conversation and Harry could tell just from his look that he was siding with Ginny. Harry turned to Ron. He also had run out of argument for his sister. He wasn't happy about it, but they all knew that Ginny would do what she wanted whether they were around or not.

"I guess I can't expect to protect everyone else while I run off to face death. I'm sorry I underestimated you, Ginny."

And without another word, Harry walked out into the cool night air.

Draco found him an hour later in the garage sitting next to Sirius' bike.

"Do you want to go flying?"

"You're talking to me again?"

"Obviously." There was a hint of that old Malfoy sneer in his voice.

"You know this is the only way."

Draco sat down in front of him, hugging his knees up to his chest. "That doesn't mean that I have to like it."

"No. But you can support me."

"You're the only one I have left. My mother may be dead, my father tried to kill me, and my aunt is a psychotic bitch who is in love with the man who's trying to kill us all. I don't want to lose you too."

"In the end it has to be me and him. You know that."

Draco squeezed his eyes shut. "You've ruined me, Harry. I can't imagine my life without you anymore. And I don't want to."

Harry got up and wrapped his arms around the blond. He wasn't crying, but looked almost as if he could.

"I don't want to live without you either, Draco. I want us both to live and stay here together always. You said once that because of the war, we would probably be together for the rest of our lives. What if we live longer than that? Would you still stay with me? For the rest of our lives?"

Draco looked up at him. "I can't think of anything else I'd rather do with the rest of my life."

"Good." And with that, Harry placed a gentle kiss on Draco's lips.

It didn't stay gentle though. Harry realized suddenly that it had been a couple days since they had sex and the weight of everything they had been through made him need Draco all the more. The kiss became rough and passionate and hungry. Their hands were roaming everywhere and Harry couldn't get them undressed fast enough. It didn't even matter to Harry that he had almost no sleep in the past two days. What he needed from Draco was more important than sleep. To be honest, it was more important than sex. He needed to feel alive. There was no place he felt that more than inside Draco.