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Hogsmeade village looked like a ghost town in the misty darkness. It wasn't lit up and brimming with life the way the Gryffindor Trio expected it to be as they approached. The Scottish highlands were still a lot colder than the rest of Britain this time of year, especially at night, and Draco secretly regretted leaving his scarf at Shell Cottage. Hermione and he split up from Harry and Ron and approach the Hog's Head Inn separately. Despite their recent falling out, Draco and Hermione were still accustomed to being partners just as Harry and Ron were.

As soon as they stepped into Hogsmeade, a Caterwauling Charm activated and their ears were assaulted by loud screeching noises. Death Eaters in the village immediately began summoning their comrades to the perimeter and Draco and Hermione ducked into an alleyway before they could be spotted. Heavy footfalls were getting louder and Hermione could almost hear her heart thumping wildly in her chest.

Draco nudged her in the shoulder and signaled her to follow before climbing seamlessly over a metal fence. Hermione did the same but was a lot slower and her muscles cramped as she lifted herself over the top. She felt Draco's hands on her waist as he helped her lower to the ground on the other side. She had half a mind to shake him off and say she didn't need his help. However, even in this moment of danger, the urge to be close to him was persistent and spellbinding. Draco on the other hand was either unaffected or pretended to be as he took the lead. They snuck further into the village and cast Disillusionment Charms on themselves whenever a Death Eater came too close to discovering them.

With no small amount of luck, they managed to reach the side door of the Hog's Head undetected. Draco banged on the door and the owner, a bearded and weary wizard they had met before in passing, let them in. The Hog's Head Inn was an unkempt and deteriorating place for vagabonds and shady dealings. Its uninviting scent of hay, mold, and goats made Draco's insides lurch. He grimaced and remarked, "What a dump," just out of the owner's earshot and Hermione pinched him in the arm. The two were led up the stairs into private quarters where they found Harry and Ron anxiously awaiting their arrival. "Didn't expect to be up to our ears in Death Eater patrols," said Ron. "The town must've been reinforced."

"How did you manage to sneak by?" Hermione asked.

"We used Harry's Invisibility Cloak and a funny thing happened…"

Harry explained, "A Death Eater used Accio Cloak on the street to try and find us but nothing happened."

"That's no ordinary Invisibility Cloak, mate. Whoever made it is a genius."

"The DA was lucky to have the owner here help them out all this time. I could've sworn it was Dumbledore when I first saw him."

Death Eaters were still shouting all across the village in search of the young Order members as they spent a bit of time exploring the living quarters. Hermione examined the nearby painting of a sweet young girl while Harry approached a mirror on the mantelpiece. He recalled what he had said and pulled out the shard of his two-way mirror Sirius had given him. He stared at his reflection in the shard, then at the mirror and saw his own face from the shard's point of view. "Of course!" He finally understood that it wasn't his late Headmaster he had been seeing through the shard. It was his younger brother.

The inn's owner hurried into the room and spoke gruffly, "Bloody fools! What were you thinking, entering Hogsmeade at this time?"

"You're Aberforth, aren't you?" said Harry. "Brother to Professor Dumbledore?" The old wizard grumbled to himself, neither confirming nor denying Harry's claim. "Where did you get this mirror?"

"Bought it from Mundungus a while back."

"It wasn't his to sell…" Harry held up his shard. "It's you I've been seeing in here. You sent Dobby to save us at Malfoy Manor a year ago."

"Mmm. How is Dobby? I like that elf."

"Alive and well."

"You've stirred up Dolohov's whole troop coming here."

"I thought Dolohov was further south," Ron remarked.

"Him and his troop were transferred here this morning, which can only spell trouble for the good folks in this town." A loud ruckus could be heard outside and Aberforth pointed at the lamp next to Draco. "Douse that light!" He complied, Aberforth doused the others, and the room was shrouded in darkness. Everyone peered through the grimy windows.

Death Eaters were gathering in the street below and entering the row house across from the Inn. A few tense moments passed and Marcus Flint, Lucian Bole, and Terence Higgs emerged, forcibly dragging a family of three along with them. Only Aberforth knew who the family was at first for their faces were at a distance and shrouded in darkness. It appeared to be two middle-aged parents and their daughter, who was a witch of-age and shared the same hazel-brown head of hair as her mother. They were forced to their knees before Dolohov and Rookwood. The chilling cold of the outside wasn't the sole cause of their bodies trembling as Dolohov paced before them wearing an impatient, antagonizing look. He wordlessly cast an Amplifying Charm on the street so the whole village could hear them. "What do you want from us, ya bastards?" the father demanded. "We didn't activate the Caterwauling Charm! We haven't done anything to justify this!"

