Harry's smile died as a shout echoed through the corridor. It was followed by grunts and yells; the unmistakeable sounds of fighting. He glanced down at his watch. Nearly two hours had passed since Voldemort's voice had echoed through the school. The battle had begun.

People appeared around the corner; Fred and Percy battling two masked and hooded Death Eaters. Harry ran forward to help as Percy landed a curse on his assailant. The second man buckled beneath dual jinxes from Fred, turning a sickly green colour as he fell to the floor.

The mask slipped off of Percy's attacker. Harry realized who the man was as Percy's chuckle rang through the corridor. "Hello Minister!" he exclaimed as he landed a second curse on Thicknesse. "I suppose this is a good time to tell you that I'm resigning!"

Fred turned to Percy, his mouth open in shock. "You're joking!" he exclaimed. "You're actually joking! I-" But Fred was cut off as he fell to the side.

There was a rumble. The walls shook. Harry barely heard a scream from behind before the world exploded and he was tossed back by an unseen force. Screams and shouts echoed around him as a jet of light flew past towards the center of the explosion.

Harry felt the pain before he opened his eyes. It throbbed across his chest and down his arms. He forced his eyes to open, to focus, to see what had happened.

The wall of the castle had been blown apart entirely, right where Fred and Percy had been standing. Harry watched, unable to make himself move, as Ron rushed towards his brothers, mouth open wide. Harry became aware of a ringing in his ears as Ron's voice slowly faded in.

"Fred! Percy!" Ron was screaming. "No! No, you can't be- FRED!"

Harry pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the the blood pouring from his left arm. He took a tentative step towards Ron before falling over.

"Harry!" Suddenly Draco was beside him. He murmured something and the bleeding stopped. A second spell stopped the throbbing in his chest. Harry looked towards the Weasleys again as Draco helped him to his feet.

To his relief Harry saw three red-headed men standing together, Percy and Ron helping to support Fred's weight. He had clearly been hit the worst, but seemed to have avoided any permanent damage. Hermione was standing next to him, looking him over for injury.

Draco kept a tight hold on Harry as he walked towards the group, holding him upright as he stumbled forward.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as he reached them. "The explosion-"

"It missed us," Percy answered. "At least mostly." He looked at Draco. "Did you shoot the reductor curse?" Draco nodded.

"You saved my life," Fred said. "Half the wall would've fallen on me if you hadn't blasted it."

A noise from behind cut off Draco's answer. Harry turned just in time to see a shimmer of movement dash around the corner and out of sight.

"Alecto!" Hermione gasped. "She heard about the Diadem!"

Harry's eyes grew large as he took in Hermione's words. A second later his feet were pounding down the hallway in pursuit. But as he rounded the corner, he knew that it was hopeless. There was no way to know where she had gone.

Suddenly there were people next to him; Hermione, Ron and Draco had run after him. Ron was shaking and pale. "Spiders," he exclaimed, pointing behind them. Harry peeked around the corner and saw Percy and Fred, joined now by Lupin and Ted Tonks, fighting several large spiders who had climbed through the gap in the wall.

"This way," Hermione said, pulling aside a tapestry. The others followed her inside onto a narrow staircase.

"It's just the snake left," Draco panted. Soot from the fire had mixed into his hair to turn it nearly black. "Alecto's going to tell Him what she heard. He'll know that we're looking for Horcruxes."

Harry nodded. "We have to find him, now." He closed his eyes and let the ever-present pain from his scar overtake him.

Harry's eyes flew open. "He's in the shrieking shack!" he exclaimed. "Alecto just got there. He's got the snake with him, and he's asking for Snape. There's something about the Elder wand, he's not happy with it.

"Give me the cloak," Ron said. "I'll go and-"

"No, I'll go," Hermione interrupted. "I can-"

"No," Harry said. "It has to be me. I'll go, and I'll kill the snake. Then-"

"Wait," Draco interrupted. "Stop for a second and think. It doesn't make sense for anyone to go alone." He shook his head. "It doesn't really make sense to go at all, but I can't think of any other way. We have to go together."

"How?" Ron asked. "We don't all fit under the Invisibility Cloak."

Harry shrugged. "It won't cover our legs, but I doubt anyone will notice. We'll put it on when we get close."

Together they dashed down the stairs and into the thick of the battle. Curses were flying everywhere as they made their way across a hallway to another set of stairs. Suddenly Harry stopped, forcing Ron to run into his back. Neville raced past them, a potted plant grasped firmly in his hands. Luna was close behind, as well as Professor Sprout. They ran into a cluster of Death Eaters and began throwing the plants, pots and all, towards their targets. Harry felt a surge of pride as the Death Eaters fell to the floor, writhing in pain from the touch of the plants.

"Harry, watch out!" Hermione called. Harry turned just in time to see a Death Eater barrelling towards him, wand drawn. Before he could react the man had fallen at his feet, unconscious. Harry looked past the fallen body to see Tonks smiling at him.

"Wotcher Harry!" she greeted. "Keep an eye out, they're everywhere!" With a small wave she turned and ran off.

