Tomorrow is Promised to No One

by MrZ1289

Harry had never considered what he would do next. Everything had always been focused on Voldemort. With him out of the way, Harry is given an opportunity to live the life he was never allowed to have, one free from death and mayhem. But while Voldemort may be dead, the past and his followers don't die so easily.

37. Thirty-Seven

The month of March drifted by quickly with Harry and the rest of the Hogwarts students spending day after day in the Library or their Common Rooms, studying until well after midnight. Harry especially was working overtime. On the last Monday of March, Minerva had approached Harry, telling him that she had heard back from the Ministry. They had approved Harry's request to take his NEWTs early and would also be approving his educational waiver should he pass.

The tests would be set for the middle of April, just a little under three weeks away. At the same time, Harry was already taking on more duties within the castle. As the year went on, Bill was having Harry work with his students more. In fact, the first year classes were already largely being taught by Harry. While Bill was the one still coming up with the lesson plans, Harry was the person in the front of the room executing them. After each class, he would spend the next half hour with Bill, going over the things that Harry had done well and the areas in which he could improve.

In addition to these duties, Harry and Hermione had even more work as Head Boy and Girl due to a recent influx in Death Eater attacks around the country. Just the day after Harry and Ginny had snuck away to Little Whinging, an Auror and his family were murdered by a group of Death Eaters. The most disconcerting piece of information related to the attack was that no one recognized any of the Death Eaters, implying that Dolohov had been so successful in his recruitment efforts that he was now leading entire teams of Death Eaters who hadn't been originally part of Voldemort's army.

That had been two weeks ago and in that time, three more attacks had been perpetrated all across Britain, all of them following that same pattern of information. Each of the targets had been high value Ministry officials, usually within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It was clear that they were trying to weaken the Ministry by creating chaos among its members, forcing them to replace several officials who had been involved in the search for the Death Eaters themselves.

Because of this, it was widely suspected that another major attack like the one at Trafalgar Square was coming. Harry still suspected that they would eventually attack the school but according to all of the information that Kingsley had received from the Aurors over the last few months, it was his suspicion that the Ministry would be attacked first. They would attack the Ministry, hoping to cripple its ability to respond to a crisis and then they would make their move to attack the castle.

The only problem with this line of thinking was that there was no information, whether provided by captured Death Eaters or spies in Knockturn Alley, when the Death Eaters planned on perpetrating such an attack. This meant that the Ministry was on high alert at all times and Hogwarts had done the same, almost doubling the amount of people patrolling the castle at night. Now, each Prefect had been given one overnight patrol each week in addition to their regularly scheduled patrols. The Aurors that had been assigned to Hogwarts had been brought into the castle, assisting the school staff ensure the safety of their students.

It made for a cramped and chaotic environment but Minerva believed, and Harry agreed, that the Aurors would help the students feel safer, even if it made things feel strange. Often, the feeling of safety is just as helpful as actual safety.

As a part of the new security measures enacted over the last few weeks, all Hogsmeade visits had been cancelled and while Quidditch matches were still being held, only the students belonging to the two Houses who were playing were able to attend. Finally, Harry's weekend privileges, which he had barely been using anyway, had been revoked, meaning that the only escape Harry had from the castle was a single day that the Ministry had requested his presence at the very end of the month of March.

On that day, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy would be testifying against their father. Robert Robinson had asked for Harry to be present on the chance that someone called into question that validity of any of their testimony or the content of their character. While Harry wasn't certain that he was the best person to talk about the character of a Malfoy in most cases, Harry understood that since he had been the one to strike the deal with Narcissa and Draco, he should be present to explain the terms of the deal should it come up.