"Oh, but you have," Rookwood uttered. "You see, the good folks of this town are all fed up with disturbances from the rumored Hogsmeade camp and it's common knowledge that your sons, all three of them, are Aurors fighting for the Order. You are responsible because you didn't forbid them from joining the wretched side of Blood-traitors and Mudbloods. We ought to punish you!"

"Rookwood, sir!" the mother cried with clasped, pleading hands. "Spare us, please! We haven't received a letter from any of them in months! We don't even know if they're still alive!"

Rookwood replied, "The fact that you still harbor sentiment for them is shameful! They're the enemy! They could be the ones trying to enter Hogsmeade right now, perhaps in an attempt to break into Hogwarts and convince its impressionable students to join their wretched cause!"

Overwhelmed by stress, the daughter burst into tears and felt her father's arms wrap around her. "Stay calm, Em," she was told. "Everything will be fine." He then addressed Rookwood in a panic, "We've renounced them! We've renounced our own children! What more do you want?"

Rookwood turned to Dolohov and received a dark, humored stare before addressing the whole village. "We call upon the Order cowards who have entered Hogsmeade to surrender to us immediately! If not, well… the Doleres here will pay the price!" He turned back to the terrified family and fiendishly uttered, "Let's see if your sons find their way home."

Back in the upper floor of the Hog's Head Inn, Harry grew distressed. He turned to the others and whispered hoarsely, "We have to stop this!"

"No way you can do that," Aberforth stated grimly. "Do you see how many are down there?"

"We activated the Caterwauling Charms. The family down there had nothing to do with it!"

"And yet even if you surrender yourself, they'll still be killed. Death Eaters have had it in for the Doleres for a long time now. All you can do is watch, like the rest of the village, as the consequences of you coming here unfold." Harry reluctantly turned his gaze back to the street below.

A few tense moments passed as the Death Eaters waited. All the windows in the village were blacked out though they'd occasionally spot a few residents sneaking a peak. Marcus Flint, Lucian Bole, and Terence Higgs were standing behind the family of three with their wands drawn and eyes fixed on the two Death Eater leaders. Rookwood eventually turned to his friend Dolohov and shrugged. Dolohov then signaled the three young executioners with a nod and they raised their wands. Marcus Flint and Lucian Bole ran their wands seamlessly along their trembling captives' throats –slicing them open with silent incantations of the Severing Charm–and shoved them forward. The daughter let out an eardrum-piercing scream of anguish as her parents fell into the mud and bled out before her. She scuttled to the spot between her parents and palmed both of their faces with shaking hands.

As she howled and wept, Terence Higgs immediately felt the eyes of every Death Eater in the village burn through his skull. The young witch was supposed to be his first kill but when the tip of his wand had reached her neck, he hesitated. "Terry, what are you waiting for?" Marcus Flint yelled. "Do it!"

"Hold on!" Dolohov blared. He turned to a few senior Death Eaters under his command and asked, "She'll do, won't she?" They eagerly nodded, approached, and tore her away from her parents' bodies in spite of her best attempts to stay by their side. They were too strong for her.

Dolohov drew his wand, pointed it at the sky, and incanted, "MORSMORDRE!" A green spell shot into the air and produced a giant, ominous skull with a snake slithering out of its mouth. It loomed over the whole village and marked the scene of the crime. Finally, the Death Eater troop marched down the street toward their barracks, taking the wailing daughter along with them.

"What will they do to her?" Harry asked, ending the perturbed silence.

"The worst you can imagine," Aberforth grimly replied. He then proceeded to light the lamps around the room with flicks of his wand while everyone else kept looking out the window. "The community will find and take good care of her… if she survives that is."

"They did it in view of the whole village!" Hermione exclaimed. "Why doesn't anyone do something? They should be outraged by such barbarity!"

"The message is clear. Anyone who dares rise up against You-Know-Who will face the consequences."

"It's brilliant what they do." The trio jerked their heads away from the windows and glared at the person who spoke.

"Are you barmy?" Ron asked. "What they do is foul and evil!"

