Hi everyone, I'm back with another chapter. I'm thinking of changing the title of this fanfic. The current title makes the story look like fluff with no negativity and no real plotline. Of course, this story is far from that. There's evil and drama. What are your thoughts on this? Do you have any title ideas that pertain more to this story? That's just something to think about. Thanks to my few reviewers. All the reviews have been worthwhile and helpful. I'd love to see more...hint...hint :)

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"This is my temporary home
It's not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through
This is just a stop, on the way to where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this is my
Temporary Home."

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Passing Through

"Ginny!" Harry exclaimed, ecstatic to see her. If it weren't for the fact that they desperately were in need of help, he would have been very disturbed that she'd come. "What are you...how did you...?

"A patronus came with a message saying you need help," Ginny answered. "I didn't recognize it though. Was it yours, Neville?" Neville shook his head. "Huh...what about you, Draco?"

"No," he said, puzzled. "What form did it take?"

"A wolf," Ginny replied.

"A…a wolf?" Draco sputtered confusedly, "But my patronus is a wolf. I didn't cast one though."

Hermione spoke using a small, barely present voice. "You must have used a powerful memory to cast a powerful patronus," she said, darting her eyes around nervously, obviously afraid she would be cursed for speaking. "It helped protect you to the point where it was an extension of you."

"That's all well," Bastillo snapped, reminding the others of his presence, "But I told Draco not to tell anyone about our little issue. It seems as if the entire bloody wizarding world knows about it. I think it's time for Dear Draco to face the repercussions."

"Kill Hermione and I'll kill you!" Ginny said, drawing her wand. As she did so, five other people filed into the room: George Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Katie Bell, and Charlie Weasley. Each of the five had their own wands raised. "You're outnumbered, Bastillo."

"Really, now?" he snapped.

Before anyone else could enter in a word edgewise, the commanding shriek of Lord Voldemort rang out high and mighty despite his small size. "Give me your arm, Bastillo, now!"

"Don't move!" Ginny commanded, bracing her wand, ready to strike. Bastillo froze. "Put your hands up!"

Bastillo slowly raised his arms, testing the waters of movement. Ginny was about to make another demand of him when he suddenly jerked his arms downward causing a thick wave to ripple across the room. Everyone was knocked flat to the ground and Hermione was crushed against the wall. In those few seconds of sheer chaos, Bastillo had triumphantly magicked the baby Voldemort into his arms who in turn placed his rubbery finger on the scar of Bastillo.

"We will not be outnumbered for long!" Bastillo proclaimed triumphantly, a glint of madness apparent in his eyes.

Draco Malfoy was astounded. "You? A…a death eater? But…"

Bastillo let out a heartily dangerous laugh. "I wasn't in the inner circle, no, but I was always willing to help. The Dark Lord was generous enough to grant me a mark for quick communication. Whenever I thought I had something to truly help, I would summon him. My involvement was kept quiet. That's the beautiful thing about Death Eaters, nobody knew who exactly had joined the ranks except Voldemort, which will prove highly useful right now."

Already as he was speaking, black swirls were appearing in the room as old members still at large gathered in the name of their old master. Not only would these new arrivals match the numbers of Draco and Harry's brigade, but they would turn the tables over on them. The Death Eaters would now have the advantage, a fact that everyone found frightening. It looked as if the inescapable battle would heed more casualties than expected.

"Seal the hallways," Bastillo commanded to his house-elves. "I want to contain this. The Dark Lord will not want Harry Potter to evade him because he can play hide and seek in times of need."

"Is this even about that goddamn potion anymore?" Draco bellowed angrily. "Does this even have anything to do with me or Hermione, or is this another bloodthirsty craving for Harry Potter's life?" He was speaking directly to Voldemort, a venomous rage apparent in his body language.

"Oh this involves you," Voldemort spat back in a cool tone. "I'm going to show you, tonight, what happens when you betray your master! Nobody betrays Lord Voldemort and makes it out alive!"

As Death Eaters continued pouring in, Draco strained to see his father, but the small room was becoming too cramped to decipher much of anything causing the threat to mount to even higher proportions. If combaters were not entirely aware of their surroundings, then a lot of rogue spells would be fired, and everyone would be in danger regardless of side and position.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here," a cold voice drawled. "My son, the blood traitor."