The chamber of the Wizengamot looked exactly the same as the day that Harry had testified except that there were two chairs in the middle of the room rather than one. Narcissa and Draco looked well kept and were dressed in the typical Malfoy fashion, all black. Both looked nervous, their eyes darting around the room as they scanned for threats. Harry couldn't blame them. Other than Harry's personal testament, their testimony would likely be the largest nail in the coffin for the Death Eaters. While Lucius wasn't present, Dawlish had agreed to allow them to testify against the Malfoy patriarch on the same day that they testified against the others so that when Lucius was captured, they could follow through the terms of their deal and leave the country immediately.

While the mood on the day of Harry's testimony had been relatively light hearted, the same could not be said of the courtroom on this day. Rather than open conversation, people appeared to be whispering to their neighbors, their eyes bouncing between their conversation partner and the Malfoys. It was clear that, unlike Harry who they viewed as a friend to their cause, the bulk of the Wizengamot still believed Narcissa and Draco to be their enemy, a sentiment that Harry understood entirely. If Narcissa or Draco screwed this up today, Harry's personal capital within the Ministry of Magic would certainly wane considering he was the one who orchestrated their testimony and their rewards for doing so. He could only hope that they both stuck to the deal they had arranged.

Once the entirety of the court had filed in, Dawlish, much as he had on the day of Harry's testimony, welcomed the court and then opened the floor for motions. A few minor motions passed quickly before Dawlish turned the room over to Robinson, who read the Malfoys their rights and then began the process of the trial. Each of the captured Death Eaters was brought up in order and from the beginning, Narcissa, and occasionally Draco, started spilling their family secrets, betraying everything their family had stood for so that they could remain safe.

While the Malfoys spoke, Harry couldn't help but find himself gravitated to the Death Eaters who sat watching, their hands bound in front of them. With each revelation, each secret unveiled, a look of defeat started to cross on each of their faces as they realized that they would in fact be spending the rest of their lives in jail. Why they hadn't realized that until now, Harry was uncertain but there was no doubt that the rage that they had felt with Narcissa had started talked had now transformed into a feeling of dread, a knowing, sinking sensation of defeat.

Finally, after Narcissa finished spending nearly an hour detailing the horrors that Corban Yaxley had committed over the years, Robinson asked about her husband.

"Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater."

"Yes." Narcissa said, her voice trembling slightly as she rubbed her hands together nervously.

"When did Lucius Malfoy first become a Death Eater?"

"Within a month of his graduation from Hogwarts."

"And Malfoy operated most of his business over the next twenty years at the direction of Lord Voldemort himself?"

"Yes." Narcissa said. "Lucius was well placed to influence the Minister of Magic. While he was less successful with Millicent Bagnold, Lucius was able to influence Cornelius Fudge in such a way that Lucius might as well have been the Minister himself."

"How did he do this?"

"Largely, he gave Fudge what he wanted. Lucius threw thousands of Galleons at the Ministry of Magic each year, often offsetting the balance of the Ministry's budget on his own. In return, Fudge became Lucius's political slave. If Lucius needed anything, Fudge was happy to oblige, knowing that Lucius was largely responsible for his position."

"And he did all of this to perpetrate Voldemort's reign?"

"He did this because it's what Malfoys do." Narcissa countered. "Lucius understood the power that his name and his money brought him. But he wanted more and that is why he threw his name in with The Dark Lord. Repeatedly, I told him that the Dark Lord would only lead to his ruination but he refused to listen to me."

"You are a Pureblood and a Black. Why did you not believe in Lord Voldemort?"

"Because Voldemort wasn't a Pureblood." Narcissa replied. "If he had been, then I might have even joined myself. But I knew that he only used the Purebloods for his own gain, he used us to take the power that we had enjoyed for years, blinding us with his rhetoric and his propaganda against Muggles and Muggleborn."

Harry had always know that Narcissa Malfoy was a sharp woman. It was clear that nothing slipped past her without her knowledge. As a result, it was interesting to hear her perspective on Lord Voldemort. Unlike her husband, who viewed Riddle was a method of climbing to the top, Narcissa knew better. She knew that Riddle would only use them like he used everyone else. To him, they were nothing more than a pedestal to stand on.