Draco kept looking at the dark mark through the window and responded coolly, "Evil or not, it's brilliant. It's so outrageous it scares everyone into submission. Don't ever underestimate the Dark Lord or his followers." He finally turned to look the redhead plainly in the eye. "Never been in his presence have you, Weasley? He traps you with fear. You can't move. Can't think. Your hands shake…" Harry immediately recalled the night he attended Voldemort's resurrection in the graveyard. His mere presence conjured feelings of cold hopelessness similar to a Dementor's. It was no wonder he had managed to ally with them. Draco continued, "This is the same man who has put enough fear behind a name that no one dares speak it. The sooner you acknowledge your enemy's intelligence, the sooner you'll find a way to win."

"It seems young Malfoy here has more sense than the rest of you. No delusions. You better leave before daybreak. Head back to the Hogsmeade camp."

"We're not leaving," said Harry as he strode to the middle of the room. "We need to get into Hogwarts."

"Don't be stupid, boy."

"Your brother gave us a job to do. One that will end the war."

Aberforth smirked patronizingly as he sauntered to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of fire whiskey. "Nice job? Easy?" He chuckled to himself, took a seat in a worn-out cushion chair before them, and began, "In carrying out his grand plans with Grindelwald to bring the Muggle world to its knees, Albus had a habit of putting others in harm's way. Those he professed to love and care about." He noted a look of denial on Harry's face. "Oh yes. Albus tried his hand at obtaining ultimate power too and didn't bother hiding feelings of superiority over non-magical folk. Now he's dead and has led you here from the grave as part of his clever schemes, I'm sure. You're an errand boy. A pawn in my brother's chess game against You-Know-Who… Forget it. Leave the country. Leave the war. You owe him nothing."

"Dumbledo- your brother figured out how to defeat You-Know-Who once and for all. I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust him."

"Trust? You think he was being completely honest with you? Kept secrets, he did. He certainly fashioned himself a sparkling reputation as teacher and headmaster at Hogwarts, but I knew my brother well. The last time I trusted him was the day our sister, Ariana, died."

Aberforth gestured to the painting behind them with his glass and everyone took a glance. The young girl smiled at everyone and Hermione recognized the sadness in her eyes. She felt compelled to ask, "What happened to her?"

Aberforth drank from his glass and took his time to begin for it was not an easy story to tell… "Ariana needed care and love more than anything else. Muggles had attacked her when she was very young, you see. They saw her perform magic and wanted to see more… as if she was a circus player. The trauma they caused made her lose control of her sanity and magic. Our father was infuriated so he cursed the bastards and got locked up in Azkaban for it. Over the next few years, our mother and I took care of her as best we could. Mother couldn't calm her down–get her to control her magic–the way I could. I was away one day when Ariana had one of her rages and our mother wasn't strong enough to prevent what happened next… She was accidentally killed, our poor mother." The audience in the room couldn't help but feel sympathy for the Dumbledore children, who had become parentless at that point. Aberforth stood from his chair and walked over to the liquor cabinet. Wiry grey strands of hair hid his sorrowful eyes as he put the glass back where it was.

"Guilt almost destroyed Ariana and she became more volatile than ever. My brother returned and helped me give her the love and care she needed. She was recovering… that is until he invited Grindelwald to our home. Grindelwald stirred up his lust for power and tore him away from Ariana. One day, I protested against what they planned to do and Grindelwald drew his wand. Albus confronted him and all three of us began to duel each other. Ariana couldn't calm herself amid the violence and let out a torrent of magic... To this day, I don't know which of us ended my sweet sister's life, but I'll never forgive Albus for it."

A solemn silence passed before Hermione spoke belligerently, "You said your brother confronted Grindelwald, perhaps to protect you. How could you blame him for Arianna's death?"

The old wizard turned to her and explained hoarsely, "You don't understand yet, do you? Albus' greed caused her death. He brought Grindelwald into our home, along with his schemes for world-domination. So Grindelwald washed his hands of the incident and left to build a powerful regime in Europe by himself. When my brother finally defeated him, he let another despot far worse spring up in his place... From what I've seen in all my years, power shifts from one man to another, violence echoes endlessly over time, and war is always over the horizon… for all of us."

Harry spoke with youthful optimism, "We can change that. What always has been doesn't always have to be and we can't just give up hope. Tell us how to get in to Hogwarts and we can end it."

