Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am just borrowing the characters for some fun.

Warning: This story will contain swearing, scenes of torture and sexual innuendo. Eventual Slash.

Summary: Nothing is going to plan. The order is three days late to pick him up and Lucius Malfoy has somehow managed to get out of Azkaban. Remus always wants to talk, but Harry can't bring himself to even think of what happened in June. It was time to face facts: Harry's life belongs to the cause and his own feelings don't matter. Begins after Order of the Phoenix. Eventual Slash.

Chapter 37: The Third Side

When Harry walked into the Great Hall for dinner everything went silent and then burst into a crescendo of whispers. He tried his best to ignore it and slid into his seat between Ron and Hermione. Neville smiled at him from across the table.

"How did it go with Dumbledore?" Said Ron as he passed the chicken.

"Not well." Harry whispered back. "We rowed. He thinks you can't respect the old magic and accept muggleborns. I think we are offering people who are more traditional another place to go rather then right into Voldemort's arms."

"Harry," Hermione put her hand on his arm and looked at him seriously. "That ritual today, it was amazing. I've never felt anything like that. We were so connected."

Harry smiled at her. "So are you saying that I was right? And that you were wrong?"

"Prat." She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I suppose I am. Happy now?"

"Yes, actually." Harry nudged her playfully with his elbow, and she smiled back.

"Good job, mate. You accomplished the impossible." Said Ron.

"Ron." She said warningly.

Harry shook his head. "Best back off, if you want to get any snogging time tonight."

Ron's face went scarlet and Hermione's eyes got wide. Harry could not help but burst out laughing. After such an emotional day it was nice to come back to this; this was a constant. No matter how bad things got he could count on Ron and Hermione for a chuckle and a bicker. He glanced across the Great Hall and saw Draco deep in conversation with a group of Slytherins. His curiosity was peaked when he realized that Pansy was part of the group.

"I can't believe Dumbledore was mad." Said Neville. "I have never been part of such a strong ritual."

Harry nodded. "We actually strengthened the wards, apparently. Of course, he found some way to make that sound bad."

"We strengthened the wards?!" Hermione had that twinkle in her eye that meant that she was onto a mystery that could only be solved by research. "I'm going to have to look that up later. Only the Headmaster is supposed to even be able to adjust them."

"Do you realize that you have 6 colors?" Said Ron, looking at Harry. "That's way more than most people. I was chuffed with my 3."

Harry blushed. "Yeah, Draco told me. But It's not a big deal."

"Well everyone else disagrees. It's all that anyone can talk about." Said Neville. "That and the fact that you went against Dumbledore's wishes."

"Well, you had four." Ron said, giving Neville an appraising look. "That's pretty impressive too."

"Is it bad that I only have 2?" Said Hermione, suddenly looking less sure of herself.

Ron reached around Harry and took her hand. "Naw, You're the smartest witch I know. Most people have 2 or 3 colors. Besides, it doesn't matter how powerful you are if you don't know what to do with it, and there is no one who knows more than you."

"Okay, get a room you too." Harry gave them both a playful grin. "We're in the middle of planning our next step and you two can't get your mind out of the gutters."

"I'm starting to think that all those prefect's duties are covering for something." Neville tried to keep his face blank but Harry could see his lips twitching.

Harry burst out laughing again. It was the kind of laugh that could not be stopped and continued way longer than is should have. It was a laugh that started in his stomach and took his breath away. He gave himself over to the ridiculousness of it. He had had such a long emotional day that it felt good to be silly. Some of the younger years gave them confused looks and it only made Harry laugh harder. And then Neville started laughing too, and before he knew it Ron and Hermione were trying to hide their own titters of amusement. Harry started to feel tears gather in his eyes. Now some of the other houses were looking at the noise they were making, but Harry still could not stop himself. McGonagall was frowning down at them in disapproval, and that only made him lose it even more. The more he tried to control it the more uncontrollable it became. Hermione tried to shush them, and that became hilarious too.

Finally after a completely unnatural length of laughing the head boy came towards them looking frustrated. "Go outside in the corridor and come back when you have collected yourselves. You're disrupting everyone's meal."

For some reason Harry found that to be the funniest thing he had heard in a long time. He nodded and stood. He tried to hold his breath, but his stomach shook with the effort. He stumbled into the corridor in with bursts of laughter following him out. Ron, Hermione and Neville were not far behind. They all stood in the entrance hall dying of laughter for the next 15 minutes. Every time he thought he had composed himself Ron would snort and Harry would be gone again.

