MARKED
"And Voldemort?" Hermione said.
"I'm going to kill him. And no one else is to try."
THIRTY-SIX: Motive and Reason
"Mr Potter?"
There was a ringing in Harry's ears and his voice had temporarily abandoned him. It was happening at Hogwarts … his beloved Hogwarts … where Ginny was.
"Harry?" Ron probed sharply.
Harry sucked in a mouthful of oxygen realising that he had not been breathing for the last ten seconds.
"What's happening? What do you mean?" he asked hoarsely.
Hopkins tugged at the neck of his shirt, as though trying to get some more air into his parched lungs. "There's … the Dark Mark's been set over the front gates."
Harry felt paralysed. Icy fear flooded the pit of his stomach like poison coursing through his veins. When he spoke it was in a voice he did not even recognise.
"When?"
"Only but a few minutes ago. Those scouts you had watching the castle … they saw a disturbance and sent a message but …"
"But what?"
"We didn't get the full message, sir."
Harry frowned. "Why not?"
"Because … because they were caught and killed. Which probably means that –"
"– Voldemort's got the place secured," Harry said, finishing the sentence for him.
Harry threw his covers back and stood up slowly, rubbing his eyes and swearing under his breath in a whisper.
"Who else knows about this?" he asked Hopkins, who looked positively pale. It was strange; this man had clearly dealt with quite some distressing issues in his work as an Unspeakable, yet now he looked as though it was his first day on the job and he was sixteen years old.
"One Order member back here who received the message … um, myself and two other scouts who were positioned on the other side of the forest."
"They didn't stay?" Harry asked.
"No, I told them to return to their bases."
"Good," Harry said slowly. "OK … OK, here's what we'll do … I want you to get those scouts here as quickly as you can; I need more details. Ron, go and wake everybody up."
"Everybody?"
"Everybody," Harry repeated. "This is … this is him trying to get my attention."
"Yeah? Well it's bloody working," Ron said darkly as he left the room. Harry heard him banging on doors. Hopkins nodded and left also.
Harry started pacing the room again.
What is he doing? Trying to take over the school?
No, he wouldn't risk that. Not yet.
Why not? Dumbledore's not there to protect it anymore. This could be it; he could turn the tables right now.
Maybe he's just trying to get me there.
No, there would have been some kind of message with it, surely …
If he took over the school, nobody would dare challenge him again … he'd have too much influence over … everything.
Harry realised, as he finally stopped his pacing, that this was the moment; the time to stop Voldemort taking complete hold had come. There was no more hiding to be done. If he succeeded in taking the school then all would be lost.
Harry stared into the small mirror above the dressing table in their room; his reflection peered back at him, pale and … young. Too young. Was he really ready?
That's not the issue, he thought. Ready or not, here he comes. It was like a distorted childhood game; a horrible parody gone wrong.
Harry thought, as he stared at his own shaking vision, that he could see Voldemort staring at him out of the mirror; his own imagination zoomed into overdrive and he could see his enemy mocking him …
Exhaling heavily, he picked up his wand and left the room.
- - - - -
Assembled in the kitchen was everyone currently staying at Headquarters, bleary eyed and yawning. Hermione darted forwards to Harry when he came in the room.
"Harry … what's happened? Ron said something about Hogwarts …"
Harry didn't answer her, but stood at the head of the table.
"Everyone … sorry to wake you, but this is serious."
An instant hush fell over the room, which had been up until that point muttering sleepily amongst themselves. Harry almost did not want to break the spell.
"Voldemort's at Hogwarts."
First silence, then –
"WHAT?!"
"NO!"
"How did he get in?"
There was an outbreak of nervous, surprised and suddenly very awake exclamations. Harry had been expecting them and therefore let them pass.
"Obviously, we need to think about how we're going to act. We can't go storming in…"
"Quite right," Lupin said from a nearby chair. "It's a ploy to get you in there, Harry … surely you know that?"
His voice was low and calm, but Harry could detect a faint waver to it.