"Don't be a fool, boy! Your actions have already caused the death of one family! Is that not enough?"

"We didn't do it!" Hermione interjected. "Death Eaters committed the crime."

"I've heard that before: Order members deflecting responsibility for their mistakes, lessening the burden on their shoulders. Most of the Order believes it can win the war without using the Killing Curse. I say again, a war! You arrive for battle swearing not to kill but you still bring death with you! The bodies lying in the street below are evidence enough! No chance! The Order's finished and I'm finished with Order!"

Harry grew frustrated. "How can you say that? Didn't you hear what happened at the Ministry? The Order stands for good!"

"The Ministry uprising didn't change a thing and you want to know why? Because the Order's comprised of do-gooders who refuse to forsake their principles and fight tooth and nail with these men."

Draco and Hermione immediately locked eyes across the room and the young Slytherin's brow rose haughtily. Hermione turned to Aberforth and argued, "Forsaking principles is what they do! Principles are what separates us from them."

Aberforth looked careless as he replied, "Be that as it may, You-Know-Who is still one step ahead despite the Order's victories. War is a matter of doing what your enemy won't. Escalation. Blood has to be spilt, sacrifices have to be made, and souls have to be torn. Young lady, if you're not up to the task, you should flee the country; come back when you have thicker skin. I am resolved to sit quietly and wait until You-Know-Who's regime fades away with time. Less innocent blood will be shed that way." Aberforth headed to the door and said, "You can rest here for a few hours, but you must be gone by sunrise."

"You may have forgotten this," Harry began, stopping Aberforth in his tracks, "but the Order still believes that the world can change for better. We owe it to everyone who's been killed to finish what they started, otherwise my parents and your brother died for nothing." Aberforth turned to look the young man in the eye and saw the pain he had endured in the past from losing those he loved. With earnest conviction, Harry uttered, "I don't care that you've given up… We need to get into the castle tonight and I know you know the way."

After silent contemplation, Aberforth grunted in resignation, leisurely grabbed a rickety wooden chair nearby, and approached Ariana's portrait. He set the chair before her, placed his hand on the frame, and regarded her almost worshipfully. She gave him a warm look of approval as he slowly pulled the frame aside to reveal the entrance of a dark, windy tunnel. "Your way in…" The old wizard addressed Harry specifically, "Can you promise me something, for Ariana's sake?" Harry nodded slowly. "Avoid spilling more innocent blood on your journey. Merlin knows there's been enough of that already…" Aberforth left the room at that.

"Well, he was somethin' else," Ron quietly remarked to the others in the room. "Let's be off then, hey?" He strode over to the entrance, took one step onto the chair and another into the tunnel. He then turned around, held his hand out, and helped Hermione and then Harry climb in. Draco was the last to enter and when he took a step onto the chair, there was a loud creaking noise. "Need to lose a few, Malfoy," Ron teased with a smile and an outstretched arm.

Draco wore an irritable look and ignored Ron's offer of help as he climbed in. "Speak for yourself, Weasley," he remarked as he stood up and dusted off.

The tunnel was so narrow the group could only travel in single file. Ron lit his wand and led the way with Hermione following close behind. Harry was third in line and Draco closed the entrance behind them.

"I wonder if the DA's still active in Hogwarts," Ron remarked after traversing the tunnel in silence for five minutes, his voice echoing. "We could really use their help finding the Horcrux."

Hermione spoke, "Who would still be running it though? Most of the DA left the school and are now fighting for the Order."

"Neville and Ginny could've recruited from the younger years before they left."

"Snape and the Carrows might have also cracked down on the DA over the past year."

"I think there's still a good chance."

"We'll find out soon enough, Ron."

They had travelled some distance ahead of Harry when the scar on his forehead began to hurt. It felt like the pain was burning through his skull and he tried soothing it with his hand. Suddenly, his mind connected to Voldemort's. It took a while to recognize his surroundings because it was very dark. From the jagged walls and flowing water, Harry discerned that Voldemort had arrived on the island in the cave where he had hidden Salazar Slytherin's locket. He approached the basin on the island with distress. When he discovered that his Horcrux was missing, he let out an infuriated yell, which echoed through the cave before Harry lost connection and returned to the tunnel. His scar still burned and he leaned against the tunnel wall to nurse it.

Draco strolled past and smirked to himself. "More fainting spells, Potter? Get it together why don't you."