"Potter?"

Harry turned to see Blaise Zabini standing by the door. That made his sober up.

"Can we talk?" Said Zabini, he looked disgusted by their laughter. "Somewhere private, dinner is ending."

Harry straightened himself and nodded. "Let's go find an abandoned classroom."

He glanced at his friends and motioned for them to follow him. Ron's face had a serious look on it that was in sharp contrast to his previous joyvality. Neville looked a bit nervous but determined and Hermione was giving him an appraising look.

"I'd rather talk just the two of us." Said Zabini in his snotty aristocratic drawl.

"Whatever you say to me, you can say in front of them." Harry gave his best impression of Snape's piercing stare. "They will know about it anyway."

The Slytherin gave them all a glare. "Fine."

"Let's go to the 3rd floor, no one goes there anymore." Said Harry, thinking of the party he went to with Eddie earlier in the year.

They walked up the the 3rd floor in silence. All of the hilarity from moments ago was gone and Harry could feel the responsibility settling in him again. He was the Boy-Who-Lived, the 'Chosen One' and he was the one who had to save them. Whatever Zabini wanted it had to be about that.

Finally Harry pushed open the door to the room that formerly belonged to fluffy. Ron, Hermione and Neville looked around curiously, as if expecting a three headed dog to still be there.

"What did you expect? Its an abandoned room." Blaise rolled his eyes.

Oh nothing, just waiting for your friendly neighborhood cerberus to pop out, thought Harry. "So, what's this about? I doubt you invited us here just to catch up."

"There's a rumor going around Slytherin that you had a row with Dumbledore is it true? " Blaise studied his face intently.

"Yeah." Harry shrugged. " He's not too pleased I did that ritual. I went against his rules. So what?"

Blaise narrowed his eyes. "I thought you were Dumbledore's boy through and through."

"You Slytherin's don't know as much as you think you do." Said Harry, trying to play it cool.

"Dumbledore's Army." Blaise enunciated each word.

Ron snorted. "That name was more to piss off Umbitch than anything."

The Slytherin crossed his arms and gave them all a contemplative look. "So are you saying it's true? That there is a third side in this war now?"

"I'm saying that I don't follow Voldemort and I don't agree with how Dumbledore does things either." Said Harry. "I'm saying that we should be able to have traditional magic and treat muggleborns like human beings. I'm saying we should teach muggleborns about wizarding culture instead of trying to kill them or force purebloods to give up their traditions."

"You and who else are saying this?" said Blaise.

Harry licked his lips. How much should he reveal? He wanted the Slytherin to see him as a legitimate third opinion, but he did not want to show his hand.

"Well, all of us in the room for starters." Said Hermione.

Zabini looked unimpressed. "I have never met a muggleborn who did not want to destroy the old ways."

"Well I thought the ritual today was amazing." said Hermione. "I would love to learn more. My magic felt so alive."

Harry could tell that Zabini was working to keep his face blank. "So is this merry band of Gryffindorks all you have, Potter?"

"The Malfoys." Blurted out Harry. "They have been training me in the old ways, amongst other things."

That made the Slytherin's eyebrows go up. "Is that so?"

"It is." They all turned to see Draco walk into the room. "We're backing, Potter."

"I'll take it under consideration. I'm enquiring on behalf of some interested parties." Zabini gave a curt nod and turned toward the door.

Harry quickly thought about everything he knew about Zabini. His family was neutral. They were traditional and veered towards Voldemort, but did seem inclined to take the dark mark.

"We'll also offer protection to those that don't want to fight." Said Harry. "We'll give you a safe place to hide. The Malfoy's certainly have the money for that. All we ask in return is any information you have. No fighting required."

Zabini gave him a significant look, He glanced at Draco to see if he agreed and the blond inclined his head. "Interesting."

Harry watched as Zabini disappeared from the room. He hoped that he hadn't screwed that up. He was still getting used to the role he had to play. He turned to his boyfriend "What are you doing here?"

"Dinner was over and I saw Zabini sneak off. I thought it would be wise to follow, and I was right." Said Draco smuggly. "I think that went rather well. He'll probably approach you within the next 2 weeks to solidify an alliance, and he'll spread the word to other Slytherin neutrals. I didn't know we were offering protection to people though?"

Harry blushed. He probably should have checked before offering up Malfoy money to hide people. "Seems liked the right thing to do."