"Yeah, the thought had occurred to me," Harry replied. "Now that I'm in charge, he's probably thinking of ways to end it as soon as possible …"
"So you don't think we should go in now?" said Cassie from the sofa, wearing a pink dressing gown. She was clutching a cushion with her hands and gripping it tightly.
"I think we need to contact the right people," Harry replied. "We need the Aurors in the Ministry."
Had this happened the year before, Harry would have been urging whoever was in charge to go in as soon as possible to take it back, but he was in charge now.
"I'll get on the line to the Minister," said Mr Weasley immediately.
"Yes, quickly, Arthur …" said Mrs Weasley, her face white and drawn.
"Tell him what's going on and that he needs to alert the Foreign Auror stations. But don't act until I tell them to," Harry said clearly.
Mr Weasley nodded curtly and left to use the fireplace.
Harry rubbed his eyes. "We can't risk contacting anyone at Hogwarts yet … so Hagrid's out of the question. The goblins … someone needs to get on the safe house where they're staying … Hermione, would you –"
"– of course," she answered before he had finished the question.
Harry began pacing again. He wasn't even aware that every eye in the room was on him, waiting expectantly for him to make a decision … to save the day. What he really wanted (and he despised himself slightly for hoping it) was for someone, Lupin perhaps or even Mr Weasley, to step forwards and make some decisions; to tell him what to do. But Lupin, everyone in fact, was looking at him. It was Mrs Weasley's small, shaking voice that made him look up finally from his reverie.
"Harry … what are we going to do?"
Harry stopped pacing. "We need to take a look at the situation … I don't want to charge in without having a better idea of how many he's got with him, or what he's got with him …"
"Quite right," said Kingsley from the doorway. He was heavily bandaged and spoke with a rasp, but Harry was grateful for the agreement. "He could have twenty giants in there for all we know."
"Right, so –"
There was a sudden loud and enormous bang that issued from the edge of the kitchen, cutting Harry off. Nearly everyone jumped and Mrs Weasley screamed.
Bill moved forwards towards the fireplace where the bang had come from. He reached into the ashes and took out what seemed to be a burnt envelope. Everyone held their breath.
"It's addressed to you," Bill said slowly, holding the paper out to Harry.
Harry had known before Bill spoke that it would be for him; it must be from Voldemort. His own name was staring up at him in grotesquely spiky writing from the outside of the envelope.
He took it in his hands, trying to steady them; it would not do for everyone in the Order to see him shaking. The edge of the envelope was burnt from the fire. Harry took his wand and tapped the envelope to slit it open.
Into his hands fell a single lock of red hair. People near him who were craning their necks to see what the message was did not seem to understand, but to Harry, Voldemort might as well have sent a severed head.
"Ginny," he whispered quietly to himself. He closed his hand to make a fist and clutched the small part of her to his chest.
"What is it, Harry?" whispered Hermione.
"It's a message," he said quietly. How could he have been so stupid?
"I don't see any writing," said Elphias Dodge.
Harry held up the lock of hair in his hands. Mr and Mrs Weasley stared at it for a moment, not realising as quickly as Harry had done, but then Mrs Weasley gave a dry sob and flung herself into her husband's chest.
Ron appeared unable to form words and Hermione's mouth was open in a silent scream.
"Oh, my Ginny!" Mrs Weasley cried. Bill moved forwards to console his mother.
Fred and George stood mutely by the door. Fred opened his mouth and cleared his throat.
"So … what – what does … does that mean that …?"
"He wants me there," Harry said slowly. "And if I don't come … he'll kill her."
Everything had changed now … Harry had made up his mind in a split second.
"Of course he wants you there," Ron said in a surprisingly strong voice. "He knows you wouldn't be able to get back up straightaway …"
Harry shook his head; his heart pumping so quickly he thought it might burst out of his chest. He felt physically sick and took a deep breath to stop the overwhelming nausea.