Harry explained with labored breath, "I saw into You-Know-Who's head again. He knows we're hunting Horcruxes. He's getting angry and scared. If anything, he's more dangerous." Draco stood before him and looked genuinely concerned at that.

"Ever wonder why you have this connection to him?" he asked.

"All the time. It's not like I enjoy being in his head." When the pain finally ebbed away, Harry stood upright and said, "I'm alright now."

Draco scoffed and uttered sarcastically, "Thank, Merlin. I was worried sick." He turned around and strolled further down the tunnel. Harry jogged to catch up and awkward silence passed between them. The slope steepened and the tunnel wove toward the school like a snake.

Ron and Hermione were still ahead and out of earshot when Harry finally uttered, "All that stuff Aberforth said got me thinking. You changed sides because you've always known that what You-Know-Who does is too horribly wrong to ignore. Aberforth helped the DA all last year. I think he'll eventually rejoin the fight."

Is that your gut talking again?" Draco asked over his shoulder.

"Yeah."

"You're right about why I changed sides. Death Eaters are filth. They're the ones that need to be cleansed from the earth, not Muggle-borns."

"…At least Hermione isn't the only reason you're here."

Draco's face was hidden from view when he proclaimed, "She has nothing to do with why I'm here."

"Really?" Harry asked disbelievingly. "Still won't admit you're in love with her?"

"I was never in love with her. I joined the Order to kill Death Eaters, defeat the Dark Lord, and end the war."

"I think love is the underlying thing that drives the Order of the Phoenix. You-Know-Who and his followers are driven by hate."

"Love is a weakness. It's no wonder the Order's still losing."

"First time I fell in love was at the sight of Hogwarts. Do you really think that's a weakness?"

"I think it's weird. I think you're weird."

"Every time I come back feels like I'm entering another world. We were kids back then, harmless and innocent enough, and I think many of us have lost sight of that as adults."

"Blaise said the same thing just before he died… It doesn't matter. The older you get, the more you'll find that the world isn't as wondrous and magical as you thought. Look at Hogwarts now, administered by Death Eaters and patrolled by Dementors."

"It can still go back to the way it was. There's a magical power in love that you don't know about. My parents' love protected me from You-Know-Who the first time in Godric's Hollow and a few times after that. You haven't seen this kind of magic yet, maybe you don't want to, but I have. I think it's what's going to end this war and save the world."

"Delusions, Potter. We're living in a world that's blowing itself to hell as fast as everyone can arrange it. Think about it. Love didn't save your parents, did it? Didn't stop the train that ran Blaise over. That's what death is: a train that won't stop for anyone, not the Dark Lord, not even you–entitled as you are. It'll run along the endless track of time and pick us all up along the way, even after the love in our lives fades. It's bad luck for most of us and inevitable for the rest."

Harry was stunned to silence by Draco's words. He didn't want to accept them as truth, didn't want his worldview to crumble before his eyes, because all that would be left was the grim reality of his life, which had been marred by tragedy since he was just an infant. He had to hope that another, better world than the one Draco described existed for all of them.

"I think we've reached the end," Ron announced up ahead and he and Hermione waited for Harry and Draco to catch up. Ron extinguished his Wand-Lighting Charm and all they could see was pitch-blackness before light dimly outlining a door at the end of the tunnel became visible. They could hear chatting and movement but did not know what was on the other side.

Harry drew his wand, summoned up his courage, and opened the door to peek through. A creaking sound from the rusty hinges made Harry freeze and the room on the other side went silent. A few seconds passed and the door swung open to reveal a Gryffindor student holding his wand readily and looking curious. His eyes lit up when he recognized who had arrived. "HARRY!" the oddly familiar student exclaimed with a delighted, deep voice.

When Harry actually recognized the considerably changed young wizard, his eyes lit up too. "Nigel!" he uttered with surprise and a growing smile.

Nigel turned around and expressed in excitement, "Hey, everyone! He's back! Harry Potter's back!" A group of students had gathered behind him and began to cheer wildly when they caught a glimpse of Harry. The spectacled wizard stepped down from the tunnel exit and blushed heavily as he was overwhelmed by hugs, pats on the back, and handshake after handshake. "Boy-Who-Lived, Chosen One, Tri-wizard Champion… They worship him," Draco scornfully remarked to Ron and Hermione as they joined the crowd amid cheers and whistles.