Harry stepped over the body of the fallen Death Eater and wrenched open the door to a staircase. He hurried down, his friends close behind.

The next floor was a sea of dust and debris. The wall here had also been blasted in, leaving rubble lying everywhere. Harry carefully picked his way across, cringing as he saw the bodies lying in the remnants of the hallway. He recognized Colin Creevey, blood trickling from his mouth as his eyes stared into nothingness.

They emerged from the destroyed hallway onto a balcony overlooking the Entrance Hall. The battle raged on beneath them. Lavender and Parvati were fighting a Death Eater near the door. Kingsley was backed into a corner by three others, and Neville's grandmother was using an umbrella to bat aside a man who was looming ominously over the twitching body of a Ravenclaw girl. Harry was already halfway down the stairs when he heard his voice over the din.

"Harry Potter!" a squeaky voice called out. Harry turned wildly around, searching for the source of the sound.

"Dobby!" he shouted, recognizing the elf. "Dobby, you're okay!"

Dobby faced Harry with a smile plastered across his small face. "The house elves must help Hogwarts!" he exclaimed. "They must help Harry Potter!" Behind hm a line of house elves was darting into the battle.

Harry smiled, happy to see that the elf was unharmed. He took a step forward..

A bolt of light flew past Harry's left shoulder. It spun in a wide arc, and time seemed to freeze. It slammed into the elf's chest, pushing him backwards. The smile vanished from his face as he toppled to the floor.

"No!" Harry voice echoed in his ears. "No, Dobby! Dobby!" He turned to see the attacker. A woman in a mask was quickly retreating through a door. He fired a curse towards her before turning to run to the house elf.

"Dobby!" Harry screamed as he cradled the small body in his arms. "Dobby, don't go!"

"Harry!" someone said sharply. "Harry, it's too late. We have to keep going." He didn't move.

Harry was pulled to his feet. "It's not safe here! We have to keep going!"

Harry lifted his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes before he turned to face Ron. His face was empty. He glanced down at Dobby. "This has to end."

Outside of the castle walls Harry threw the Invisibility cloak over all four of them. It was cramped and difficult to walk, and their feet were exposed, but it protected them from unwelcome notice as they made their way to the Whomping Willow. Hermione levitated a stick to press the knot that would make it stop thrashing and they piled together into the dark passage.

The end of the passage was blocked by a crate. By lying flat on the ground Harry could make out a small sliver of the room beyond. Draco came up next to him as the voices started.

"Severus," Voldemort's voice came out as a hiss. "It is good of you to join me."
"My Lord." Harry could see the edge of Snape' face as he bowed. "The battle is going well. If you would allow it I could seek out Potter himself and bring him-"

"Enough," Voldemort declared. There was a swish as he stood from his chair. " I have recently had some interesting information from Alecto. It seems that Potter may have more information than expected."
"My Lord?"

Tell me, what did Dumbledore know of my survival?"

Snape's voice seemed less certain than usual. "I'm afraid I don't know my Lord."

Voldemort paused for a moment, seemingly debating his next words. "Did he have a ring? A golden ring, with a large black stone."

Harry saw Snape shake his head. "No my Lord. I have never seen such a thing."

"Then perhaps it is nothing."

"My Lord," Snape began again, "The battle is still being fought. Would it not be a more prudent use of time-"

"I'm afraid not," Voldemort replied carelessly. He twirled his wand. "I'm afraid that I have a problem, Severus."

Harry could see Snape's leg twitch. "A problem, my Lord?"

"Yes. I'm afraid that this wand is not working properly for me."

"My Lord, you have done incredible magic with that wand."

"That is indeed the problem. I have done incredible magic, yes, but no more than usual. This wand should add to my power. Instead I find it no different than any other."

Harry shrank back as Voldemort walked past the crate he was hiding behind. "The reason, I think, is clear." He stood still directly in front of Snape. "It is still loyal to the one who killed it's previous owner."

Harry could hear the tears in Snape's voice. 'My Lord, let me fight. Let me continue to serve you."

"Begging does not behoove you, Severus," the snakelike voice answered dully. Voldemort turned away from Snape. "Nagini." The snake slithered to his side. "Kill."

Harry watched, horrified, as the snake attacked Snape. It bit him in the throat, and the chest, and again on his arm. It struck over and over again, drawing blood with each bite as Snape's screams echoed through the small room. Finally, with a rustle of his cloak, Voldemort vanished, taking the snake with him.

Draco pushed aside the crate and crawled into the room before Harry could move. In an instant he was sitting at Snape's side. A moment later Harry joined him, followed by Ron and Hermione.

There was something leaking from Snape, something besides blood. Harry watched as Draco collected the silvery substance, storing it in a vial that he had conjured. Snape's eyes landed on Harry as he moved closer.

Look- look at me," he said weakly. Harry gazed into his eyes, watching as the last of the light left them.

Voldemort's voice echoed again across the school grounds.

"The battle is nearly over. We will be victorious. I give you now one hour. Collect your dead. Tend to your wounded.'

'Harry Potter. Come to the Forbidden Forest within one hour or the fighting will resume. Do not hide behind others any longer. I am waiting."