Of course this was going to happen. You knew it would. Really, deep down, you knew it would. And yet …
Why hadn't he sent her away? Once again, he knew that it was all his fault. Harry's imagination showed Ginny tied, possibly bloodied, terrified. He also knew that Voldemort had done it again … he knew him too well. If there was one sure fire way he was going to get Harry alone … this was it.
How had he let it happen? Voldemort had probably been planning this for weeks … he must have known that, particularly after Sirius's death, there would be objections to charging in … and he had used it against him.
"What do we do now?" said Cassie, who had so far been quiet, dragging Harry back up from the depths of defeat.
"There's only one thing we can do," Harry replied and strode past everybody back into the living room. "We leave now."
"Harry, you can't be thinking what I think you're thinking," said Lupin sharply.
"What else can we do?" Harry demanded desperately.
"We wait!" Lupin said desperately. "We cannot charge in there as we are now, just as you said yourself!"
"If we wait," Harry said curtly, "he will kill her."
"He'd kill her anyway," said a voice, but it wasn't Lupin's. It was Ron's.
"What?" muttered Harry, staring at Ron.
"Harry, what about the rest of the note?" Ron said seriously.
Harry shrugged and looked down at the envelope again, as though thinking he'd see a different message. "What rest of the note …?"
"The part that says, 'P.S this is a trap'!"
Harry opened his mouth angrily but Ron cut him off.
"If you go in there now like some hero then he'll just tell the Death Eaters to shoot you down on the spot. He won't even have the guts to take you on himself! And then it'll all be over!"
"Ron's right, Harry," said Hermione. Harry looked at her; it had never been Ron and Hermione against Harry before. She had always been the mediator, but this time things had changed.
"I can't just sit here and wait for him to murder my girlfriend!" Harry said angrily. How could they stand there so calmly and tell him to simply sit it out?
"There is only one reason that Voldemort has finally risked going into Hogwarts, Harry, and that's to take over. Threatening to kill Ginny is like saying … like saying he's going to snap a pencil – it's a given!"
"Ron, she's your sister!" Harry said, flabbergasted. "You're talking about her like she's … like she's a casualty of war or something!"
"I know she's my sister," Ron said bitterly. "But you've got to think with your damn head here, Harry, because the world depends on it this time."
"Harry, it's just what he wants. This is the bait … once you're there, he's got you," said Hermione.
There was another flash of light but this time, Harry did not even jump. He did not even look at the fireplace; he was too busy looking at Ron as though he had never seen him before. Lupin moved forwards cautiously, eyes on Harry, and took the piece of parchment. This time there was loopy writing on it.
"Scrimgeour says that there have been some developments in the numbers; Canada has sent thirty of their best. The Foreign Auror divisions can mobilise here within twenty minutes."
Harry shook his head. "We can't wait that long."
Lupin shook his head and stepped backwards. "I think you're wrong, Harry … but I respect that it is your decision."
Harry twisted his hands, thinking. "We can go in through the Shrieking Shack; that comes out by the Whomping Willow in the grounds. Hardly anyone knows about that entrance, and even if they did they won't expect us to come in that way."
"Bloody hell, have you learnt nothing?" Ron said, the volume of his voice rising uncharacteristically.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry spat defensively. "Anyway I don't have time for this …"
"No, you do have time, Harry. What about two years ago? What about the Ministry? This is exactly what happened when …"
"When what?" Harry demanded.
But Ron had broken off, his ears reddening for the first time. It appeared that he had lost his nerve at the last second and refrained from saying what he was about to.
"When … you know."
"No, I don't know, Ron, you're going to have to spell it out for me. When what happened?" Harry said viciously. He knew what Ron was talking about but he was so incensed that his best friend was suggesting they wait that he wanted the reason.
"You know what I'm on about, Harry! I'm talking about Sirius! If you hadn't rushed off that time then –"
"– then what? He wouldn't have died?"
The room had gone deathly quiet. Hermione turned away, shaking her head. Lupin's eyes were fixed on Harry.
