Chapter 25

Harry stared at the blurry tile overhead as he allowed the hot water to run over him. This is how Wood must have felt in his third year, he thought to himself. He wasn't sure how long he had been in the Quidditch showers, and he didn't really care. His mind just kept replaying the match over and over again. There were dozens of things he could have done differently, not that it mattered now; they had lost: lost the final game of the season, letting Hufflepuff win the Quidditch Cup and putting them far ahead in the race for the House Cup.

Harry had to fight the temptation to punch the wall or rip out the shower head. It wasn't as if he has taken this game lightly. It had been the exact opposite. Ever since Katie had informed him that the Hufflepuff Seeker, Bogdon, had been trained by his Uncle, who flew for the Montrose Magpies, Harry had trained extra hard. Not that Katie's practices were easy in any respect. Maybe his heart hadn't really been in the game, he reasoned. He had been thinking about the Founders' riddle often; it hung heavily on him that their search had come to a fruitless end. Hermione, of course, was still searching the library for any hint of the spell they had discovered in the crypt, but Harry had since given up hope.

Still, he thought he had focused entirely on the game. But they still lost, which made no sense. Harry had never lost a game while he remained on his broom, it just didn't happen. His other losses could be attributed to bad luck. The fact that he had legitimately been out-flown and out-played hurt more than he imagined. Had he really become so over confident in his skills that he believed he couldn't lose? Maybe if he stayed in the showers long enough the air would become so saturated with water that he'd drown. At the moment it seemed preferable than hiking back to the Gryffindor common room and facing the people who had hailed him as a Quidditch hero on so many occasions. He had been the youngest Seeker in a century, after all; he wasn't supposed to be out-flown.

"Harry, why are you still in the shower?"

Ginny's voice jolted him out of his self-loathing. The curtains swayed and Harry panicked, "Ginny, I'm naked, you can't come in here."

He swore he heard snickering before Ginny responded calmly, "I live with six brothers, Harry, none of whom are particularly modest, it isn't like I haven't seen…"

"Don't you dare come in here," Harry interrupted, turning off the water and sprinting for the towel that was hanging on the other side of the large stall. Keeping with the mood of the day, he slipped on the wet tile and fell very hard and very painfully on his bare backside.

"Are you ok? Do you need me to come help you?"

"I'm fine," Harry squeaked as pain shot through his tail bone.

"I could always go get Madam Pomfrey…"

Harry felt his face go very red at the thought. "No!" he shouted quickly, attempting to scramble to his feet. He fell back down and attempted to cover as much of himself as possible as Ginny ripped back the curtain with a harrumphing "for goodness sake." Her left hand was covering both her eyes and with her other hand she waved her wand in the general direction of the towel and levitated it over to Harry, who hurriedly snatched it from the air. She turned and left Harry to dry off in peace. He finally emerged with the towel wrapped around his waist to find Ginny sitting on the nearest bench, waiting for him.

"You better not have peeked," he warned as he headed for his locker, all to aware that he was in an empty locker room, wearing nothing but a towel, while his attractive girlfriend sat a short distance away.

"And what if I did?" she teased suggestively.

Harry gulped as he hurriedly pulled on his pants. "I, umm, that is…"

Ginny laughed and slinked around the side of the locker banks causing Harry's fingers to fumble on the last button on his trousers.

"You need to forget about the match," she said before pushing him against his locker and roughly kissing him.

Suddenly the match, or anything else for that matter, was the farthest thing from Harry's mind. His senses were overloaded by Ginny: the sweet, flowery smell of her shampoo, the feel of her still damp hair against his fingers, her soft hands pressing against his bare chest and back.

Harry's brain finally kicked back into a functional mode when a loud voice called "Ginny, haven't you found Harry yet." Looking up, Harry saw Ron walk around the side of the lockers and instantly freeze, his eyes wide. "What the bloody hell are you two doing?"

It was only then that Harry realized he and Ginny must appear to Ron to be in a very compromising position. Somehow, they had moved from the locker to the bench, and with his shirt still off and Ginny pinned under him, Ron probably thought he had good reason to be cursing.

Harry heard Ginny mumbled something that sounded very much like "damn him," before she sat up, and unabashedly replied, "it's called snogging, Ron, you should try it sometime."

