Merry Christmas, everyone! Another chapter today and then only 6 more to go! I promised that I would talk a little about Harry/Ginny and Cassie's relationship with Harry and all because so many of you are really ticked at me for seemingly suddenly changing course in the middle of the stream.

I'll keep this brief. I could go on for pages, but you don't want to hear about it for that long, I'm sure. Cassie is a great character! I love her! You love her! That's wonderful. And, she is not just going to turn into chopped liver now. She still has some important things to do in this story. Plus, I am writing a sequel to the story that will involve her a lot more. So, don't despair about her. However, she is not going to end up with Harry as I'm sure you have already figured out.

Harry, whether you like him or not and are willing to admit it or not, is going to have to basically be the saving force of the entire wizarding world. JKR has definitely set up her stories that way. Now, is he going to do it alone? No. How is he going to do it? We don't know that yet. But, in my opinion, he needs someone who can fight along side him. And, wonderful as Cassie is, she cannot do that! So, even from the very beginning of this story, I knew that she and he could never be more than really good friends at the end. But, she does help him out, that's for sure.

Also, purely from my story's perspective, I really wanted Harry's choices to be very clear. He could not have both - magic and Cassie. He was going to have to pick between what was going to be basically hell on earth, fighting Voldemort and possibly dying, or staying where he was safe and loved and wanted. He chose. Cassie helped him make the choice he really needed to make and that she was smart enough to see that he had to make. This is a choice he has to make over and over and over again in the stories and I think it is consistent that he choose again in this one. So, is it easy? No. Is it what I would want for him? Not necessarily. Is it easy for her? Definitely not. But, that seems to be his lot in life, at least as I see it. So, that is how the story is written.

And, for those of you who now hate me and refuse to read further, well, that's fine, too. But, as I mentioned, I think the end is really good and then there is a sequel and if you like Cassie's character, you will definitely want to read it. So, without further philosophizing, here is the next chapter!



***********************

Chapter 48

Battle: "They're Coming in through the Gates!"

As Ron made this announcement, Ginny stepped into the doorway. She looked at Hermione who was standing closest to the door and smiled. She opened her mouth to say something and then looked past Hermione and saw Harry. Harry had expected her to smile and be at least happy to see him, if not ecstatic. Instead, she went white and then red. She dropped her broom and robes and turned to Ron. She punched him in the stomach, and Ron doubled over, gasping in complete and utter surprise. "How could you do this to me?!" Harry was trying to figure out exactly what she meant and decided that she meant his surprising her with Harry's presence, but then Ginny left Ron standing in the doorway trying to catch his breath and stalked (that was the only word for it) over to Harry. She pulled her hand back and slapped him, hard. "Who are you? How dare you!" She whirled around and faced Hermione, who was looking shocked but was also laughing. "Who is this? What is the meaning of this?" She turned on her heel to face Harry again and pulled back her hand for another whack.

Harry reacted with a Seeker's instincts and grabbed her fist before he got the same treatment as Ron, who had just barely stood straight again. He twisted her arm down and she reacted by pulling her hand back and turning, trying to free her herself. Harry pulled her closer to him, and wrapped his arms around her squirming body. He bent down and whispered into her ear, "Hey, Little Firecracker. It's really me." That was a nickname he had given her a few months ago when she had gotten angry at one of the professors and Harry had told her that she reminded him of a firecracker, exploding quickly and making a lot of noise. She had not been amused at the time, but since then, it had become a little endearment and she didn't complain. She also had never told anyone and as far as Harry knew, he was the only one who knew about the pet name. She relaxed instantly in his arms and he loosened his hold. She turned to face him again and Harry smiled broadly at her. It was so good to see her. He opened his mouth to tell her as much when she pulled her fist back and hit him in the stomach. He doubled over in shock and surprise, barely registering Ron's sudden barking laughter in the background.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Harry gasped, trying to get enough air into his lungs and thinking that if every welcome back from the dead he got from his friends was similar to the two he had had so far, he was going to have to visit Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing on a regular basis over the next few days. He heard Ron and Hermione talking to Ginny but didn't pay that much attention to what they were saying. He just concentrated on trying to stand up. Who would have guessed that her tiny frame could pack so much strength behind a punch? By the time he caught his breath and stood up, gingerly testing his ability to take a deep breath, she had apparently been appeased, because though her face was still pale, she looked a lot more calm and unlikely to hit him again. When she rushed back over to him, Harry wasn't sure whether to embrace her or protect himself. She answered his question by throwing her arms around him and holding onto him like she would never let go again. Harry slowly let his arms go around her, this time actually hugging her as she stammered apologies for hitting him - twice. It was only then that he looked around the room for Cassie. She was sitting in the chair in the corner, watching the two of them and she was laughing quietly with a very big smile on her face. Harry thought that she probably had been pretty amused watching him being slapped and punched - it was something she probably would have done under the same circumstances.