Still, Narcissa had done nothing and said nothing and it was clear that her Pureblood bias was just as rampant as her husband's, if not more.

"I understand." Robinson said, although Harry knew that he couldn't. Unless you had met Riddle and personally spoken to him, you truly couldn't understand just how he worked and how he viewed the world around him.

Narcissa spent the next nearly two hours talking more about Lucius. She told the Wizengamot how Lucius had been the one that had allowed the Death Eaters into the Ministry of Magic and the Department of Mysteries to trap Harry. She relayed the details of their pseudo-imprisonment at Malfoy Manor after Lucius had been broken out of Azkaban. She talked about how Lucius would ramble on for hours, begging Bellatrix to allow him to prove his worth once more, to which Bellatrix would only laugh.

Even the story of how Harry, Ron and Hermione ended up at Malfoy Manor became part of her testimony. In the end, Harry couldn't count the number of crimes that she had admitted to as part of her testimony but it paled in comparison to the horrors that Lucius Malfoy had committed over the years. In a nearly thirty year career, there was no question that no person in the country had been responsible for more pain and misery than Lucius Malfoy.

When Robinson was finished, Ms. White, still clad in the same white business suit that she had worn on the day of Harry's testimony, stepped forward.

"Why should we listen to a word you say?"

Robinson stood, motioning towards Dawlish. Harry knew that he was about to be called on to support Narcissa's testimony. However, before Dawlish or Robinson could do anything, Narcissa spoke up.

"Do you have a husband, Ms. White?"

"I do not."

"Do you have any children?"

"No." Ms. White said.

"So you have no idea what it must be like to have the kind of responsibilities that I had to my husband and my son. I did not love my husband when I married him. Our union was a symbolic connection between the two most powerful Pureblood families to ever exist. But over time, I came to care for Lucius, even if he was a vile man. He was the father of my son and for that, I can never thank him enough. But I was given a choice, Ms. White, by the Ministry of Magic. When given the choice between being loyal to my husband or my son, there is no question. I would rather see my husband brought before the Dementors than let my son spend a day in Azkaban for the crimes of his father."

"But your son has committed crimes, Mrs. Malfoy, many of them." Ms. White said. "Why should we trust what either of you have to say when everyone in this room knows that the only reason you are testifying against your husband is to save your skin?"

Robinson turned and looked back several rows to where Harry sat and nodded to Harry, who nodded in return. Robinson stood in his place at the railing.

"We have someone willing to attest to the validity of the Malfoy's responses and their reasonings for doing so."

"Really?" Ms. White scoffed. "And who would that be?"

"Me."

Harry stood as the room suddenly filled with whispers. Everyone knew about the rivalry between Harry and Draco. It must have been a great shock to many gathered there that Harry would speak in favor of the Malfoys.

"Excuse me?" Ms. White said as Harry walked down the stairs, ending at the rail next to Robinson.

"I am willing to corroborate the testimony of Narcissa and Draco Malfoy." Harry said. "On two separate occasions, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy were given the opportunity to turn me over to the Dark Lord. On both instances, they refused."

"When were these instances?"

"That information is classified." Dawlish interrupted from his perch. "Please continue, Mr. Potter."

"In either case, there is no doubt that Narcissa and Draco have committed many crimes. However, as part of a deal with myself and the Ministry of Magic, they have agreed to leave the country and donate half the remaining Malfoy fortune to Hogwarts in return for their testimony. They have also agreed to vacate the seats they control on the Wizengamot."

"And what do you get out of that deal, Mrs. Malfoy?" Ms. White snapped.

"I get to leave this place and find a safe place for my son away from the people who would kill us for having testified against their families, regardless of whether we spoke the truth."

At that moment, Harry could see that Ms. White knew that she had lost this case. While Harry knew little of Ms. White, he knew that she was a credible defense advocate, usually appointed by the Ministry to those who had no money or could not find an advocate. Ms. White prided herself on her ability to get her clients out of most of their charges, a feat that she had finally realized would not be happening in this case.