"Father," Draco gasped, forgetting those around him. "Father, how could you?"

"I believe that question should be fired at you," Lucius replied. "I am only upholding the pureblood honor of the Malfoy family. You, however, are muddying my work. I hear that you are taken with a mud blood. Of course I had to act. I'm not willing to let you compromise the respect I have commanded over all these years."

"So this is why you sought to bring yet another war on the entire planet!" Draco said angrily. "You're willing to sacrifice thousands of people for the "respect" given to the Malfoy name!"

"Most of those people will be muggles and mud bloods, Draco. They don't count."

"Enough!" shrieked Lord Voldemort. "I'm sorry to interrupt this heart to heart, but I am not willing to wait any longer! I want all these traitors to the name of wizard dead, every last one of them, and Lucius, I want you to kill your own son, right here right now."

"NO!" Hermione screamed like a banshee. She thrashed about in her bindings, but it did no good. She was fastened to the wall too thoroughly. "PLEASE!"

"Quiet, silly girl. Do it, Lucius! Show me your loyalty!"

"Stupefy!" Neville screamed, surprising the entire room. Lucius Malfoy was blown off his back. Neville's quick acting became the spell her around the world. The battle had begun. Quickly, duelers began pairing off and fighting to death. Bastillo quickly hastened to grab the baby Voldemort and take him from the room to safety. Draco slipped out of the fighting to undo Hermione's bindings.

"Are you all right?" he quickly asked her.

"Yes," she said, scared. "I need a wand, though!"

Right on cue, Harry disarmed and stole the wand of Goyle and tossed it to Hermione. Although she was tired and injured, she joined in the fight to help alleviate the burden of the others. She had no choice, and Draco did not even try to reason with her.

Spells were flying everywhere as the room morphed into a complete battle zone. Not only was everyone fighting with one another, but they had to dodge random spells that shattered the windows and destroyed bookshelves. With all the flying debris, it was almost as if the room itself had waged a war on its inhabitants. Inevitably, the duel began to cover more ground as the room was destroyed. Although elves were positioned in the hallways to contain all non-Death Eaters, they had no chance at being successful. It was all they could do to avoid the spells flying around.

Ron and Hermione were fighting side-by-side like old times. However, Hermione could not handle the forces that Ron could in her weakened state. He had to protect not only himself but her too.

"IMPEDIMENTA!" he bellowed, waving his wand so violently that the spell shot at all three Death Eaters they were handling. Two of the three managed to dodge it, but one was blown across the room, making the spell a success. As he began throwing nonverbal spells at them, he had to shove Hermione to the side as a green streak nearly hit her head. "Watch yourself, Hermione!"

However, as he said that, an impediment jinx hit her square on, blasting her backwards into a pile of rubbish. Ron managed to shake off another Death Eater, while Ginny took over the one still standing. Ron hurried over to Hermione to help her. She was buried to the point of almost being completely covered.

"Hermione! Are you hurt?" He asked her desperately, hoping a Death Eater did not notice him in such a vulnerable state.

Hermione just moaned. She hurt all over, but nothing seemed too much worse than before. "I…can't…Ron…" she gasped. "I can't fight anymore."

"Stay underneath here," he begged her. "Please don't try and help. Cover yourself up completely so nobody can see you."

Hermione was so spent she didn't even try to argue. Without her noticing, Ron cast a powerful shielding spell that would literally act as a wall. Nothing would hit her, but at the same time, she would be trapped inside in safety. Ron quickly re-entered the battle, fighting at his pregnant sister's side.

Luna was in too deep. She had not two or three, but four Death Eaters shooting lethal spells at her constantly. Luckily, she had fast reflexes and could dodge them while still firing spells. However, they were closing in on her fast, and all she could do was look around nervously as the dance continued.

