I walked out of the Great Hall with James and Charlotte one day at the end of March. For some odd reason, James was getting in trouble…again. Professor McGonagall was quite livid, which was probably justifiable. James had this habit of misusing the Marauder's Map. For instance, last night, he had snuck down to the kitchen and brought all of us guys some ice cream. Charlotte then proceeded to sneak into our dormitory and pig out with us. Anyway, James had somehow found out, which I wasn't surprised about. Whatever you do, somehow, some way, Minerva McGonagall will find out.

"I'll see you guys later," James called to us as Professor McGonagall was dragging him away to her office. Charlotte shrugged at me, sending a smile in my direction.

"Wanna finish off that ice cream?" she asked me. We had put the leftovers under a freezing charm and left them in one of the armoires in my dormitory.

"Bronte! I'm surprised at you, woman! If we keep this up, you're going to have to go on a diet, you know," I told her. There was absolutely no way that she could take that in the wrong way. No matter how much Charlotte ate, she would still be stick skinny.

"I know," she said, hanging her head; voiced laced with melancholy, "I almost broke the scale in the girls' dormitory last night, Landon. Baby whales are starting to think of me as one of their sisters. I just can't handle this anymore."

I laughed at her, and she gave me a shove, which I promptly returned.

"No ice cream for you!" I told her.

"Hey! It's my ice cream, too!"

"But, Bronte, you forget that technically, you're not allowed in the boys' dormitory. I would hate for someone to find you eating illegal food in an illegal location."

"Oh, this is so…forbidden!" she said in an excited whisper. This girl definitely read too many romance novels, because if she got so worked up over 'forbidden' ice cream, I hate to see what she would be like when she was 'in love' or something. I mean, come on, what would she do with her boyfriend on a 'hot night'. Sweetheart…I could picture her saying in a rather lusty voice, Let's…let's…let's go steal ice cream from the kitchens! Why? Oh, to eat in secret, silly! Isn't it exciting! It's…forbidden…Her poor boyfriend would probably be sitting there, feeling rather snubbed. I know that I'd be irked if I thought that my girlfriend wanted to…never mind.  

I rolled my eyes at her, and she shoved me again. Once we arrived at the tower, I went up to the boys' dormitory and retrieved the invisibility cloak after making sure that no one was there. I snuck it down to Charlotte, who was hiding in a dark corner. Slipping it over her head, she followed me back up the stairs and into the dormitory, where I promptly locked the door behind us. I opened the wardrobe and the two of us grabbed spoons, leaned against the back of my bed and succumbed to the world of brain-freezes.

Bronte nudged me with her shoulder. "So you've got the hots for Finnigan, eh?"

I sprayed ice cream out of my nose, which was a very strange experience. "What? What makes you think that? Of course not!" She gave me a look. Damn. "All right, so maybe a little. Maybe a lot."

She laughed at me, and I put my head on my knees. "Is it that obvious? Please say no."

"Not really, I can just tell. I know you. It's obvious to me. I'm a girl, you know."

"Really? I didn't, actually."

"Shut up."

"You."

"You."

"Fine," I said. Of course, I wasn't letting it go like that. I dipped my spoon in the ice cream again, and proceeded to smear it on her nose.

"No, you didn't just do that."

"OK, I didn't."

We sat there, still eating ice cream.

"So, does Fiona like you?" she asked me.

"I dunno…does she ever talk about me?" I asked her, trying to appear nonchalant about it, when really, I could have bit all of my fingernails and fingers waiting for her to answer.

"I guess," she said with a shrug. "Only as much as I talk about you."

"Oh. Is that a lot?"

She shrugged again. "I guess. I mean, how much do friends talk about each other," she said through a mouthful of ice cream. That was pretty gross to watch.

"So, then, how much do friends talk about each other? Just out of curiosit-"

James ran into the room and slammed the door shut, throwing his full weight against it, panting hard and wearing a terrified look on his face.

"Charlotte!" he said, "Get under the bed! Go!" He pushed her under the bed, despite her protests and threw the ice cream underneath. All in one motion, he grabbed a comic book from his bedside table and jumped on the bed, flipping open the book and pretending to be deep in the world of Martin Miggs. I followed suit, hopping onto my own bed with Hogwarts: Yet Another Revised History. No sooner had I discovered that I was reading it upside down than my mum, Head of Gryffindor House, walked in.

"All right, boys," she said, "James, you've heard. Landon, we're checking all of the dormitories for food because someone," she shot James a look, "has been sneaking down to the kitchen. Oh, and Charlotte?" she lifted the bedspread of James's bed. "You can come out, dear, I know that you're down there." Charlotte crawled out, shamefacedly.

"You can bring the ice cream out, too," Mum added. Charlotte handed over the spoons, and Mum shook her head, smiling as she left the room.

"Don't do it again," she told us. "And, Charlotte, go to your own dormitory before I see you in here."

"Professor, you're…?"

"Don't ask questions when you're being offered mercy, dear. I've snuck into many a boys' dormitory in my time."

James and I snorted with laughter and Charlotte's eyes grew wide.