Harry couldn't bring himself to meet Ron's eyes as he threw on his shirt, heaved his Quidditch uniform into the laundry, and hoisted his broom onto his shoulder.

"Peppermint Imp," Harry intoned, causing the stone gargoyle to jump out of the way. He was visiting Dumbledore's office for his last meeting of the term. The lost Quidditch match had already been forgotten as students prepared for their end of term exams, and Harry had soon realized he had been the only Gryffindor who blamed him for the loss. Everything had returned to normal once Ron had cooled down about the locker room episode and began speaking to both Harry and Ginny again.

"Good evening, Harry," Dumbledore greeted without looking up from his desk. "I suppose you would like me to ok your final exam plans before we commence with your final occlumency lesson."

"Yes, sir," Harry replied, taking his usual squashy seat in front of the desk. Fawkes, as always, alighted on his knee and seemed to take great delight in the few moments Harry spent stroking his fiery feathers. Once the Phoenix had returned to his perch, Harry handed his detailed lesson plans over to Dumbledore. "I'm planning practical exams, like Professor Lupin gave in my third year. I'm going to need to dig up a few boggarts, a hinkypunk, and a grindylow, but Hagrid said he'd give me a hand with those."

Dumbledore read over Harry's plans, his eyes slightly magnified behind his half moon spectacles. "Very impressive, Harry. I have always been partial to practical exams myself. They show the students know both theory and execution, which is very important, especially when concerning the Dark Arts."

"Thank you, sir."

After their Occlumency lesson, in which Harry finally felt confident that Voldemort wouldn't be able to manipulate or steal any information from his mind, Harry sat back to hear the latest news on the war. He helped himself to a lemon drop as Dumbledore filled him in on what had happened during the last Order meeting.

"Voldemort has been surprisingly quiet over the last few weeks," Dumbledore explained. "In an open war, that is never a good sign. Professor Snape suspects that Voldemort is planning a large attack, but he doesn't know when or where. It seems that Voldemort is getting more and more selective about whom he gives detailed information to. He's begun to suspect that there is a spy in his midst, so no Death Eater will ever know all the information until right before the attack."

"So where do you think he's going to attack, sir?"

"I can only speculate, Harry. There are many targets: Azkaban, Gringotts, Diagon Alley, the Ministry, St. Mungo's, even Hogwarts isn't out of the question."

"He wouldn't attack Hogwarts, would he? We're surrounded by Aurors and enchantments preventing anyone who isn't a student or teacher from using magic."

"Never assume anything Harry. Voldemort isn't stupid; he won't attack unless he feels he has a strong chance of winning, or at least doing a substantial amount of damage without losing too many allies. Just like his attack on Hogsmeade."

Harry made his way back to the Gryffindor common room, wondering what exactly Voldemort was planning. In the following days, though, his final exams took precedence in his thoughts. There were endless essays to write and reviewing to be done, as well as his obstacle courses to set up. After three days of searching old cabinets and desks he finally procured three Boggarts to test his students with.

Once exams were over, Hogwarts students flocked out on the grounds in order to enjoy the increasingly nice weather. Tonks joined Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione down by the lake one afternoon, after having been relieved from her Auror duties.

"Still no leads on what Voldemort is planning?" Harry prodded.

Tonks shook her head as she sent a stone skimming out across the lake. "There hasn't been a peep out of him. No attacks anywhere…he's waiting for something, I just wish I knew what."

"You don't think he'd attack the Hogwarts Express, do you?" Hermione asked, slightly nervously.

"If he tries he'll find he has quite a fight," Tonks replied. "There will be at least a dozen Aurors guarding it from the air, and six more on the train. It's also covered in anti-apparition spells, so I'd like to see them try."

Despite Tonks's reassurance, Harry still couldn't shake the feeling that Voldemort's attack was imminent. As he sat in the Gryffindor common room that night, he mused over the possible ways Voldemort could get at Hogwarts or the train.

"Relax, Harry," said Ron. "You-Know-Who knows he can't get into Hogwarts. He'd have a better chance at Gringotts."

"Yeah, it isn't like he kidnapped Fred and George and forced them to reveal all the secret passages they were always bragging about knowing," Ginny quipped, causing Hermione and Ron to laugh.