George and Charlie had each other's backs as the battle ensued. Sticking together like brothers, they managed to disarm and hurt many Death Eaters, but as they kept going, more and more continued coming. They had no time to look to help others, because they were so busy watching out themselves. Had they had more people to fight the larger numbers, they would have noticed Luna struggling to keep her composure. Fear was starting to show in her actions and spell casting. She became less accurate, and she knew that certain death was to come…

Luna was knocked off her feet and thrown into the wall. For a second she wondered if she was dead. She then realized that someone had cast a charm like Bastillo's earlier that broke up the fight. She looked up and saw that it was Ron. He had saved her, and he had saved Hermione. Luna scrambled to her feet but collapsed. She hadn't even realized the searing pain in her leg until then due to her extreme adrenaline, but as soon as the pain became clear to her, it began to consume her. She grew dizzy and weak and could now only watch the battle waging in front of her. By some stroke of luck, the other Death Eaters that had been blasted with her were knocked out. Nobody noticed her rumpled and wounded. She couldn't find her wand either. Like Hermione, she could only wait, except that she was less protected.

Dean had joined up with Charlie and George. The three of them had been dominating their area of fighting to the point where to George it was turning into a game.

"Oh you think you can, Mr. Funny Feet?" he yelled triumphantly as he blasted Crabbe Senior to the side.

Dean lunged and managed to dodge and re-fire the spell sent at George by another Death Eater.

"Nice one, Dean, training for the ballet?" George called, but as he did so, he knew something was wrong. It happened almost as if slow motion. Crabbe had managed to gather enough stamina to shoot one more fatal curse at Dean, and taken completely off guard, Dean had been hit square in the back.

"DEAN!" Charlie screamed like a madman. "DEAN! DEAN, NO! WAKE UP! GET UP!"

"He's gone!" George gravely said, still dodging spells. "Oh my God, Charlie, he's dead." It was as if the potential impact of this battle was settling in on George for the first time.

"I Know, George, I know!" he wailed, letting out a dry sob as he began to fight more ferociously, like an enraged lion. Dean's body lay on the floor facedown, still, like many of the Death Eaters in the room. The difference was that Dean for sure would not be coming back. Many of these Death Eaters were just knocked out. Dean, however, was dead.

Luna bawled as she witnessed it. She had always been so fond of Dean. He had always been nice to her, even during her unfortunate Hogwarts years. Now he was another victim of the campaign of Lord Voldemort, a statistic. With the overwhelming emotion of the demise of Dean, Luna stormed upwards, spotting a wand in the rubble. She grabbed it and began to fire off as many spells as she could. The Death Eaters had not noticed her, and she had managed to pick off many of them, but some of them were out of her reach.

Draco, for instance, was battling three, one of them being his father who was dominating him. Lucius Malfoy really was more loyal to Lord Voldemort than his family. His killing curses had only missed Draco by mere inches. The other two were Crabbe Senior and Goyle, his friend back in Hogwarts. Draco didn't want to hurt Goyle, but it was the only way to make it out alive it seemed. He shot a stunning spell that hit Goyle squarely, but in the time it took, Lucius had been able to blow him off his feet, leaving him completely unprotected. He was now at the mercy of his father.

Hermione, who had been watching from within the rubble screamed the cry of a wounded animal. Her screams pierced the room and momentarily drew the attention of everyone except Lucius and Draco.

"HELP HIM! SOMEONE, PLEASE!" Hermione screamed hysterically, desperate. "PLEASE, SOMEBODY, PLEASE!"

Ron turned around and gazed at her, nodding. He charged at Lucius, distracting him determinedly. He waved his wand with a random spell, letting his brain and instincts take over.

Draco had just enough time to grab his wand. He lunged for it, and just as he grasped it, he heard the screams and saw the blinding green light.

"NO!" Hermione screamed again, this time charging forward. The spell encasing her had broken open with the defeat of its master. "RON, NO!" She commanded attention as she dove onto his lifeless body.

"RON!" Ginny screeched. "RON!" She, too, abandoned her fight and charged at his body. He lay there limp, looking peaceful, much more peaceful than he had looked in a long time. Both Ginny and Hermione cradled him in their arms. Ron had been yearning to feel Hermione's touch ever since she left him, and now, he had gotten his wish, his final wish. Hermione bawled as she co-held his dreaming body.