"Oh it definitely is the right thing, but it's not the logical thing." Said Draco. "Spending money to protect people that don't even fight for you may be considered stupid by some people."

"Well I think it's admirable. People should have a place to go if they want to get away from the war." Said Hermione.

"This is war, Granger. We all want to get away from it." Draco rolled his eyes. "IF we let everyone hide with us and no one fights with us it won't take long before we are losing the war."

Neville was looking between Harry and Draco in confusion. Harry then realized that he did not know that they were dating. He hadn't even told anyone other than Ron and Hermione he was gay. Hell, Neville hadn't even known they were friends.

"You actually think that some of the Slytherins may come over to our side?" Said Harry, trying to throw off the impending argument. He could see both Hermione and Draco geering up, and honestly they both had points.

Draco turned his attention back to Harry. "Definitely. Slytherins are opportunistic. They know that Voldemort is a slave master, and they know that Dumbledore is losing influence. On the other hand, you have nothing but potential. It's not just Slytherins though. You'll probably have some others come up to you as well."

"Some of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws spoke to me once you left the ritual." Said Neville. "They wanted to know more about what your plan was."

Harry laughed. "I'll tell them when I know. I'm kind of going on instinct at the moment."

"Longbottom," Said Draco, suddenly. Harry gave him a warning look; he had had a long day and he did not want to add Draco being a jerk to it. "You did a good job on the ceremony today. It was well done. I was skeptical, but Harry was right to trust you to do it."

Neville tried to keep his face blank, but couldn't help the blush that appeared on his cheeks. Ron's mouth was practically hanging open in shock. Harry smiled at Draco with pride.

"Thanks, Malfoy." Said Neville, "My gran made sure I know all the old ways."

Draco nodded. "I hear that she is a force to be reckoned with. Even the Death Eaters don't want to mess with her. Apparently, you inherited some of that too;I means- 4 colors,"

"Of course you would know who Death Eaters mess with." Snapped Ron.

Harry sighed. "Ron, don't. I've had a long day."

Draco gave him a concerned look and Harry shook his head. No, he did not want to talk about it. Hermione also looked like she wanted him to start talking, so Harry was relieved when Neville broke the tension.

"I didn't know that you two were so close." Neville's eyes flicked between Draco and Harry, no doubt taking in how close they stood to each other.

"We can trust him." Said Harry, he willed Neville to believe him with his eyes. " Draco and I have been talking since break, and I worked with his parents since summer. They gave me extra defense classes."

Neville nodded. "Okay."

Harry was pleased that he did not have to explain anything. That had gone a lot smoother then when Ron and Hermione had found out, but then again he had not given him the whole truth. He wasn't ready to put that price on Draco's head.

"I should head back to the common room before they notice I am missing." Said Draco. He turned to Harry. "You okay?"

Harry waved him off. "I'm fine. Go."

Draco glanced at his friends, then shrugged and kissed Harry before he could object. Ron made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. Part of Harry wanted to jump back, but the larger part of him felt reassured by the kiss. This felt safe and constant, in a world of upheavals. Neville' eyes were wide when Draco pulled back.

Harry blushed and looked away from his friends stares. "I'll see you tomorrow. Ingenium room at lunch."

"Sounds good. We'll strategize." Draco was smirking. His eyes were dancing with mischief. "I'm expecting you to keep this quiet Longbottom, Harry trusts you and he doesn't want this public yet."

"R-r-right." Stuttered out Neville as Draco swept out of the room. Clearly he had been spending too much time with Snape.

Harry felt like his face has caught fire. "Sorry about him. Things have been a little intense today and he's being protective."

"There's no need to apologise." Said Hermione, Her voice sounded more like a warning than a reassurance.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Do you see Ron's face? He looks like he may try to scourgify his eyes."

"You and Malfoy." Neville shook his head. "I did not see that coming.."

"Believe me no one did." Said Harry, "But it works and he's great. Now, I mean. He's less of a prat than before."

Neville looked contemplative. "Okay. It's your love life. If you trust him, so do I."

"Thanks Neville." Harry gave him a big smile, It was nice to not have to explain it all. "Can we go to the common room and just do something normal and boring? I wasn't exaggerating when I said it's been a long day."

"Sure." Hermione, took pity on his hand hooked her arm through his as they walked towards the door. "Have you finished that essay for Mcgonagall?"