"You think I don't know that?" Harry said lowering his voice for the first time since Ron had spoken out. "You think I don't see his face every night before I close my eyes?"
Ron looked away. "Harry, we can stop this. But doing exactly the same thing as last time is just going to kill us all."
"If I could have stopped Sirius dying, I would have," Harry said, his voice breaking. "And now, I can stop Ginny from dying. I can stop it by going there, by –"
"– by doing just what he wants!" Hermione exclaimed. "Harry, we're not bringing up Sirius to hurt you, we're just trying to show you how dangerous this is! How stupid! If he kills you …"
"If. If he kills me. But if I kill him, it'll all be over."
They stared at him. Ron shook his head and turned away as though he could not bear to look at Harry.
"And that's what this is all about, isn't it?" Harry went on, holding up his hands. "It's about me and him. If he dies early on, then there might not even be a war."
"But there might be," said Mr Weasley.
Harry couldn't believe that Mr Weasley, Ginny's father, was saying the same thing as Ron … as everybody. Was he wrong? Should he wait? Harry thought of Dumbledore; of what he would do in this situation.
Dumbledore wouldn't have let them in in the first place, he thought.
Surely Dumbledore would stop them before they took hold? And in any case he could not erase the picture from his mind of Ginny, frightened and alone, possibly crying for him whilst he stood there and argued … it was madness.
"Look … you're right," he said bleakly. "I know it's a trap. But I …" It was as though he couldn't find the words. "It's just … Sirius's death was my fault and I …"
"Harry, it wasn't –"
"– no, don't. Just don't. You might all be able to sit here and wait and tell yourselves that it's for the best and that the world will probably be the safer for it … but that's my girlfriend in there. And I … I can't leave her in there to die, because he will kill her. I just … I just can't."
Whilst they stared at him and tears fell thick and fast from Mrs Weasley's and Hermione's eyes, Harry thought back to what Lupin had said to him weeks before right after Bellatrix Lestrange had fallen at his hand …
Dumbledore said you had the best instincts of anyone he had known … and so do I …
His instinct right now told him to go. He turned to them all, clutching his wand.
"I'm going to make it easy," he said quickly. "I am going to Hogwarts now and I don't want any of you to follow until the reinforcements get here in twenty minutes. I don't have time to argue about this, so just do it."
He strode past them to a clearer space in the living room. Hermione caught his arm.
"Harry … you can't go alone … please wait …"
"I'm more likely to get in undetected on my own. He'll be expecting an army," he said with one more look to Ron, who still had his back to them all. "I'll see you soon."
"But –"
He did not wait to hear her goodbye or to see the Order's scandalised faces. He simply visualised Hogsmead and the cellar of the sweet shop on the frosted high street, and Apparated.
- - - - -
"Oh God … oh God, what have we done?" Hermione muttered under her breath over and over again after sinking down into one of Kingsley's sofas. "We let him go … we let him go!"
"Let wouldn't be the way I'd phrase it," said Bill darkly. "He knew what he was doing."
"He wouldn't have gone if I hadn't have yelled at him," said Ron quietly from the corner. "I just … was I wrong?"
Hermione shook his head. "I think we should have waited. But Harry is in charge … we knew that. And he was going no matter what, Ron."
"If he is caught then we are done for," said Lupin darkly. "I don't mean to be the voice of doom, but that is the reality of the situation. On the other hand … he has good instincts, and Dumbledore always taught him to follow them."
"But he will be caught," muttered Dodge. "He's gone in there to get caught."
For the third time that evening there was a disturbance in the fireplace. Kingsley was the closest and turned a bandaged head towards the noise. Sitting in the green flames was the greenish-red head of a goblin with a long and pointed nose and a forehead covered with pimples.
"Griphook," said Kingsley to the strange apparition in his house.
"Mr Shaklebolt," rasped Griphook, clearing his throat loudly. "I have news from the safe house where a number of our kind is staying."
"Yes?"
"We can muster our numbers to fight within fifteen minutes."
Lupin sighed and looked at Ron. Griphook clicked his tongue impatiently.