But Harry was suddenly struck with an idea. "I think I know how he's going to do it," Harry gushed. "I'll be right back." He sprinted for the staircase, sending three second- year students scattering. A few seconds later he came barreling back down with the Marauders Map clamped in his hand. Slapping it down on the table, he hurriedly smacked it with his wand, whispering, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

As the ink materialized he began pointing out the secret passages in and out of the castle. "Peter knows about all these passages, he helped make the map. He can tell Voldemort where they are and the Death Eaters would be able to sneak in."

"But Harry," replied Hermione, "Dumbledore knows about them too, because Professor Lupin knows about them. I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't have allowed the passages to go unguarded."

Harry calmed down a bit as Hermione's cool logic sunk in. She was right, as usual. The Aurors who guarded the grounds, halls, and Hogsmeade had, no doubt, been informed of the passages. He had just folded the map back up and put it in his pocket when a fourth year student came running into the common room.

"There's smoke in Hogsmeade…they're under attack again!"

Instantly, all the students jumped up and ran for the portrait hole, clambering in order to get out into the castle and find windows facing Hogsmeade. Harry and Ginny followed closely behind Ron and Hermione, who were using their prefect status to cut to the front of the line. They ran down the corridors, skidding to a stop at the nearest set of windows that looked out towards Hogsmeade. Huge billows of smoke were wafting up from the town, and Harry could hear distant bangs and screams on the wind. Aurors were running from the Hogwarts gates and grounds, Disapparating into the town as soon as they were past Hogwarts's magical barrier while others raced on broom sticks.

"It's a diversion," Harry breathed.

"What?" demanded Ron.

"It's a diversion," Harry said louder. "The attack on Hogsmead is meant to draw away Aurors and professors, so they can attack Hogwarts."

"Harry, that's not possible. The Death Eaters can't use magic in the castle."

"Then they found a way around that, Hermione. We need to get the Aurors back here and contact the Order."

"Harry, you're scaring the first years," Ginny interrupted.

Harry looked up at the crowd of Gryffindors that had gathered at the windows. "Everyone back to the common room," he bellowed. "You'll be safe there."

The first and second years immediately started running for the portrait of the Fat Lady, followed by several third and fourth years. The rest, however, didn't move.

"Didn't you hear me," Harry yelled again, becoming angry. "The Death Eaters mean to attack Hogwarts directly."

"And we mean to help," Neville replied, stepping forward. A chorus of agreement sounded behind him.

"No," replied Harry. "This isn't some classroom exercise, the Death Eaters will be using real curses, unforgivables."

"Is that all your classes were, then?" Neville demanded, taking several steps closer to Harry. "I thought you were trying to prepare us for the war."

"Not for the war now," Harry responded desperately. "I meant for when you leave Hogwarts."

"I leave Hogwarts in two days," said Katie Bell. "I don't think two days will make much of a difference."

"Our blood won't be on your hands if we die," Dean continued. "We choose to stay and fight."

Harry sighed in frustration. "Fine, but only fifth years and over."

The third and fourth years started to yell. Neville let out a surprisingly high pitched whistle and they quieted down. "I need someone to protect the youngest students," Harry continued. "I want you to guard the common room. Teach the first and second years hexes and defense spells." Still grumbling, the students accepted Harry's orders and retreated to the common room.

"Now what, Harry?" asked Ginny.

"We need to get help. Who here can Apparate?"

Most of the seventh years raised their hands. "Katie, I need you to get out of Hogwarts and Apparate to the Ministry. Tell them what is happening, and raise hell until they do something about it."

Katie nodded solemnly and started moving toward the staircase.

"Wait," Harry called. He was looking out the window. He could see a mass of dark shapes marching towards Hogwarts from Hogsmead. "You'll never make it on foot, Accio invisibility cloak and Firebolt!"

It took a minute, but finally his cloak and broomstick came hurtling toward him. "Here," he said, thrusting them at Katie. "Use these."

She looked at him incredulously. "You have an invisibility cloak and you're giving it to me at a time like this?"

"I'm not going to use it. Not unless it could cover all of us. I fight in the open," Harry responded. "Now go."

Katie jumped onto the window ledge and pushed open the glass. She mounted the broom and threw the cloak around her and was gone from sight.

"You," he pointed to another seventh year boy. "Find Professor McGonagall and tell her that Harry says the Death Eaters are moving to attack Hogwarts, contact the Order." He looked at Harry with a confused expression. "It doesn't matter if you know what it means, she will. If you can't find McGonagall find Flitwick, if you can't find him, Snape." The boy sprinted off in the direction of McGonagall's office.