"Harry's a hero, Malfoy. What's wrong with that?" Ron asked with a smile.

"You were right about this war being like a chess game, Weasley. What'll happen if Potter's killed?"

"Don't be so jealous," Hermione scolded.

"I'm not jealous," he replied irritably.

The four Order members had entered a huge chamber filled with hammocks, cots, chairs, and tables where the DA had taken refuge. Many students the trio had come to know and mentor had grown into young adults since they had left. Nigel Wolpert, a fifth-year now, was practically a young man and his appearance took them completely by surprise. Harry felt compelled to ask him, "Where are we?"

"The Room Of Requirement, of course!" he replied. "It helped Dumbledore's Army at the beginning; it helps us still!"

"It's great that you kept the DA going, Nigel. Bloody brilliant!"

"Wasn't alone," Nigel remarked and gestured to two other Gryffindor students in the crowd, Jimmy Peakes and Natalie McDonald. The trio remembered them from Nigel's year and the two smiled with pride as Nigel spoke, "Jimmy and Nat are the leaders also. Been causing as much trouble as we can for Snape and the Carrows, just as Neville and Ginny did. Just as you did!" The trio scanned the crowd some more and was pleased to see Eleanor Branstone and Laura Madley, two Hufflepuffs. There was also Orla Quirke and Stewart Ackerley, two Ravenclaws. However, the Order members, Draco included, were especially surprised to see Malcolm Baddock and Graham Pritchard, two Slytherin students, among the crowd. They approached Draco and held their hands out to him. A moment of confusion passed for Draco before he shook them. "Malfoy, sir. It's a surprise and an honor to see you back in Hogwarts," Malcolm uttered with a sincere look of admiration.

"I'm… just as surprised to see you here, with the DA," Draco replied.

Malcolm explained, "We heard that you changed sides. We thought it was just rumors, but when we also heard that you fought with the Order when they burned down the Manor, we joined the DA right away."

"Who else knows about the Manor burning down?" Draco asked with veiled concern.

"The whole school, I think," Stewart replied and Draco had a sinking feeling in his gut. "The news came from kids of Death Eaters in You-Know-Who's inner circle. Watch out for them; they can be real nasty at times. They're all prefects and they usually have a hand in helping the Carrows torture first years in the dungeons."

Malcolm spoke, "The Slytherin house is bigger than any other, almost half the school now, but that's only because Muggle-borns aren't allowed in. Parents also pulled a lot of their kids out after the first year. There are a few Death Eater kids in the other three houses. It's a lot trickier to figure out which ones…"

The conversation went on and Ron spoke among the others, "Slytherins in the DA. Who'd a thought?"

Nigel spoke, "Yeah. The DA had some bad arguments when were deciding whether or not to let them join… A couple members left, but as Slughorn told us when they did, it sorted the prejudiced from the non-prejudiced in our own group."

"Slughorn's been helping the DA?" Harry asked.

"Yeah and he's Head of Slytherin! Everyone in the DA now sees Slytherin as not all bad. Have a look…" He gestured to the wall nearby where the tapestries of all four houses–Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin–hung under a large, shining Hogwarts school crest.

As soon as Draco ended his chat with the two young Slytherins, Ron snuck to his side and quietly joked, "Harry's not the only one with fans now, is he?" Draco shoved him away but failed to hide a slight smirk.

"So why'd you come, Harry?" Nigel finally asked.

"We're looking for an object You-Know-Who's hidden in the castle."

"Great! We'll help you find it! What does it look like?"

"Well, it's small… easily concealed… and has something to do with Ravenclaw."

"Ummm… okay." Nigel turned to the crowd with a helpless look. "Any ideas?"

Orla Quirke raised her hand and shouted, "Ooo! Oooo! It could be Rowena Ravenclaw's lost Diadem!"

"That's been lost for centuries, Orla," Stewart Ackerley chided.

"Exactly!"

"What does it look like?" Harry asked.

"We can show you!" said Orla. "There's a portrait of Rowena wearing it in our common room!"

The two Ravenclaws headed to the chamber's exit and quarreled with each other about the Diadem's existence along the way. The Order members followed and Nigel ruefully asked after them, "So we're not taking back Hogwarts?"

Harry turned around and spoke, "Sorry, Nigel. We just need that object. Don't want any unnecessary bloodshed."