All of her clients were going to jail and they were going to spend the rest of their lives there.

The rest of the testimony took another five minutes before Ms. White turned the proceedings back over to Dawlish, who immediately adjourned the body for the day. Harry stepped around the railing and approached Narcissa and Draco. Narcissa was sitting in her chair, her head in her hands, shaking from the sobs that she had clearly been holding back. Draco, not a particularly loving or affectionate person, simply stood behind her, a hand on her back.

"Thank you." Harry said simply to the two of them. "When Lucius is captured, he'll get what he deserves."

"What about what we deserve?" Draco asked. "We were dragged in front of all of these people and forced to tell them all that we're criminals. In return we get what?"

Harry had to resist the urge to punch Draco in the mouth.

"You get a chance to live a life away from all this. You'll be able to create a new identity and live free of the burdens of your family name."

"I am proud of my family name." Draco growled.

"That's great, Malfoy." Harry replied. "But in thirty years, it's still going to be the name of a criminal. Don't let your father weigh you down. Get free of him and make a life for yourself."

"Don't lecture me on my family, Potter." Malfoy drawled. "You don't have one."

For a moment, Harry considered asking to have Draco added to the list of accused. But he knew that Malfoy was just as hurt as his mother, even if he wasn't showing it. So Harry didn't do anything. He simply sighed and walked past them, leaving them with their security detail to consider exactly what the value of a family was.

When Harry returned to Hogwarts, he immediately found Ginny and Hermione in the same spots that he had left them, both of them studying profusely in Harry and Hermione's Common Area. However, both looked significantly worse for the wear. Hermione's hair had partially come out of its ponytail, billowing wildly in several directions. Ginny, on the other hand, had removed both her sweater and her t-shirt, leaving her in a white tank top as she poured over several textbooks and more rolls of parchment than Harry's desk could handle at one time.

Needless to say, they both needed a break. After finally pulling the pair of them away from their work, all three wandered down to the Great Hall for dinner, Harry doing his best to encourage a leisurely pace. Still, Harry could see how stressed both of them were about their studies. Harry felt the same, especially considering that he would be taking his NEWTs more than six weeks before they would.

Thankfully, Harry had almost half as many classes to take as either of them, which negated some of that extra pressure.

But by the time the three of them reached the Great Hall, it seemed that both Hermione and Ginny had relaxed just enough to sit and enjoy dinner, especially once Ginny saw that bread pudding was on the desert menu for the evening. Ginny took a seat and began piling potatoes onto her plate. At the same time, Parvati sat down opposite Harry, a curious look on her face.

"Yes?" Harry asked.

"Is it true that you were at the trial today?" Parvati asked, surprising Harry. While Parvati had certainly matured in recent months, she had never shown a particular interest in politics or the trail of the Death Eaters.

"I was." Harry replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I heard that Draco Malfoy looked terrible." Parvati said. "The evening edition of one of my gossip magazines reported that he walked in wearing an old Muggle suit. Is that true?"

This line of questioning did seem more aligned with Parvati's usual interests.

"He looked fine, or as fine as a Malfoy can look." Harry said. "I think he was wearing some kind of black suit but it looked fine."

"Just fine?" Parvati asked. "When has Draco Malfoy ever looked just fine?"

"I can't be certain. I never really spent my time appreciating what Malfoy looked like." Harry replied.

"You were missing out. He may have been a Death Eater but he was an attractive one at least."

"Yes. He was an attractive Death Eater who let Fenrir Greyback into the castle." Harry said coldly. Parvati's reaction was instantaneous, her eyes opening wide with shock as she realized what she had just said.

"Oh." Parvati whispered. "I didn't mean...I forgot that he-"

"You don't have to apologize to me." Harry said. "Sure, Malfoy might be working for us now but that's only to save his hide. It doesn't mean that we should forget that he was the one responsible for letting Death Eaters into the castle."