"No, no, no, not like that!" Mum said. "No, I mean…never mind." She turned and left, shaking her head, and trying to work out what had just happened, so it seemed. The three of us were left in the dormitory, also trying to work out what had just happened. My mother had let Charlotte disobey a rule. There was a distinct chill coming from the general direction of hell.

*

"So, man, I was thinking of asking Charlotte out," said James.

"What? Bronte?" I asked him.

"Dude! She's a piece of ar-"

"James," I said, interrupting what I knew he was going to say, and not wanting to hear it, "All right, so, I'm going to sound like one of your parents, but I think that it makes sense. We're eleven years old. Why do you have to go out with Charlotte now? Come on, she's your best friend. Do you want to screw things up? If you guys start going out now, then I can guarantee you; you won't be speaking to each other by fourth year. Is that what you want?"

"Thanks, Landon," James said, "You're right. You do sound like my parents." He got up and left the library, and I followed after him. I seriously hadn't meant to get him mad, but come on. We had another six years, why'd he have to go out with Bronte now?

Jealous? No…Maybe…Yes…

I followed him into the Great Hall where everyone was assembled for lunch. Both of us took seats on either side of Charlotte.

I was just working on ignoring James without actually ignoring him, when someone dressed completely in black from head to toe, minus the platinum blond hair, walked in. I knew that this wasn't good. Malfoy wouldn't be here unless he had to be here, considering that he despised everyone.

"Come on," I said to James and Charlotte. "Come on, let's go." They saw the alarm in my face and immediately grabbed their books, standing up to follow me out of the Great Hall. We raced down the hallway, and I decided that I had to get an owl to my dad. Getting in trouble wasn't a big deal to me anymore; I couldn't let my classmates die. If Dad, Uncle Harry and Professor Delacour could stop things before it started, then maybe we might have a chance.

As we ran past the staff room, I saw that the door was somewhat ajar, and a familiar voice was talking from inside.

"You go on," I said to James and Charlotte. "Send an owl to my dad."

They ran on to the owlery, and I stayed, listening to Professor Delacour talking to someone on a magical cellular phone, similar to my father's.

"Yes, sair…no, ze only complications zat I've 'ad is zat Weasley brat…'e trusts me, yes…well, zat's what he zinks…meddling, sair…I'll take care of zem; zey von't know vat 'it zem…yes sair, zey should be on ze move within ze 'our…yes, sair…goodbye."

I quickly ran down the hallway, not wanting to be caught by this horrid woman. I watched as she made her way to the Great Hall, and as soon as I could no longer hear her footsteps, I ran at top speed to my dormitory, retrieving the Map and the invisibility cloak. James and Bronte were nowhere to be found, but I thought that that was best. If they couldn't be found, then Death Eaters couldn't capture them. I slipped on the cloak, and ran back down to the Great Hall, hiding in the shadows as I watched the scene that played out in front of me.

Professor Delacour was sitting at the staff table, calmly sipping her tea, as if she had done nothing and betrayed no one. I was filled with a rage that just…pissed me off. I had trusted her. My parents had trusted her. The Ministry had trusted her. She had betrayed us all, and would be handing us over to the darkest force on the earth. The words of Mum and Dad filled my head as I thought of what they would do to us.

Kill or be killed…the survival of the fittest…kill or be killed…

I was most definitely not one of the fittest. I was a first year, who could barely duel. I didn't know anything about defending myself against dark wizards, who were fully trained. Certainly, I was book-smart. But that meant nothing when it came to physically defending yourself.

Mum was talking off to the side with Malfoy in hushed whispers. The students seemed to have sensed that something was wrong, for all of their voices had hushed to a lull as well. The lack of sound was interrupted by a man walking into the room, dressed from head to toe in black as well, minus the flaming red hair. Students seemed to brighten up as they saw my father enter the Hall. For some reason, he had always brought hope to people, and even when they didn't know him, he had acted as somewhat of a father figure to the kids who were homesick, scared, or orphaned.

He strode up to Mum and removed his sunglasses. Typical of my dad. Trying to look sexy or something by wearing sunglasses inside. Despite the escalating disaster, Dad still kissed Mum hello and cast a glare at Draco Malfoy. Within seconds, Uncle Harry was in the Great Hall as well, wearing the same type of outfit as the other two men. Of course, Uncle Harry's looked much more threatening, because of his black hair. Some students even looked scared, but they didn't know the good-natured and fun-loving Uncle Harry that I did. The four of them stood in a circle, continuing the conversation of hushed whispers. Professor Delacour looked up and nodded at something.

At least twenty Death Eaters, all the size of boulders, stormed into the Great Hall. Students screamed and scrambled out of the way, huddling in little groups off to the edges of the room and under tables. The four adults sprung into action, hurling containment curses at those great lumps. One by one, they were all rooted to the spot, their magic bound, and unable to see, hear, feel, smell, or taste a thing. More or less, they had no control over their bodies.