"OK, thank you, Griphook."
The goblin gave a curt nod and disappeared back into the flames. Ron threw up his hands.
"God! What can we do? Ginny might already be dead …"
"But she might not be," George said shakily. "And for the record I think Harry was right in saying that You Know Who would kill her right away if he didn't go."
"So you think we should have all gone? You think we all should have charged in when they were expecting us?" said Sloane.
George shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not in charge, am I?"
Ron bit his lip. "Alright. OK … this is what we're going to do."
- - - - -
As Harry arrived at the Shrieking Shack on the edge Hogsmead, an owl hooted loudly overhead in the cloudless night sky, making him jump. He cursed and pushed the creaking door with his wand. The house smelt damp and derelict; it was clear that nothing had changed. With a pang, Harry remembered the last time he had entered the not-so-haunted building; when he had learnt the truth about Sirius. That had been nearly five years ago now … It was fitting, he thought, that the shack was dark and sinister when he himself was about to embark on the darkest and dirtiest journey of his life.
He found the dust-ridden trap door in what must have once been the kitchen. It appeared to have remained undisturbed since his last visit; a good sign, seeing as he did not wish to be detected by any Death Eater.
The darkness engulfed him immediately, but he did not bother to light his wand; he knew the way well enough to know where he was putting his feet. The air was cold and stale, but Harry did not care. He could almost hear Ginny screaming in his ears. He could not have stayed … he could not have waited. If she died … then nothing else mattered.
Harry stopped suddenly, having heard something. A cough. He lit his wand quickly and swung his arm around behind him. There was no one there.
"Ahem …"
It came again, much closer this time. Harry's heart beat triple time. What was it and how was it so close?"
"Who's there?" he called into the darkness rather stupidly. "Where are you?"
"Well, I'm in your pocket if you must know."
For a second, Harry stood rooted to the spot, the words not really penetrating his skull. Then, slowly, he reached into his jumper pocket at drew out the Chocolate Frog card residing there. He could not even remember putting it in his pocket. Holding the wand light up to the shining plastic card, he saw with a jolt, Professor Dumbledore gazing serenely up at him.
"Professor!" Harry exclaimed, his voice echoing down the deserted tunnel.
"Harry," Dumbledore replied, scratching his chin characteristically.
"I …" Harry stared at the former Headmaster with a hundred thoughts in his head. "I though you'd … the card …but …"
"Ah, yes, Salazar Slytherin may blow apart as much chocolate as he wishes, but he will never dispense with the ancient magic left by our kind."
Harry opened his mouth and closed it again. "That's … that's good, but Professor, I don't have a lot of time for a chat right now …"
"I see. I understand now that this is, forgive me for the colloquialism, the big showdown?" He spoke with such a commonplace tone that he may as well have been commenting on the weather.
Harry blinked. "Yeah, I guess so."
"And you are alone, I see?"
Harry shrugged, his heart still beating unnaturally fast. "They thought that we should –"
"– wait?" prompted Dumbledore, the slightest edge of a suggestion in his voice.
Harry's heart sank. For a moment, he did not speak. "Do you think I should have?" he asked after a moment's pause.
Dumbledore merely smiled. "I think that you are in charge now, Harry."
Harry inclined his head. "You didn't answer my question."
The old Headmaster's eyes twinkled. "You remain as perceptive as ever, my dear boy! Before I do answer that question, I would like to ask you one in turn."
Harry held the card a little further away from his face, not wanting to see any disappointment in the face of the man who had taught him everything he knew. Part of him wanted to stuff the card back in his pocket and run on without thinking, but he knew he had to hear this.
"OK."
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Why is it that you are going to Hogwarts, Harry?"
Harry frowned. "To help Ginny."
"Ahh," Dumbledore sighed. "I thought as much."
Harry shook his head, his mind spinning so fast that he could not form any sort of conscious thought now as he stood halfway down the dark passageway on his way to Lord Voldemort.