Nigel ran after them. "We can still buy you time to look! We can distract the prefect patrols!"

"Alright! But be careful!" The DA leaders quickly gave the students orders and suddenly the whole chamber was bustling with activity. Nigel eventually joined the four Order members waiting at a secret exit with the two Ravenclaw students while everyone else filed out of the main entrance. A few minutes passed before he signaled everyone to follow him into the seventh floor corridor.

The school's halls were dimly lit and a lot colder than Harry remembered. It troubled him that this once hallowed and magical place had been tainted by evil. They took a few detours and began to hear faint shouting and fighting as the DA engaged the patrols. Turning one more corridor to reach the grand staircase, they came across an arresting sight. Standing in their way were two prefects, the two Carrow siblings, and Severus Snape, the headmaster.

Both groups were initially stunned to come across each other before they drew their wands and closed the distance between them at a gradually increasing pace. Stewart and Orla were heading to duel the two prefects, Hermione was going to face Alecto alone, Nigel and Draco partnered up to face Amycus, and Harry and Ron partnered up to face Severus. As soon as the groups were in range, a volley of spells was exchanged. Colorful lights soared; spells ricocheted off shields, smashed into walls, and sent tremors along the corridor.

Hermione held her own well against Alecto's viciousness. Draco and Nigel were actually getting the upper hand against her brother, Amycus. Draco didn't bother to disguise himself when he entered the school and Amycus recognized him instantly. "Filthy traitor!" he yelled as they dueled. "You'll pay for what you've done! You and your moron of a father! Cursed to hell!"

Draco broke Amycus' defense and Nigel cast a Stunning Spell. Alecto witnessed her brother fall and quickly pressed her wand on her dark mark. Draco and the other Death Eaters in the corridor clutched their arms as pain seared under their skin. Harry also felt pain from his forehead scar. Voldemort had been signal and the fighting resumed.

Severus was singlehandedly able to keep Harry and Ron at bay despite their best efforts. In the midst of the fight, Harry felt his emotions reach boiling point as he fought the wizard who had killed Dumbledore. He pointed his wand and yelled, "Crucio!" Severus dodged it and cast a nonverbal spell that knocked both Harry and Ron off their feet. Harry hit the ground hard but kept his wand in his grasp. Severus strode toward him. Draco was nearby and could've engaged Severus. He had his wand raised but he didn't move–an act that Harry perceived as cowardice.

Severus' eyes flitted up and he halted mid-stride. Harry looked back and saw McGonagall, Ginny, Lavender, and Remus approach the fight. He spun his head around again and saw Severus fleeing down the corridor. "Coward!" McGonagall cried. Draco ran after him.

Meanwhile, Nigel switched to dueling Alecto. With his help, Hermione was able to stun the dark witch and run after Draco and Severus. The three entered the grand staircase and maneuvered the constantly shifting path downwards. People in the paintings were shouting discouragements and expletives at Severus as he passed. He stepped off a staircase that started shifting to another landing; however, Draco was able to step onto it before it left. Hermione couldn't follow and had to find another way down. Draco reached the ground floor and followed Severus into the Great Hall. When he entered, he was surprised to find Severus standing still before him. It was silent for a few seconds as they caught their breath and tried to determine each other's intentions. "If you really were loyal to the Dark Lord, you would've hexed me by now," Draco quickly reasoned. "In fact, you would've taken me prisoner in that alley. You're a double agent."

Severus turned and strode quickly toward the staff table. Draco followed him as he spoke, "If the Dark Lord discovers this, I will be compromised and killed, which is why you must swear to not reveal this information to anyone."

"How can you help the Order if everyone thinks you're a traitor?"

"I have helped them more than you know."

"You killed Dumbledore!"

"It was according to his plan." Severus climbed the steps in front of the staff table and said, "The Dark Lord will surely assemble all of his forces to find Potter. The Order is coming. A battle is imminent."

Draco spoke quickly, "Are my parents alive? Are they safe?"

At that instant, Severus could hear Hermione's hasty footsteps approaching. "Look after yourself, Draco" he told him. "No one is safe." He swished his wand and hexed Draco right when Hermione appeared at the entrance. She saw him fly back and land hard on the stone floor. Severus then disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, flew up into the air, and smashed through one of the hall's stain-glass windows, escaping the castle.

Hermione reached Draco just as he stood up. "I'm surprised he hadn't already defeated you," she told him.