Draco, driven by the sudden pain of what had just happened, went on a rampage, shooting Killing Curse after Killing Curse at the few remaining Death Eaters who were transfixed on the scene surrounding Ron's lifeless body. Taken by surprise, they dropped one after the other until the only person left was Lucius.

"You have lost father," he said in a pain-stricken voice. "You have tried to defeat the "blood traitors" and "mud bloods", but you have lost."

"I haven't lost," Lucius said roughly, showing no remorse or emotion toward the bodies surrounding him. "They have."

"Don't you understand, father?" Draco spat. "We are stronger! All you have managed to do is kill!"

"As long as one traitor has died, then it is worth it," Lucius hissed. Charlie shot magical bindings at his back, and Lucius was bound and gagged to the wall like Hermione had been.

With the immediate threat out of the way, the group turned back to the bodies in the room. Nobody knew for sure which Death Eaters were dead and which were alive. They magically moved them to the corners of the room, leaving Ron and Dean in the center. Dean's body had not been shielded from flying curses and jinxes. It was a grisly site that made many of them swallow fresh bile that had gathered in their throats.

Ron, however, looked peaceful and angelic. He had died the hero. He had saved Hermione, Luna, and Draco, and he had lost himself in the process. It was this fact that caused Hermione to sob the worst. He had finally turned a corner, and he would have turned into a great man. Even Draco shed tears at the sight. Ginny, George, and Charlie sat on the floor with his body, the three of them crying freely over the body of their fallen brother.

Harry couldn't take being in the room. Ron had been his best friend through thick and thin. They had their differences, but they had always shared an inseparable bond that always ending up prevailing in the end over their issues.

He turned to Katie and Luna. "We need to find Bastillo and Voldemort. Luna, are you okay? Can you move well on your own?"

Luna grimaced as she tried to walk. Katie spoke up. "It looks too badly hurt to magically mend, but we can at least cast the mending spell and make it a little better."

Luna agreed and as the two prepared to do that, Harry moved towards Draco.

"We aren't safe until we deal with Bastillo and Voldemort," he said sadly. "I don't want to fight anymore, but we must."

Draco nodded. "What shall we do with my father?" His voice was full of despair as he watched both the scene around Ron and his father, Ron's murderer.

"We'll let him go to Azkaban," Harry replied firmly, reading Draco's mind. "I know that hasn't stopped him before, Draco, but we're going to get rid of Voldemort for good this time. There will be no more breakouts after this."

"He doesn't deserve compassion," Draco said flatly, relentlessly.

Harry began to panic. "Draco, remember who you are. He is your father. He helped bring you into this world."

"And I'm going to take him out of it!" Draco shouted. The entire room paused and looked at him. An extremely pregnant silence filled the room. "You are a monster!" He charged toward Lucius, only to be restrained by Harry.

"Draco, you can't do this!" Hermione yelled, stepping in his way. "He is your father! Please, Draco! Don't! For me!"

Draco snarled at her for a second. He had a thirst for vengeance that he felt only his father's death could quench. His eyes locked with hers. She silently plead to him in their own intimate way of communicating. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, his gaze softened.

"Okay," he said. "You're right. He's not worth losing myself over."

"That's right, Draco," Harry encouraged. "We need to leave him and go find Bastillo and Voldemort. We need to finish this once and for all."

"You're right," Draco agreed.

"I can help," Luna volunteered. "I'll be okay."

"Okay," Harry said. "Draco, Katie, Luna, and I will go. The rest of you should stay behind with Ron and Dean. If we need you, we'll send word with a Patronus."

"But the only way I got Draco's patronus last time was lucky chance," Ginny whined worriedly through her uncontrollable tears.

"Then we'll have to depend on that again possibly," Harry said. "Alright, let's go."

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I hope you like it. It was LONG as you can tell. Like I said, I think I want to change the title. This story is more serious than the title hints at. Please review and tell me how you like me dealing with this scene. I know you guys don't want so many cliffhangers, but this is the least cliffhanger spot to end it. There's more to come, and I didn't want to write a 10000 word chapter. Please review. It will help me work harder and subsequently write faster.

XOXO, CHRISTINE