"Quick!" said Professor Delacour with a very bad attempt to act, if you ask me, "Muggle-borns, come here! We will be able to protect you better!" The adults looked edgy, but consented to let her separate the students. Slowly, Muggle-born students stood up and began walking to where the adults were standing.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"NO!!!" I shouted throwing off the cloak and running up to the adults. This was all done with the Dustin Hoffman/daytime TV melodrama that bad directors love. "No, don't listen to her! Don't you see what she's doing? She's trying to trick you!"

The adults looked at me like I was insane, which was, given the circumstances, completely warranted.

Finally, Dad softly said, "Don't talk about things that you don't know, son."

"But, Dad!" I protested. My parents hated talking back. "I do know! I heard her talking! I saw her talking to Peter Pettigrew! She's a liar! Don't listen to her."

"Landon," warned Mum, Dad and Uncle Harry at the same time.

"Come on!!! I'm telling the truth!"

By this time all of the Muggle-borns had stopped in their tracks and refused to take a step further, whether or not my suspicions were justified.

Professor Delacour laughed sardonically. "You should have listened to your son, Weasley," she said. Before any of the adults could react, she snapped her fingers and the boulder sized Death Eaters were in control of their senses again. They had seized me, twisting my arm behind my back in a very painful manner, and holding a wand to my throat.

All of the adults, including the staff, rushed forward in a futile attempt to do something about it. Dad sent a roundhouse kick in the direction of the boulder holding me, and I was released as the man crumpled to the floor. Mum grabbed me, and pushed me protectively behind her as we moved away from the struggle. My curiosity got a hold of me, and I peaked out from around Mum. I saw teachers now all pushed into a circle, surrounded by even more Death Eaters than had previously attacked. Mum and I were still unnoticed towards the outskirts of the room, which was dead silent (no pun intended).

The silence was broken by the door being flung open and two students rushing in. I groaned.

"Landon!" Charlotte called. "We tried to-" Their eyes grew wide at the sight before them, and, as if sharing a brain, the two turned and bolted towards the door. The Death Eaters were faster, though. One grabbed Charlotte around her tiny waist, and the other grabbed James by the scuff of his collar. I caught sight of Dad and Uncle Harry. They were both wearing a look of cold fury, and struggling against the boulders/men that were twice their size and constraining them. The brought the two, still struggling, down the steps, and threw them on the ground in front of Mum and I. My mother bent down to help them up, and I could see that Charlotte was nursing a broken wrist. Nevertheless, she managed to slip my mother a piece of paper that went unnoticed to the opposition as Mum slipped it into her pocket.

Professor Delacour stooped down, and grabbed my mother's wrist, twisting it in a most painful manner, which brought her to a standing position. As soon as the two women were standing levelly, and staring in the other's eye, Professor Delacour dropped Mum's arm.

"Expeliarmus," she muttered, and my mother's wand flew to her hand, where she promptly snapped it in half. Mum visibly winced. She knew, as well as I did, that she would be nearly helpless without her wand. Professor Delacour snapped her fingers again, and two Death Eaters came to where Mum was standing.

"Don't you lay a hand on her!" Dad shouted. "I swear; if you so much as lay a finger on her, I'll kill you!"

As if to prove their point, one of the men brought his fist down, connecting with Mum's jaw. She reeled, and I could see that she was working to keep her face at the impassive state that it was; she was refusing to let tears fall as she straightened up to look the man that had hit her in the eye.

"Vat are you going to do about it, Weasley?" asked Delacour, taunting him.

Dad looked like he could have killed her. There was a cold rage brewing behind his eyes that I had never seen before that scared me. It was completely understandable, though. Men were threatening to kill the woman that he loved.

"As headmistress of this school," Mum said, calmly stepping towards Delacour, "I will not let you harm these children. I trusted you, and you betray me. I have no ties to you anymore, and I'm not above killing you. We killed your master; don't think that we can't do the same to you."

Fleur looked appalled that Mum would say that to her, considering that with yet another snap of her fingers, my mother's neck could be snapped in half.

Instead, she turned back to where the staff was surrounded.

"Bring Weasley," she said. Dad was thrown out of the barricade, and Dad struggled to rush to Mum. Instead, the same boulder man that had hit her held him back.

"I propose a choice," she said. A boulder man grabbed me by the shoulder, and brought me to stand next to Mum, who looked down and offered me a reassuring, although unbelievable, smile.

"Weasley, it is time to decide what means more to you. Would you rather 'ave your family alive, or vould you rather prevent a war?"

Without hesitation, Dad said, "Family." 

"I zee. Well, you will not be able to prevent zis war, Weasley, and your family will die. Ze choice for you is…wife or son?"

The words echoed in my head as I saw Dad's mind calculating. He looked down, unable to look at either of us. I couldn't look at Mum. She was looking down at the ground, either, unwilling to sway my father's decision. I know what she was thinking. She would rather that I live, and, given the choice, would have given up her own life for me. But it wasn't her choice; it was Dad's. He had to choose between his own flesh and blood or the woman he loved more than life itself.

"Ron…" Mum whispered. "Choose him. He's got so much of life ahead of him." Dad shook his head and held up his hand in a gesture for Mum to be quiet. He needed to think this out on his own.

"Well, Weasley? Wife or son?"