"Maybe I'm just that skilled of a duelist," Draco haughtily remarked.

"He's far more powerful. You shouldn't have chased after him like that. It's irrational."

"What's it to you?" he asked with a sideways glance.

Hermione was stunned. "I care whether or not you get hurt." Harry, the DA, and other Order members entered the Great Hall as she spoke.

"You don't have to care, Granger," Draco told her just as they arrived.

"The castle is ours!" McGonagall proclaimed. She then ordered Nigel, Orla, and Stewart to summon the Hogwarts staff to the Great Hall and they all ran off excitedly.

"How did you manage to sneak in?" Hermione asked Ginny and Lavender. "Hogsmeade was warded and patrolled."

"The locals are in an uproar over something the Death Eaters did. We arrived with everyone from the Hogsmeade camp as soon as the fighting began. You should've seen it, Hermione; it was amazing!"

"They're still fighting," Lavender added. "McGonagall and Remus have summoned the whole Order to the school! There's gonna be a battle!"

Harry was among the crowd and solemnly spoke, "None of this was part of the plan. We were supposed to sneak in, find the Horcrux, and sneak out."

McGonagall interjected, "Potter, if you intend to find Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem–an artifact that has been lost for ages–you will need us to buy you a lot more time. Furthermore, there is no better place to fight a battle against You-Know-Who than in these walls, where the Order has the advantage." Soon, Horace Slughorn, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, and the rest of the Hogwarts staff appeared in the hall. They all greeted McGonagall with joy and excitement. "Slughorn, Flitwick, Sprout," McGonagall expressed assertively. "You are the heads of the other three houses. Arrange that your students be woken up and assembled in the Great Hall immediately. There's going to be a battle. The rest of the staff ought to begin casting the customary wards and anti-Apparition charms on the castle. You-Know-Who must not find a way in."

"We cannot hold him off indefinitely, Minerva," Flitwick remarked.

"I understand, Filius, but we must do the best we can."

"Wonderful to see you again, Minerva!" Slughorn uttered.

"Likewise, Horace. I hear you have been setting a good example for the students in your house."

"There are a few exceptional young minds, yes. There are many others, however, who are still imprisoned in their minds by You-Know-Who and their Death Eater parents."

"Every under-aged student in the school must be evacuated for his or her safety."

The staff turned to leave and Slughorn smiled warmly when he recognized some of the young Order members in the hall. "Good to see you, Harry! Heh! Miss Granger, Malboy!"

Their former potions professor strolled past and Draco narrowed his eyes. "Malboy? Old fool still can't get my name right!" Ron overheard what he said and burst with laughter.

As the heads of the four houses left the Great Hall, Kingsley entered with over a dozen followers. Despite fretting that his actions had put many lives in danger tonight, Harry was pleased deep down to see a lot of familiar faces such as Neville, Luna, Fleur, the Weasley parents and the rest of their offspring.

"Harry!" Hermione cried over the growing commotion in the hall. "What do we do now?"

"Let's head to Ravenclaw Tower. The sooner we find the Horcrux the better." Hermione nodded and the trio left the hall.

Kingsley marched up to Remus and shook his hand. "Brilliant job assembling the Order, Remus," Kingsley proclaimed. "The whole Order is arriving now. Let us forget our past disagreements and defeat You-Know-Who together! As one!"

"I couldn't agree more, Kingsley! We're brothers in arms!"

Meanwhile, Draco's mind was troubled by what Severus had told him. All of the Dark Lord's forces… no one is safe. What did that mean for him, for all of them? Questions were threatening to tear his mind in half. What was he going to do?

Kingsley caught him standing aimlessly in the crowd. "Draco! Don't just stand there! Help assemble the students!"

"What? Slytherin? They'll tear me apart!"

"Assemble the Ravenclaws then!" Draco looked perplexed. He had never been inside Ravenclaw tower before.

Luna took his hand and spoke tranquilly, "Follow me, Draco. I'll show you the way." She guided him through the commotion as the Order of the Phoenix prepared for battle.

Author's Notes: A fun fact some of you might know: I had attempted this story in 2011, when I was unprepared and had abysmal writing skills. Kicked it off somewhere around chapter 22 and this was as far as I got before I decided to scrap it. After taking a few university English courses and understanding what it means to be a decent writer, I am definitely looking forward to tackling the end.