"It's due Friday 'mione." Said Ron, "And It's Saturday night."

"So? You don't want to do it last minute? I've-"

Harry exchanged a defeated smile with Neville.

HPHPHHPH

Harry took a deep breath and steadied himself before opening the door. It was only a week after the Beltane ritual, but that meant that his mind had immediately become occupied with the Ingenium ritual that took place in 3 weeks. Snape had scheduled a meeting to go over the ceremony with each of his student's families. Harry hadn't thought he had to have one, but apparently it was even more necessary because his representatives were not blood related.

He hesitated before turning the handle to the potions classroom. He hadn't seen Snape since the afternoon of the Beltane ritual, and he was not looking forward to seeing him now. Snape had never been a big fan of his, even if he had been okay recently, Harry didn't really want to hear his comments about the Dursleys. Surely he would have something snarky to say about the Boy-Who-Lived being cowed by a muggle?

He centered his Gryffindor courage and pushed the door open. Remus would be there, and he would go full werewolf if Snape said something rude; he had nothing to be nervous about.

"We're in the office." Called Remus's voice the moment the door swung shut.

Harry wiped his hands on his pants as he moved toward the back of the room, and the entrance to the office. Snape and Remus were seated inside almost looking like old friends. They were both sipping at some tea, and a plate of cookies sat on the coffee table. Snape was in one of the high backed wing chairs and Remus was on the couch, as far away from the potions master he could get without being impolite. Upon seeing him, Remus jumped up and enveloped him in a hug.

"It's been a while cub. Severus was just filling me in on everything that has been going on." Remus pulled back and gave him a critical look. "Have you been sleeping alright?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "No less than usual."

The werewolf continued to stare at him, as if to say and that should make me less concerned how?

"I'm fine. Stop fussing." Harry tried to make a joke of it as he pulled back and took a seat on the couch.

"Well... you had Albus in quite a tissy the other day over your Beltane ritual." Remus raised an eyebrow in question.

"It was the right thing to do." Said Harry, his voice hard. "I don't care what Dumbledore says. I've already had 3 Slytherins and 1 Ravenclaw and 2 Hufflepuffs talk to me about protections."

"You won't get any lectures from me." Said Remus with a smile. "I happen to agree with you. We need to find a way to get neutral purebloods on our side. Just remember that Albus has been doing this a long time, so he may know some things you won't even think of. I'm more interested about how that's impacting you. It's a lot of responsibility and rumor is that your starting a third side, that's quite a feat."

"I don't think I'm starting a third side." Said Harry with a frown, everyone kept saying that. "It just seems like common sense to me. Let the purebloods have their traditions and show them that muggleborns are not a threat. Everyone needs to accept everyone."

"Well, what you call common sense is not that common." Said Remus, sank back into his chair. "I'm proud of you. If you need any help, let me know."

Harry looked over his mentor. It was clear to him that Remus looked rung dry. His eyes had bags and were sunk into his skull. His hair was long and unwashed, and his skin looked dull. He looked little better than Sirius had after he had spent 13 years in Azkaban."Looks like you may need more help than me."

"Don't worry about me. I always look a little worse for wear after going undercover. It looks worse than it is." Remus motioned towards the couch.

"Any progress on the werewolf front?" Asked Harry, genuinely curious. Draco described the werewolf that followed Voldemort as a truly horrible group, but Remus was always so gentil.

"I'm not sure...maybe." Remus sighed and rubbed his eyes. "They hate Dumbledore, but I may be able to convince them to follow a certain annoying boy who embraces the differences between purebloods, muggleborns and werewolves and is crazy enough to think we can all live together as equals in harmony."

Harry glanced at Snape as the implication of what Remus was saying set in. "You think they would follow me?"

"I can almost guarantee it." Said Remus, "The fact that you have a werewolf friend has not gone unnoticed in the community."

"But, what about Dumbledore? They won't follow him? You work for him? They must know that." Harry played with the end of his shirt.

Remus looked at Snape for help, and received a blank stare in response. "That may be true, but as modern as Dumbledore tries to be, he is still a man of his generation. They also know that I a subordinate to him, and that he only let me go to Hogwarts because of my fathers position, and even then he kept it secret, like something dirty, so it did not really fight to change prejudice."

"Oh." His mind flipped over what Remus said, "I would like them on my side. Better mine than Voldemort. Can I meet with the leader of your group sometime?"