"What's wrong with wanting to stop her from dying?" Harry asked hotly. "Maybe if I'd done that two years ago …"
"You are going for the wrong reasons, Harry," Dumbledore said simply. "There is, as you say, nothing wrong with wanting to save the life of the one person you hold so dear, and I do not just mean as a friend … I am no stranger to passionate love. But think, for a second if you will, why you are going."
Harry thought. Well, that was obvious, really …
"Because he's trying to take over …"
"No. No, that is not the reason," Dumbledore said sharply. "You would have waited, would you not, had there not been a cryptic warning of Ginevra's death? You would have waited for reinforcements; you would have thought out your movements; you would have planned, yes?"
Harry frowned once again. "I guess …"
"You are going, in short, because Lord Voldemort has called you. You are going on his terms. You are not going because you yourself are ready to kill him. He has used the one thing, as you knew he inevitably would, which will determine without a shadow of a doubt that you will go to him. He has shown that he knows you best."
Harry held his breath, a hot and prickly feeling of shame creeping through his veins.
"You believe, as any normal person in love would, that if she dies, nothing else matters, am I correct?"
Harry didn't answer, for he knew it was true, and he knew also that it was wrong.
Dumbledore smiled sadly, as though what he was saying was indecent. "As a marked man, Harry, you can afford no such luxury … and you are aware of that, are you not? I can see that you are. Of course, it would be preferable if Ginevra does not die, which you yourself may even be able to prevent if you go, but you have the tools to save the world, Harry. You have the necessary qualities to finish the job!"
"You remember the conversation we had concerning the prophecy?" Dumbledore continued, ignoring Harry's expression. "How there is a difference from being dragged into an arena to fight to the death, and entering it with your head held high?"
"Yes …" Harry whispered croakily.
"You must stop now, right here, and assess your reason. Think of why you are going to save her."
"Because … because he's dangerous. Because he'll take over."
"Exactly, Harry, exactly! And you must stop him, you must stop him now! But not because he has your girlfriend as bait, because you yourself can put an end to his murderous rampage! Because you as a man are ready to put to challenge him and stop the war!"
And Harry saw, finally, what Dumbledore was getting at. He saw that he must go now, but not only to save Ginny. He must go now to kill Voldemort.
"But you cannot do it alone," Dumbledore added softly.
"So … so do you think I should go back and wait?" Harry asked.
"I think that now you are here, you may as well assess the situation for when the cavalry arrives, which may be sooner than you think. I think you made a decision as leaders all over the world must, and you acted upon it."
Harry swallowed, suddenly feeling very clear about what he had to do; clearer in fact than he had ever felt in his life about what he was meant to do … what he must do for everyone.
There was a long pause before Dumbledore spoke again.
"I have nothing more to teach you, Harry," said Dumbledore slowly. "I have nothing more I can say to help you with this journey that you must take now. I wish you luck, and will say only this: that you are the most exceptional young man I have ever met."
Harry's throat felt very dry. He swallowed and blinked at the card.
"Thanks."
"Goodbye, Harry." And then Dumbledore was gone, as quickly as he had appeared.
Harry stood in the dim tunnel, his heart echoing in his ears and bent down, placing the card carefully on the floor. He knew in that moment that Dumbledore would never again offer him that kind of help or advice through the card. It was true; he had everything he needed to know, Snape himself had hinted (albeit grudgingly) that he was ready. Now was the time to go.
The tunnel seemed to end surprisingly soon not long after Harry had beat the familiar track with his feet to the Whomping Willow. Memories of his second and third year surrounding that particular tree flooded his mind, but he pushed them firmly to the back; nostalgic reminisces would be of no use to him now.
Cautiously, as though he were reaching out to a butterfly, Harry pulled himself up towards the tiniest of lights, which he deduced must be the night sky. He inched his head over the top and saw, with a jolt, that only metres away from him stood three giants with their backs to him. Harry's breath caught in his throat as he took in roughly the size of them; at least twenty feet tall with arms like cars and feet the size of canoes. He swivelled his head to the right and saw Hogwarts in the distance.