"Yeah." Parvati said, her mind suddenly elsewhere. Harry was certain that her thoughts had wandered to Lavender. While Lavender had made it through that particular night, she had been killed by Greyback only eleven months later mere few meters from where they sat now. Harry knew that Parvati hadn't been trying to trivialize Malfoy's actions by commenting on his appearance. Harry himself had been guilty of thinking that Malfoy had turned over a new leaf after the war.

But his interaction with his archrival earlier in the day had proven to Harry that Draco Malfoy was still the same lost, arrogant boy that he had first met at Madam Malkin's, albeit one who had been encouraged even more fervently over the last few years to become as ardant a supporter of Purebloods and the Dark Arts as possible. In the end, Malfoy would always be exactly what he was: someone who cared for no one other than himself and his family and would do everything he could to advance his own position and protect his own interests. Harry wanted to be wrong but he knew that he didn't dare to hope for it.

While Parvati sat lost in her thoughts, Harry noticed that Ginny and Hermione had returned to talking about their studies. Harry had to admit that he was surprised Ginny was taking her NEWTs so seriously. While she had always been an excellent student, her views on education tended to skew closer to those of her twin brothers than of someone like Percy. This was especially the case when you factored in her desire to play Quidditch professionally after she graduated from Hogwarts. At that point, they didn't care whether you had received ten NEWTs or none.

They cared about whether you could put the Quaffle in the goal, something that Ginny had been historically good at over the year. If she scored four more goals in their last match of the year, she would set the single season scoring record for Gryffindor, a record that had lasted for more than two centuries.

As dinner stretched on, Harry found himself looking around the room, taking in the sights and sounds of the castle. In just over a month, assuming his tests went well, Harry would no longer be a student at Hogwarts, but an official professor. For years, Hogwarts had been his home, his sanctuary. Now, he would be able to help others find the same kind of belonging that Harry had discovered within the walls of the castle.

Even with every day bringing him closer to that reality, Harry had a hard time believing that he would actually become a professor at Hogwarts. All year, Harry had expected something to get in the way. Of course, that had been the reality of his life. Whenever something good seemed to happen, something unforeseen prevented it from staying.

Harry had discovered that Sirius was his godfather. Then, Pettigrew escaped, condemning Sirius to a life on the run until his own death. Harry had dated Cho until Cedric's death came between them and his relationship with Ginny had originally been cut short by Dumbledore's death and Harry's imminent departure from school.

Even now, Harry expected something to come between Harry and Ginny, not to mention his incoming tenure at Hogwarts. But with each passing day, and no life altering events to get in his way, Harry had come to accept that he just might get what he wanted: a life with Ginny and a job at his favorite place in the world.

But just as Harry thought that the world might finally be aligning itself with his own interests, Harry noticed something out of the corner of his eye, a brick on the wall that separated the Great Hall from the Entrance Hall falling to the floor. As Harry turned to look at the wall directly, another brick fell, crashing onto the end of the Gryffindor table, just a few yards from where Harry, Ginny and Hermione sat.

Then, like a wave rushing to the shore, the entire wall, starting from the top and working its way down, cascaded down from the ceilings, bricks flying in a tidal wave towards them. Standing, Harry drew his wand and aimed it at the wave as the people around him sprinted towards the end of the hall.

"Impedimenta!"

The wave of bricks started to slowed as it approached where the students had sat. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to stop them completely and the few students that had remained close to where Harry stood sprinted away from the piles of rock and dust flying at them when they saw Harry do the same.

As he ran, a large brick hit him in the shoulder, nearly knocking him over as he desperately ran, hoping that he could outrun the rolling waves of rubble that were coming towards him. Another piece of rock hit him in the hand and he could feel the bones in his hand break as he cried out in pain.