"That may not be wise. Most werewolves are not like your trained pet." Hissed Snape.

"What the F-"

"We could both be there, Severus." Said Remus, cutting off Harry's tirade. "It may be worth a shot. Let me speak with them more and get back to you."

"You risk his life." Snape's eyes were hard.

Remus stared back unflinchingly. "We both have Harry's best interests at heart. I would NEVER put him at risk."

Harry felt the tension in the room go up tenfold. It seemed like both men were trying to bend the other to their will by the strength of their stare.

"I'm here to talk about Ingenium right? Why don't we focus on that?" Harry pleaded.

He glupped when both sets of hard eyes landed on him.

"Yes. There is much to discuss, the first of which being why you did not inform anyone how bad it was at the Dursleys." Remus's eyes had a tinge of yellow in them.

"What was I supposed to say? Practically the first thing I learnt about the wizarding world was that I was some kind of savior." Harry Retorted. " Was I supposed to say "Excuse me but I know you all think I'm some hero or something, but I actually get pushed around by a couple of muggles?" Besides, Dumbledore knew enough. My Hogwarts letter went to the cupboard under the stairs for God's sake!"

"Those letters are addressed by house elves, Potter." Snape sounded oddly calm. His voice was even, like he was stating a fact about a potion, not shattering Harry's world.

Harry shrugged. What was he supposed to say? He didn't talk about the Dursleys. He tried to avoid even thinking about then when he was at Hogwarts. "Can we just talk about the ceremony?"

Something in his voice must have given away how worn out he was because Remus's eyes immediately relaxed. "Alright Harry, you're right. What's done is done, lets focus on the future."

Snape took a contemplative sip of his tea. "Very well. The Ceremony will be held on June 5th. We will have be present for your feast, and the traditional dance. I will be standing in for your mother and Lupin will stand in for your father. We require someone to play the role of overseer. That would normally fall to the teacher, but I am occupying a different role in your ritual. Seeing as you are not on good terms with the Headmaster, I was considering asking Narcissa. Would that be alright with you?"

Harry nodded. He was surprised that he even got a say. "Thanks."

"Just as you have spells to memorize, so do we. I have given Remus a copy of his spell. Considering both of us are essentially stand in's, we can only hope that this works. I suggest that we do a few rehearsals right now, to make things easier the day of. Narissa will just be watching, so she is not needed."

And so began the next two hours of rehearsal. Snape barked orders and criticized Harry for not having perfectly memorized the spell just yet (it was 10 minutes long!). Remus fretted and asked a million questions. By the end of it Harry was sure that he would have the most dysfunctional Ingenium Hogwarts had ever seen.

"Potter, one last thing before you go."

Harry groaned. He had almost made it out. If he has just moved a little faster he could have been on his way to Gryffindor tower by now.

"You need to occlude tonight." Said Snape.

That made Harry's blood run cold. The last time Snape had asked him to occlude there was an attack planned. "Is he planning something tonight?"

"I will answer that question once I have your word that you will occlude tonight." Responded Snape.

Harry almost punched the door. "Fine. I promise I will occlude."

Snape gave him a warning look. "He is planning to attack Hogsmeade tonight."

"What!? Are you sure?"

"I would not say so if I was not sure." Snape looked annoyed. " You are to occlude and ward your dorm room door. The Order will do what it can, but you need to be vigilant if he decides to go further than the village."

Harry felt the sinking in his gut harden into determination. "I can help."

"The best thing you can do to help is to stay here and be safe." Said Remus. "Think about it, we are taking a few of the teachers and the Order. If something happens, the students need to be ready. Here;" Remus took a jar off the fireplace. "Take this jar of floo powder. Evacuate the building if the fighting comes too close."

Harry gave a jerky nod. "I will. Why would he attack Hogsmeade now?" The answer came to him in a burst of clarity. "He wants to get me before the Ingenium, and this brings him closer to me."

"He plans to take Hogsmeade and solidify it as a stronghold he can work from that is close to Hogwarts." Said Snape, confirming his thoughts. "The Order will do what it can to prevent it, and the ministry is providing Aurors. Do not worry, we just need you to occlude."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'll occlude."

"Then get back to Gryffindor tower, we have a meeting with the Headmaster." Said Snape.

Remus gave his shoulder a squeeze. "It will be fine."

"Just...be safe." He glanced between both men meaningfully before leaving the room.