The Dark Mark was, as Hopkins had told him, hanging directly over the oak front door and Harry could now see more clearly that there was at least one Death Eater stationed at every entrance. Had the grotesque green symbol not been hanging over the castle, the twinkling lights would have deceptively suggested that all was well. Thankfully, it looked as though the Whomping Willow remained unmarked, most possibly because the branches themselves occasionally took a ferocious swipe at nothing in particular; fortunately, Harry was still wedged in the hole so that the branches did not reach him.
He scanned the grounds again and could see the lake sparkling in the moonlight in the distance … what was that standing in the lake? With sick dread and a paralysing horror, Harry recognised all too well the ghostly stance of dead bodies, reanimated by Voldemort himself, waiting to prey on those who stumbled into their path by sucking them into the depths below…
Inferi.
They looked like puppets, standing like rag dolls, heads lolling to one side, waiting for an unsuspecting innocent student to stumble into their clutches so that they could make yet another member of Voldemort's un-dead army …
There was no sign of Voldemort himself, which Harry thought was odd; this was him coming in and calling the shots, taking over … why did he not wish to be seen?
As Harry squinted his eyes even further, he saw something in the distance … a kind of swirly transparent mist. Dementors. He had felt the chill of them before he had even emerged his head from the hole, though he could only see one, standing mute-like outside the Herbology greenhouse, but that didn't mean there weren't more of them. Harry thought of the first year students inside Hogwarts, many of which would have only heard of Dementors from within their own nightmares … they would be terrified if Voldemort had unleashed them all inside.
OK … three giants, maybe more … five Death Eaters, probably more up on the turrets and definitely inside, Dementors, inferi …
"Harry!"
A hand clamped over Harry's mouth to stop him from crying out and he knew a moment of pure terror before recognising the voice as Hermione's. He turned and saw her behind him, allowing her to pull him back into the relative safety of the hole.
"Hermione!" he said hoarsely, holding his wand up for a better view. "What are you doing here –?"
And then his wand light fell on Ron, who was standing by her side, his face white. He half-smiled.
"You came," Harry said quietly.
"Yeah," Ron replied. "Thought we'd be too late … didn't know if you'd have gone in yet."
Harry shook his head to the earthy floor. "No. I … er, had a bit of divine intervention, if you know what I mean."
Ron raised his eyebrows. "Not really, but never mind."
"Look, Harry," Hermione began. "We couldn't let you go in on your own …"
"No, you were right. There's no point in risking everybody else's lives."
"But they're risking them anyway, being in the Order," Ron said. "We're in this together."
Harry's heart felt as though it had expanded to three times its natural size. Back in Kinsgley's house, there had been a moment where he had felt very alone, like they had all left him; divided and split, all because of a decision that he had made. Now, as he saw them and them alone standing there by his side, he knew that he would never be alone, not really. He may have been marked at birth, but nothing would ever dictate who his friends were.
"I'm glad you're here," he said.
"We told the rest of the Order that we were going to come and see what was happening and where you were, and then told them to follow us down this passageway when reinforcements came," Ron said.
"Griphook will have the goblins ready in –" (she looked at her watch) "ten minutes, now."
"OK," Harry said slowly. "I've seen at least five Death Eaters out the front, but there's probably more all around the side and the back, not to mention the ones up in the Astronomy tower or on the turrets –"
"– Or those who have made themselves Disillusioned –"
"Exactly," Harry conceded. "I think we need to assume that he'll have the maximum number of Death Eaters, if not outside waiting for us then inside." Dropping his voice, he added, "There're three giants about ten metres away from us …"
He waited for Ron and Hermione to gasp or something, but they did not.
" … And they make Grawp look like he's got a growth deficiency. I don't know where Hagrid is – there's no light in his hut, but he may have some way of contacting the giants he persuaded. There's Dementors here, I'm not sure how many, but there's sure to be more somewhere … Inferi in the lake –"
"My favourite," Ron muttered darkly.