Thankfully, just as another brick flew past his head, the roaring sound of the rocks lessened to a gentle purr before going silent. Turning around, Harry saw that the pile of rocks and brick had fallen over more than half of the Great Hall with several of the windows lining the Hall pocked with marks from where bricks had flown through them.

With a quick wave of his wand, Harry fixed the broken bone in his hand, grimacing as it set back in place. Flexing his hand as he walked, Harry started back through the rubble, hoping that no one was trapped under the wreckage. Unfortunately, Harry would not get his wish. Only a few seconds after he began his search, he noticed one student, a small boy no older than twelve with Slytherin robes on. He was pinned under a rock no bigger than a bowling ball but it wasn't that rock that was worrisome. It was the blood flowing openly from the wound on his head.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted as he reached down to pick up the rock on the boy's chest. As he did that, Hermione grabbed him under his shoulders and knees, picking him up and racing back to the far end of the Great Hall where she laid him on the Head Table and began to examine him for other injuries. Seeing that Hermione had taken care of that, Harry turned to the other students in the room.

"Start looking!" Harry said, his voice ringing through the silent Hall. "Make sure that no one else is under there!"

Over the course of the next ten minutes, however, the students who had been present in the Great Hall found three other students buried in the rubble. While none of them would die, all of them would spend several nights in the Hospital Wing recovering from their injuries. Four students in total had been hurt today and it was a miracle that none of them had been killed. When you added their number to those that had been injured in the other collapse, the casualties of the rapidly decaying castle were starting to grow.

Just then, Minerva entered the Great Hall, approaching Harry with a look of worry on her face. Harry quickly caught her up on the results of their search through the ruins. Almost immediately, Minerva took Harry by the arm and escorted him from the Great Hall, motioning for Hermione to follow. Once they were all out of earshot of the other students, Minerva spoke, her voice trembling.

"The Astronomy Tower just fell in on itself."

Harry was certain that he hadn't heard Minerva correctly. But when he asked her to repeat herself, he heard those same words over again.

"The castle is falling." Hermione muttered in horror.

"It is." Minerva said. "Ms. Granger, it is essential that you find as much information about the Keystone as possible. Harry, I need you to work with Ms. Greengrass on ensuring that our evacuation plans are ready to go."

"The school isn't closing now?" Hermione asked. Harry couldn't believe that she would ask that question. While the school was certainly not in great shape, there was no question that with the current climate, its students were safer there than they were at home. At least at Hogwarts, they could be protected by great practitioners of magic like Minerva McGonagall.

"No." Minerva said, making sure that no one was listening to their conversation. "The school will remain open until we are certain that there is no chance that the castle can be saved."

"But we're putting a lot of lives in danger, aren't we?"

"They'd be in danger either way." Harry countered. "At least here, we can protect them."

"Until the roof caves in." Hermione snapped. "What happens then?"

"So far, these events have occurred several months apart." Minerva said. "If that is true, then this should be the last one until after exams have occurred and the students have been sent home. We'll be discussing the possibility of moving exams forward during our staff meeting on Sunday."

However, at that moment, something happened that immediately superceded the concern of the collapsing castle. Hagrid, sweating profusely and clearly out of breath, came rushing into the Entrance Hall, stopping just a few feet away from Minerva. Several times, he attempted to speak but found himself unable to catch his breath.

"Breathe, man." Minerva said. "What's so goddamn important?"

"I jus' got done talkin' ter Firenze. He said….that the centaurs spotted a couple o' robed folk...wanderin' out in the Forest." said Hagrid in between rushed breaths.

"Robed folk?" Minerva asked urgently. "Did he mean-"

"Death Eaters, ma'am." Hagrid said as he finally able to stand upright. "There's Death Eaters in the Forest."

For a moment, Minerva stood, frozen in place as if she had been hit with the Full Body Bind. Then, as if her body finally caught up with her mind, Minerva acted.

