Author's Note: Welcome back everyone! I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy. I want to thank Ghostwriter71 for reviewing the previous chapter. I'm glad you liked it and, quite frankly, completely agree with you on the Light Side being a bit (read: very) hypocritical.

This chapter is a bit on the short side, I'm afraid. We are reaching a series of action-filled chapters, so I had to cut in here so that I could divide future chapters in a way that would make sense and wouldn't result in massive blocks of text. So apologies for that! Anyways, enjoy the story!

May 2, 1997
London

Over the next few days, there was little news from the outside world, and even less happened within Grimmauld Place 12. During the days, Sophie and Draco distracted themselves with reading, listening to music, and playing Exploding Snap – and arguing about all three of those activities. On the first two days, Sophie assisted Draco with practicing some of his spells, but they stopped when both came to the realisation that they were mostly duelling spells. They had immediately moved on to activities that did not remind them of the impending war.

During the nights, Sophie had more difficulty keeping her thoughts from straying to what was to come. On the whole, she couldn't help the sense of utter uselessness now that everything was coming together. Others were arranging the defence. Others would be fighting the fight. Sophie wasn't particularly eager to join the fighting – especially being wandless and all – but when thinking about this moment she had just imagined herself doing something useful. Anything.

And so she slept poorly, or even not at all, ruminating about all the information she had given and searching for anything vital that she could have missed. Then, she would jump out of bed, light the candle on her nightstand, and frantically page through her notebook. Finding that she had covered the subject after all, she would then warily drop back in bed, only to have the cycle repeat itself in an hour or so.

Then, finally, sometime during the night of Wednesday on Thursday, in a state that was not really conscious nor sleeping, she realised that she had missed something. The prisoners at Malfoy Manor.

Sophie wasn't quite sure who they would be at this time. Luna was originally abducted from home, in the summer if she wasn't mistaken, so that may or may not have already happened. Ollivander, she could only imagine, would already be there, given that Voldemort had by now acquired the Elder Wand – or perhaps he wouldn't be there anymore, given that his purpose had now passed. And the Goblin… Griphook. Well quite frankly she couldn't quite remember why he had been there in the first place. Something to do with the Gryffindor sword, but for the life of her she couldn't remember what it was. In any case, she would inform the others first thing in the morning, so that they could set up a rescue plan.

-xxx-

Next morning, Sophie and Draco were having breakfast in the kitchen – Mrs Malfoy as per usual preferring to take breakfast in the privacy of her own rooms – and Sophie was filling her friend in on her late night epiphany. He reacted coolly, saying that there had been no prisoners yet when he and his mother had fled, but not being entirely surprised that Voldemort had added them to his "House of Horror" (Sophie's words, not Draco's) afterwards.

They had just abandoned the topic for more pleasant ones when a silver weasel came prancing through the kitchen wall. Just as the realisation dawned that what she was seeing was a Patronus, Mr Weasley's voice filled the room.

'Voldemort and his army have arrived at Hogwarts. All Order members and Hogwarts parents have been called to assemble at once. We know that Snape can still access headquarters and are working on a solution. For now, stay alert and Disapparate to the Burrow in case the headquarters are breached. If not, lay low until all is over; someone will come for you when it is.' And just like that, the Patronus dissolved into clear air.

'So it has happened at last.'

'Yes,' Sophie breathed, staring at the place where the Weasel had been, not yet processing that from one moment to the next, everything had changed. And yet, nothing had, for they were still here – sitting, waiting, being able to do nothing while others were out there taking care of everything. Except they weren't – there was one thing they didn't know. 'What about the prisoners?'

'What about them?'

'Well I never got to tell anyone,' at his unchanged expression, she explained, 'No one knows except us.'

'You can tell someone when they come back.'

'But what if that's too late? What if Voldemort takes down everything in his demise? What if… what if something goes wrong?'

Draco didn't respond immediately, taking a bite from his toast and chewing leisurely. Then he stated, plainly, 'Well, there's nothing we can do anyways. We can't just barge into Malfoy Manor.'

'Actually, maybe we can,' Sophie started slowly, a strange sort of excitement bubbling as the plan unfolded itself in her mind. 'Voldemort took his army to Hogwarts, so it is not likely that there are many guards at the Manor.'

'It's not just guards. For as long as I can remember, the Manor has been protected by many wards and other spells that I don't even know the nature of. I don't think even my father knows all of them, having been added by many generations of Malfoys before us.'

Realisation struck, but Sophie waited another moment before voicing it – not liking what now appeared to be the only option. But now was no time for beating around the bush, and so she took a deep breath before explaining. 'That's why you must go. The spells have been designed specifically to protect you and your family. Voldemort is too arrogant to consider that you or your mother would ever dare come back, so he is unlikely to have adjusted the wards.'

'I really am not sure…'

She was silent for a moment, then she locked gazes with him. His grey against her blue. His uncertain against her emboldened. 'It's the only way.'

-xxx-

Only half an hour later, they reconvened in the kitchen. Draco was now dressed in black robes, his wand gripped tightly in his hand the only sign betraying his discomfort. After having suggested that he find a way to get her in ("Unlikely"), Sophie had settled on preparing rooms for the prisoners in his absence. It was not much of an honourable task, but one that needed doing she supposed.

For a minute or so, they just faced each other silently, not sure how to say goodbye when they couldn't be sure that it was only for a few hours. At last, Sophie reached out and wrapped her arms around her friend, squeezing him tightly the way her mother always did her for good measure. 'Promise me you will be careful.'