His mind spun with worry and possibilities on the way to the tower. He wished he had a way to contact Draco and tell him to be careful, but they always met at planned times. After thinking about it he decided that Draco would probably be okay. He always had an emergency pack of floo powder and had a way to contact his parents if things got hot. He concluded that what he really needed was to have a meeting with Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville. Maybe they could take shifts for the night to keep an eye on the portrait hole. He doubted that Voldemort would make it there, but if never hurt to be safe.

He found Ron, Hermione and Neville seated on the couches by the fire in Gryffindor tower. The two boys were playing a game of wizard chess (Ron was murdering Neville), while Hermione looked on.

"We need to talk, there's an attack planned tonight." Hissed Harry.

Ron's face paled and Neville sat up straighter.

Hermione gasped. "How do you know? You didn't have another vision did you?"

"No." Harry sat down on the couch and bent in closer to them, he didn't want to whole common room to go into a panic. " Snape told me. He wants me to Occlude tonight. They're planning an attack on Hogsmeade."

Ron looked calculating. "He's trying to get closer to you isn't he? He wants to get you before the ceremony. That's what I would do."

"Yeah." Said Harry, surprised. "You're scary good at this, mate."

"It's all just strategy." Ron shrugged. "We should set up a guard. If he can make it to Hogwarts he probably will.."

"That's what Snape said." Harry held up the jar of Floo powder. "We are to evacuate the tower if they come too close."

"I'll make a schedule for rotation. We can each take 2 hours." Said Hermione, already pulling out parchment and a quill. "We can sleep down here tonight. Mcgonagall doesn't care how late we stay up on Saturdays. "

Neville nodded. "I think we should let Ginny in on this too. She can help."

The others agreed and they all split up to their tasks. Harry and Ron got blankets and pillows from the dorm room. Neville went to find Ginny and Hermione set to work on a lookout schedule. To the outsider observer it would just look like they were having a sleepover in the common room, some Gryffindors did it practically every weekend.

Within 30 minutes they were all comfortably setup on the couches. They decided to all stay up until 11pm, and start the first shift then. Harry had never felt so prepared for a crisis. He was used to running in last minute and figuring out as he went, but if Voldemort did make it to Hogwarts this time he would be ready. Hermione was reassuring in her confidence in her plans and Ron cracked jokes that made him laugh despite his anxiety. Despite the fact that he was sure he would not sleep he managed to drift off sometime after midnight…

"...report." He hissed.

Bellatrix smiled up at him from her kneeling position. She was the best type of follower; vicious and unyieldingly loyal with a deep respect for the old ways.

"It is as a predicted, my Lord. The traitor has tipped them off." She was careful not to look him in the eye but he could hear the smugness in her voice. "They are readying Hogsmeade for an attack. Aurors are joining them to help in the flight."

Anger cursed through him. That TRAITOR. After everything he has done for Snape and he was a spy. He looked foolish for trusting such a Fucking greasy half-blood. He Would PAY for his Betrayal.

He turned to wormtail and cast a cruciatus curse to let out his anger. He was the only one in the room besides his dear Bella and, anyway, the rat deserved it for not recognising Snapes deception earlier. He barely registered Peter's screams over his rage.

"This will work in out favor, my Lord." Said Bellatrix. "The aurors will all be focused on Hogsmeade, leaving our path to the ministry open. It will make our real planned attack all the easier."

He ended the Curcio.

Yes...this would make things easier. He hadn't thought that Snape was a traitor, but he could use it to his advantage. But first…

"Call a meeting. I want all the recruits that are serving tonight here in the next 10 minutes, especially the new ones. Once they are all here, we will call our dear Severus and show everyone what happens to those that betray Lord Voldemort. It will be our appetizer before the main event."

Bella practically shook with glee. "Yes, Sir."

She pressed her want to her dark mark.

Harry came back to himself in a burst of energy and a pounding pain in his head. He didn't think Voldemort had noticed him there, but it had taken all his occlumency skills to stay hidden. He swallowed his nausea and jumped up from the couch.

It was 2 am, and Ginny was supposed to be on guard duty, but it looked like she had dozed off. That was fine. Hogwarts was not in trouble, they had never even planned to go to Hogsmeade anyway. The Ministry was Voldemort's true target. It had all been a test for Snape, one that he had failed.

Harry stumbled towards the portrait hole. He had to do something. He had less than ten minutes before all the Death Eaters were assembled, and then only minutes before Snape was walking into his death. But where could he go? All of the Order was a Hogsmeade. He had to get a message to them.