"Harry, I need you to find Bill and Fleur. They should be near the entrance to the Astronomy Tower." Minerva said suddenly. "Hermione, I want you to look after the students in the Great Hall until Madam Pomfrey is done tending to those that were caught in the Astronomy Tower."

"What do yeh want me ter do, ma'am?" Hagrid asked.

"Lockdown the castle." Minerva said, sounding more like a general than a schoolmaster at the moment. "No one gets in or out without my knowledge."

"Yes, ma'am." Hagrid said before sprinting off to ensure that the front entrance was locked. At the same time, Minerva turned back to Harry.

"Go get Bill and Fleur." she repeated harshly. "Tell them to organize a search party in the woods. I want you and Miss Greengrass to get all the rest of the students back to their Common Rooms. Once you've done those things, come to my office."

"Yes, ma'am." Harry said firmly before turning to sprint out of the Entrance Hall. As Harry sprinted through the school, he noticed that almost every student in the school seemed to be in the hallways, blocking his path. They were all standing in large groups as if they were afraid to walk around on their own. Some of them were even looking at the ceiling, expecting it to fall any moment.

While Harry wanted to reassure them that it wouldn't happen, he knew that he couldn't do that. Harry believed in keeping Hogwarts open. He believed that it was a safer place than any at the moment, considering the threat of Death Eater attacks, even if the castle was starting to come apart under its own weight.

While Harry darted through the crowds, he began ordering students back to their Common Rooms. At first, it didn't seem as if they would listen. But when several other Prefects added their voice to Harry's, they seemed to get that it wasn't a suggestion. Still, it took him another several minutes to fight through the crowds of people, most of them now walking towards him, preventing him from easily getting through the halls of the school.

When Harry finally reached the spot where the entrance to the Astronomy Tower had been, Harry saw exactly what Minerva meant when she said that the Tower had collapsed on itself. The stairs to the Astronomy Tower were one of the few in the castle that didn't move, a spiral set that started at the base of the tower, extending all the way up to the Observation Deck.

However, that staircase no longer existed. Instead, a pile of rubble covered the door, a new wall of loose stone preventing anyone from entering the door. Outside the former entrance, Bill and Fleur stood with roughly a dozen students that had been in the area when the tower had fallen. Thankfully, none of them appeared to be seriously injured.

Harry sprinted towards Bill and Fleur, who was the first to notice him.

"'Arry? What are you doing here?"

"Hagrid just came in from the Forest." Harry said, fighting to keep his voice down over his ragged breathing. "He said that the centaurs have spotted Death Eaters in the Forest. McGonagall wants you to organize a search party while I secure the students in their Common Rooms."

"We can't leave these students here." Bill replied.

"They'll be with me." Harry said. "Minerva ordered you out there so you had better get moving. If there really are Death Eaters out there, we need to know."

"Of course." Fleur said as she pulled Bill towards the stairs.

"Be careful!" Harry shouted at their retreating frames. Once they were out of sight, Harry pulled out his wand, leveling it down the hall where they had left.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Harry's Patronus erupted from the end of Harry's wand, stopping abruptly before he turned to face Harry. Prongs must have sensed just how much of a hurry Harry was in to have responded so quickly.

"Find Daphne Greengrass and give her this message: I need you to start getting all students to their Common Rooms."

Prongs nodded firmly and then sprinted with unnatural speed in the opposite direction, searching for his target with great haste. Knowing that Daphne would begin the process of securing the students while Hermione was busy attending to those in the Great Hall, Harry turned his attention to the students in the hall with him. Most of them had injuries that would have made it difficult to stand, let alone walk.

Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey was already there, working on getting as many of the students fixed as possible.

"How long until they're all ready to walk?" Harry asked.

"Twenty minutes or so." Madam Pomfrey replied. If she took exception to Harry's brisk tone, she didn't mention it. "Some of them will still need help."

"That's fine. We just need them out of the hallway."