"I've had an idea about how to get the youngest out," Hermione said. "I know it won't be possible to contact McGonagall, because Voldemort will have sealed all means of communication in and out of the castle, but it might be possible to lift the Apparition enchantments."
"How?" said Harry impressively.
"Well … I could do it. I've been researching all about it ever since Dumbledore died, and it might be possible for me to do it. The magic around the school is a bit like a Muggle computer; you have to hack into the mainframe with your mind and your magic, and I think that I could do it … it's all about having the right brainpower …"
"Hermione, if you could do that, it would be –"
"Bloody brilliant," Ron finished.
She blushed a little in the dim wand light. Harry took a breath.
"I'm pretty sure that nobody knows about this entrance, because of the Willow. But we can't have hundreds of Aurors storming through here … it'll be a good surprise, but they'll all be bunched together and easier to attack once the other side realise what's going on, so I think that we should storm out of this entrance first, and then out of the one eyed witch's hump about two minutes after."
"But isn't Voldemort bound to know about that one? He'll know pretty much everything about Hogwarts, won't he?" said Hermione.
"Probably," Harry agreed. "But hopefully the Willow will provide a distraction. Then after the second wave I want fighters coming in from all sides; some through the main gates, some from the Quidditch pitch … they'll have to fly in because I doubt they'll be able to land directly in front of Hogwarts."
"So split them up –"
"– to knock them down, yes," Harry said. "I don't want anyone in from the lake, not at first at least … the Inferi will be too together and just rip anyone apart, but if there's enough going on then hopefully they'll get confused."
"And Voldemort?" Hermione said.
Harry looked at her, saying nothing at first.
"I mean, are we just trying to stop him, or …"
"No. I'm going to kill him," Harry said confidently. "And no one else is to try."
Ron looked at him. "And is this because he's got Ginny?"
"Yes," Harry replied. "But it's also because he killed my parents, and hundreds of other people's parents and he'll keep doing it if he's not stopped. And I'm the only one that can stop him."
Ron and Hermione stared at him. "Are you sure you're ready, Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry thought for a moment. There was only one answer, because he felt it was true rather than thinking that it should be.
"Yes."
They nodded, faces white, but resolute all the same.
"I want you to go back and tell them the plan when they arrive in Hogsmead, and keep your eyes open because there might be Death Eaters or god knows what there too. I don't care which divisions go where, just as long as they have a wand and a good head on their shoulders. If anyone who gets there looks like they can't hack it, send them home. Can you do that? Can you sort them?"
Ron nodded.
"I want the scouts in first … they have more experience in storming than the other Aurors. I want Lupin, your dad, Kingsley if he's up to it, and both of you in different groups. OK?"
"Yes," Hermione said. "What are you going to do now, while we go back and wait for them?"
Harry looked at his watch. "How long till you can lift the Apparition enchantments?"
Hermione bit her lip. "Five minutes? But I won't be able to lift them for long … it'll only be a ten minute window, if that."
"I'm going to try and see where the youngest students are and try and Apparate them out, and I'll do that as soon as the first wave provides the first distraction. I'll look for a weak point into the castle while you tell the others."
Hermione nodded. "The reinforcements will be seven minutes, tops."
"Right. Go on then, get going. And be careful."
But they hesitated. Hermione touched his arm, looking doubtful, as did Ron. "Is there … do we say anything, or …"
Harry cut her off, not wanting to go down that road. "No. I don't think we do."
If they said goodbye, it would all seem too genuine. He smiled at them, determined that they would see positivism in his eyes and nothing but bravery, but he was not sure that they did.
"See you."
And with one brief smile, they turned and ran back into the darkness the way they came. Harry stood for a few seconds, hearing them get further and further away, before turning and poking his head back out again, and stealing himself for action … action that concerned the whole wizarding world.
- - - - -
A/N: Is that another cliff hanger? I think it is!
Just a little note, there will only be two more chapters. So please review! While you still can!!!!
Rosie xxx