In a sudden rush of inspiration he ran towards the dungeons. Draco had a way to get in contact with his parents. He could send a message to the Order, and Snape.

The halls were dark and cold. Harry didn't even bother to stay quiet. He ran through the corridors, glad that Remus made him practice running. When he finally got to the entrance to the Slytherin common rooms he did a quick mental calculation, he probably had 3 minutes before the Death Eaters were assembled.

He banged on the wall and screamed in frustration. Of course he didn't have the password…

"Please open, please! It's an emergency!"

Of course it didn't move…

"Stop banging out stupid human, No password no entrance."

Harry spun in place. That was parseltongue. Where had it come from?

Praying that for once things would for once things would go his way he closed his eyes, pictured a snake and hissed. "Please Open the door. It's an emergency. Very important. Life and death."

There was a moment of stillness, and Harry was sure that it had not worked. The thing had said that he could not enter without the password, and then the door swung open.

"Thank you!" He yelled and he ran into the Slytherin common room.

He had 2 minutes... Maybe...

Harry ran to the left, hoping that boys were on the left like they were in Gryffindor. He found a door with a six on it and burst in.

He had no time to waste. "Draco, Wake up. You need to tell Lucius that Voldemort knows Snape is a spy!"

There were 4 wands pointed at him within seconds. Draco was sitting up in bed and giving him a quizzical look.

Harry ignored the wands and directed his gaze to his boyfriend. "They know he's a spy and they're going to kill him. The attack is on the ministry, not Hogsmeade. You need to tell the Order now! Hurry!"

Draco pulled a book from his night stand and began to write in it. Harry stood still and finally took note of how bad this looked. He had broken into the Slytherin common room at 2 am, and now had 4 wands pointed at his head. He raised his arms in surrender..

Draco waved his wand over the message and whispered a spell and the words disappeared. "You can put your wands down, now. Potter, is not here to kills us, just get a message sent."

Blaise lowered his wand slowly, Crabbe and Goyle looked confused, and Nott only widened his stance.

"What are you doing here, Potter? How did you get in?" Nott made his wand twitch as if he was thinking of casting a spell. "Snape will have you expelled for this."

Harry snorted. "Did you not hear what I just said? I'm saving his ass."

"Snape's a traiter?" Said Crabbe, stating the obvious.

"He's not a traiter," Said Harry, "He's just not an idiot."

Nott pressed his wand into Harry's chest. "Watch your mouth."

"Put your wand down, Nott." Draco's wand was drawn and pointed at his house mate.

Nott gave him a bored look. "How the mighty have fallen, Malfoy. It's sad to see one of The Sacred 28 stoop to this level."

"What's sad is seeing a Slytherin have such little cunning." Shot Draco. "Potter just revealed something important about your master, and your just standing here making threats. How utterly stupid. I expect it from Crabbe and Goyle, but not from you Nott."

There was a ding and the book the Draco had written in lit up. The blond, lazily put away his wand, as if he couldn't be bothered with the drama going on in front of him, and opened his book.

"We got to them in time." Said Draco, making eye contact with Harry.

Harry smiled and felt his shoulders relax. He had done something right for once and saved Snape. "That's good."

"Father says to go back to Gryffindor where you belong and occlude." Draco read from the paper.

Harry looked at Nott with a smirk. "Do I have your permission to leave?"

"Get the fuck out." Nott put away his wand and made sure to shove Harry with his shoulder as he walked to what seemed to be the bathroom door. Crabbe and Goyle followed like lost puppies.

"Vision?" Asked Draco, looking concerned.

"Yeah. I'm okay. He didn't know I was there. I'll go occlude." Harry wanted to kiss Draco so badly, but knew that it was probably not a good idea to reveal their relationship to Blaise. Still, he looked incredibly sexy in nothing but his PJ pants, with his slept in hair. He hadn't appreciated that sleep wear enough when they were on Christmas break.

"I'm in."

Harry and Draco both turned to look at Blaise.

"I'm on your side now, Potter, whatever that means." Said Blaise with a fierce determination in his eyes. "You better not get me killed."

A/N:I am so sorry for the wait between chapters! I will try my hardest to make sure it does not happen again! The end of term and my kitten needing a surgery slowed me down (she is doing well now). I received some beautiful reviews, that honestly made me tear up. Thank you for the support and your continued interest in this story! Thanks for reading!