Harry stood guard as Madam Pomfrey worked her magic, moving from student to student and providing the most basic medical help before sending them on their way. True to her word, she finished exactly twenty minutes later, sending the last group of Ravenclaws on their way.

"They'll need more attention later." Madam Pomfrey said.

"They'll get it but right now, we just have to get them to a safe place."

"Then why are they still in the castle?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she raced passed Harry and back towards the Hospital Wing. For a moment, Harry considered that Madam Pomfrey was now the second person in the last half hour to suggest closing the school, a thought that Harry still found to be unfathomable. Even if the school was struggling to remain upright, it was still a safer place than being out in the world with the Death Eaters, wasn't it?

Wasn't it?

Harry knew that he didn't have time to linger on this line of thinking. He sprinted back down the stairs and met Minerva and Hermione, who had finished seeing to as many of the students in the Great Hall as possible, back in the Entrance Hall.

"Bill and Fleur took Professor Calhoun and Professor Sprout to search the Forest." Minerva said to Harry. "We need to get the rest of these students back to their Common Rooms."

"I'll take care of that."

Daphne Greengrass had appeared out of nowhere, clearly having received Harry's message.

"Thank you for coming, Ms. Greengrass." Minerva said. "You would be willing to take on that responsibility?"

"Yes." was Daphne's simple response.

"Very well. After that is done, I would like you to come back to the Entrance Hall and confer with Harry and Hermione on the evacuation plan in case we need it."

"Yes, Professor." Daphne said before she took off towards the Great Hall, having received her task. Minerva watched her go for a moment before she turned back to Harry and Hermione.

"Ms. Granger, I would like you to remain here and coordinate with the Prefects from their Common Rooms. Make sure that they get a proper headcount of every student and are aware of the evacuation protocols."

Hermione nodded firmly and immediately started sending Patronus messages throughout the school. In that moment, Harry couldn't help but be thankful that they had taught of all of the Prefects how to communicate using this method.

"Harry, I want you to make sure that all of the secret passages into the school are empty." Minerva said. "If the Death Eaters have been out there, then they might have found a way into the school."

"Understood." Harry said as he raced out of the Great Hall. Over the next hour, Harry checked all seven of the secret passages that lead out of the school. He even checked the Room of Requirement, although the room was no longer as functional as it had once been due to the Fiendfyre attack during the Battle of Hogwarts. Thankfully, it did not look as if the Death Eaters had been using any of the secret entrances.

Still, Harry placed a series of tracking charms on the entrances, linking them to the Marauder's Map. Now, if someone used the doors, Harry would know and could be prepared to intercept the Death Eaters before they could get into the castle proper.

When Harry returned to the Great Hall, he saw that most of the rubble had already been pushed to the side by several of the Professors, clearing a path down the center of the room towards the Head Table where Minerva sat with the professors, listening to a report from Bill.

"...appears to have been out there. The site was fresh with a fire still going. They clearly knew we were coming and decided to get out instead of waiting for us to find them there."

"But they were spying on the school?"

"We can't confirm that." Bill said. "But I do believe that was their job."

At this moment, Minerva noticed Harry and motioned for him to join them.

"The secret passages?"

"Empty." Harry replied. "I left tracking charms on them so I'll know if they're being used."

"Well done." Minerva said and despite the situation, Harry felt himself stand a little taller. "Bill was just telling us about the Death Eater camp."

"I heard." Harry said before turning to Bill. "How many were there?"

"It looked like at least four." Bill replied. "It's possible that they were rotating and only one was present at any given time."

"How did they get there?" Calhoun asked. "Isn't the Forest protected under the castle's wards?"

"It is." Minerva confirmed. "My assumption would be that they are Apparating into Hogsmeade and then entering the Forest from there."

"In either case, we have to address the fact that Death Eaters are watching the castle around the clock." Harry said.

"Yes, yes we do." Minerva said. "Gather the rest of the staff in the Entrance Hall. We have a lot we need to discuss."