Harry immediately pulled out the Marauder's Map and opened it. It was impossible to know what passages the Death Eaters might use. "We're going to have to guard all the passages except for these two, since they are caved in, and the one under the Whomping Willow. We'll also need to guard the front entrance." He looked around. Once divided, it left them only about five students at each passage and the entrance.

"What about getting students from other houses?" Ginny asked, seemingly reading Harry's mind.

Harry hated drawing anyone else into a battle. He shook his head. "This lot volunteered, but I don't want to ask other students to do the same."

"Then what if we didn't guard the passages?" Hermione responded. "What if we destroyed them instead? Cave them in with spells so the Death Eaters can only come in one way?"

"You're brilliant, Hermione," shouted Harry, rolling the map up again.

He began leading the group toward the main corridor, from which they would split up and destroy the passages. However, it was already clogged with students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, who were crowding the windows that faced Hogsmead.

"Harry, do you know what is going on?" asked Luna, running over to the group.

"The Death Eaters are attacking Hogsmead as a distraction. They are going to try and attack Hogwarts directly." He pointed out the window at the dark mass that was growing closer. Spells illuminated the darkening sky, showing masked figures.

"We're going to fight, then," Luna replied, pulling her wand out from behind her ear.

"Any fifth year or above who wants to," Harry replied. "I left the Gryffindor third and fourth years to guard the younger students in the common rooms."

Luna turned around, and in a commanding voice yelled, "you heard him. Fourth years and below back to the common room, anyone else who wants to fight stay here."

As the students dispersed, Harry found his army had grown considerably. This wasn't turning out the way he had wanted. He was about to order everyone to move out to destroy the passages when there was a shout from down the hall.

"Potter!"

Harry turned to see a small group of Slytherin's walking toward them. He recognized the tall, dark boy at the front: Blaise Zambini.

"What do you want, Zambini?" Ron hissed, taking several steps forward with his wand out.

"Potter, call off your guard dog," Zambini replied. He kept his wand lowered. "We're here to help."

"If we needed your help we'd just shoot ourselves in the back," Ron replied.

"I wasn't speaking to you, Weasley," returned Zambini.

"What sort of help are you offering?" Harry asked cautiously.

"The sort that will keep this castle from falling to You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters," Zambini replied.

"And why would you want to help us with that?" Ginny interrupted.

"Do not assume that simply because we are Slytherins that we follow the Dark Lord. I do not hide my contempt for Muggle-Borns, but I do not agree with You-Know-Who's politics. So do you want our help or not?"

"I'll take as much help as I can get," Harry replied. "But I warn you now, if any of you raise a wand toward another student here…"

"You have my word, Potter, that we intend to fight only Death Eaters." He stretched his hand to Harry. "If we shake, that's a magically binding contract, Potter."

Harry reached his hand out to take Zambini's. "I accept your help then." Once they shook, Harry withdrew his hand quickly. "How did you know I was going to fight?"

"It's you, isn't it?" Zambini replied smoothly. "You're always there, somehow. We knew there would be an attack, because Malfoy warned everyone to stay in the common room and out of the way."

Harry was suddenly struck with another revelation. "That's how the Death Eaters will be able to use magic." He turned to Hermione and Ron. "Do you remember the first day back, Malfoy gave the Aurors all that lip until they explained what spell it was, the sneaky little ferret. He's spent the whole year figuring out how the Death Eaters can get around the defense spells." Harry turned back to Zambini. "Did he say what exactly is planned?" Harry asked, unable to hide his excitement at possibly gaining the information.

Zambini shook his head. "He's promised that once the Dark Lord has control of the castle the Slytherins will be top dogs. It's disgusting, the way he prances around our common room like he owns it. And why? Because the little coward has become a spy, not that he had a choice; the Dark Lord would have killed him if he'd said no. That's all we know. So enough talk, Potter, here's your one chance to tell us what to do and we'll obey."

Harry spelled out the plan quickly and the groups dispersed in all directions, promising to meet up in the entrance hall once they had completed their missions at the passage ways.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get up. Hopefully the jumps in time weren't too confusing. Don't forget to leave me a review telling me what you thought. Final two chapters in a few weeks.