Draco scoffed, stiff in her embrace, 'You do realise I'm not some brainless Gryffindor, right?'

Releasing him, she gave him a mirthless smile, 'I realise. But humour me.'

'Fine, I promise.'

'Thank you. Please return soon with the others, all safe and sound.'

'You do know I cannot promise you that, don't you? It's a war – casualties happen.'

'I can hope.'

'You can dream.'

Sophie looked down at her feet, finding a wry smile make its way onto her lips as a whisp of lyrics entered her mind. '"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."'

'Pardon?'

'It's from a Beatles song – or from one of them, anyway. It's about an imagined world in which people don't wage war over religion, countries, or possessions. I have it on a CD somewhere, I'll lend it to you next time.'

Draco nodded. And with that almost promise, he turned on his spot and Disapparated with a loud crack.

May 2, 1997
London

After Draco's departure, Sophie found herself pacing the length of the kitchen for a good fifteen minutes, restless as she tried not to think of what could go wrong – and instead trying to focus on calculating how much time she had before he would return with the prisoners. In addition to Draco's mission, her mind also drifted to Hogwarts, and the people who were there fighting for their and others' lives.

She wondered how many parents and other sympathisers had actually showed up for the defence of the castle. Was it enough to keep Voldemort at bay? Was it enough to keep the underaged students away from the fight? In the end, it was of course only relative; it needed only to be enough until Voldemort decided to call Harry to the Forbidden Forest. She wasn't quite sure how long it would take, but she guessed that it couldn't be too late in the day.

And from thereon out, of course, it all depended on Harry. Harry, who was supposed to be willing to give himself up for the greater good. Harry, who was supposed to know he was a Horcrux, and that dying himself was the only way to mortalise Voldemort. But did he know?

In the original timeline, Harry and his friends had had a year after Dumbledore's death to learn about the Deathly Hallows and the identity of Voldemort's Horcruxes. But had he even been told in this timeline, where the Order had been responsible for tracking and destroying the Horcruxes? And even if he knew about the Horcruxes more generally, was Snape going to be at the castle to tell him of his own role now that the ex-Potions Master had not taken over as headmaster? What happened if there was no valid reason for Harry to offer himself up? Would he still go? What if he didn't?

Could she even take the chance?

She stalked from the kitchen and up to the bedroom on the first floor, to prepare herself for what she knew she had to do. It was probably best to travel light and although she was tempted to bring her notebook, she couldn't run the risk of it falling into Voldemort's hands. She took a deep, steadying breath, bracing herself on the matrass as she grounded herself. This was it. Now all she had to do was get to Hogwarts.

Sophie turned, ready to go upstairs and beg Narcissa – against all odds – to Apparate her to Hogsmeade, when a flash of purple caught her attention. She reached into her bag, pulling out the velvet pouch with Floo powder. She was reminded of that Christmas, when she had been seated on the Weasley family staircase, and had unwrapped her package. It had been a thoughtful gift for someone who would never really have a place at Hogwarts. But what if it was something more?

'There will always be a place for you at Hogwarts, when you need it,' she mumbled, repeating the message that she had found stuffed between the pages of Hogwarts: A History. At the time, she had considered it just a kind sentiment, given to one who clearly had difficulty finding a place somewhere between the magical and non-magical world. At some point, she had even considered it a play on what Dumbledore would have said in Harry's second year about getting help. But what if it was neither? What if it was actually a promise – and the Floo powder was the means?

-xxx-

She was ready to go soon after. There was little to be done in preparation, so she had simply tied her hair back and put on some comfortable clothes that would allow her free movement. After that, she marched downstairs to the kitchen. When she arrived there, she was surprised to find Narcissa there, giving some directions to Kreacher who appeared uncharacteristically friendly. At her entrance, they both looked up.

'Ah it's good that I catch you, Kreacher. We might get some guests later, likely in poor health. Could you please prepare several beds and some soup?'

The House-Elf looked at her, then returned to Narcissa, clearly intent on ignoring her order.

'That will be all, Kreacher. And please follow Ms Cornwell's directions.'

He nodded and, with a snap, disappeared, leaving the two women alone in the kitchen.

'So you are leaving too.'

'Wh…-'

'Draco visited me before he left to inform me of his plans. I assume you were involved?'

'Well yes, but…-'

'Draco is not a child anymore. If he says that this is something he needs to do, I trust his judgment. Although… I cannot but wonder at where the inspiration came from.' She gave Sophie a pointed look. Then, seemingly satisfied when the younger girl looked guilty, she looked her up and down. 'You are going to Malfoy Manor as well?'

'To Hogwarts, actually.'

Mrs Malfoy seemed surprised at this, but didn't respond immediately. Instead, she pulled out her wand – and for a moment Sophie was afraid that she would magically rope her to one of the chairs. Instead, Narcissa pointed it at her clothes and, with a curt wave of her wand and whispered incantation, transformed them into black robes. After a short pause, she added a green tie and snake emblem to the ensemble. 'You should catch much less attention like this.'

'I… thank you, Mrs Malfoy.' She looked down at herself and her new robes. If it had been any other moment, she might have fooled around in them, or perhaps closed her eyes for a moment and pretended that she had been accepted into Hogwarts. Now she just nodded, and stepped into the large fireplace. As she stuffed her hand in what was now a pocket in her robe to retrieve the Floo Powder, she looked back at Narcissa over her shoulder. 'When he returns, could you please tell Draco not to worry about me? And above all, to stay away from Hogwarts.'

At Narcissa's nod, Sophie took a deep steadying breath, and threw a handful of Floo Powder into the hearth. 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland.'