Ginny was crying, now. "I promised myself that if I ever had a chance to do it over with you, I'd grab you, hold you, and kiss you with everything I had . . . but instead I punched you! I can't believe it. I'm so sorry!!" She looked up at him with her big brown eyes still registering disbelief. Harry met her gaze squarely.

"I'm so sorry, Ginny. I knew how much . . . everyone would be hurting. I heard you had a really rough time of it, and I'm sorry." She looked away, flushing slightly.

"Yeah, well . . . . I'm glad you're back. We all missed you."

Harry pulled her back into his arms and kissed her gently on the cheek. "I missed you, too." She turned her face and stared at him for a moment and then gave him a soft kiss which he happily reciprocated. After a minute, they separated and looked at each other in surprise. Harry was about to kiss her again when Ron cleared his throat.

"Uh, Harry. I'm glad you're enjoying snogging my little sister, but we have a battle to fight in a very short while."

"What? Oh, yeah . . . uh, sorry. Yeah, we need to do some, some planning." Everyone in the room sharpened their attention on what needed to be done. Harry slipped into the role he was so used to taking in these circumstances. He was in charge. "Okay, everyone. We're pretty sure Hogwarts is going to be attacked tonight. We're not sure what time but assume it will be any time between 6:00 which is right about now and 7:00. We can also assume we're not going to have many people defending the castle other than us, a few teachers and the DA. That makes about what, thirty people?"

Ginny seemed surprised at the last statement. "I don't know, Harry. I think we're going to have more people here than you expect."

"What do you mean, Ginny?"

"Well, this morning Snape came by the Gryffindor table and whispered to me to get up to the commons room as soon as possible because I was going to have a visitor. I hurried up there and there was Dad's head in the fire."

Cassie gave a noticeable start at the mention of a head in a fire and Ginny seemed to realize for the first time there was a fifth person in the room -- someone she didn't know. She smiled at her inquisitively and Hermione jumped in, "This is Cassie, she's a friend and is here to uh . . . help us."

"Oh, good. Hi. Well, anyway, dad told me to let the DA know they should all be in the entry hall no later than 6:00 p.m. He said we're going to act as support in the battle. I sent the message around to the DA. In fact, I was just getting ready to go down there myself when Ron found me. But, what I'm trying to say is Dad wouldn't warn us to be ready for a battle and be prepared to act as support if there weren't going to be others there. I think we'll at least have members of the Order."

"The Order?" Cassie asked.

Harry looked at her and smiled reassuringly. "The Order of the Phoenix. They're organized to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters." Turning to the rest, Harry continued Ginny's line of thinking. "I think you're right, Ginny. Ron, you got the map?"

Ron nodded and pulled the parchment from a pocket. He handed it to Harry who placed it on the desk and unrolled it. Everyone gathered around and looked at the completely blank parchment. Harry took out his wand and tapped the parchment while saying, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Cassie got a rather shocked look on her face and Harry grinned. "Don't worry, it's okay. It's just that my dad and his school mates had an odd sense of humor."

They all looked back down and there coming into sight was the plan of Hogwarts Castle and grounds with the secret tunnels. All five gave an involuntary gasp of shock at what they saw. It was Harry who spoke. "I can't believe it. The sneaky . . .They must have been planning this for weeks!" The tunnels leading into the castle were full of little black dots, each of them labeled with a familiar name. The professors who had apparently deserted the school to go fight at the Ministry were all in the tunnels. Many members of the Order were there also, apparently waiting for some signal to emerge and defend the school. They amused themselves for a few minutes reading the little names.

"There's Mum and Dad!" exclaimed Ginny.

"And Bill, and, blimey, even the twins," remarked Ron.

Hermione was quickly scanning the map and named off a number of teachers who had previously and very publically left Hogwarts for London. " Look, there's McGonagal, and Flitwick, and Vector and Sprout."

Harry's heart skipped a beat as he saw Remus Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, Mundungus Fletcher and a number of other members of the Order. Everyone was waiting for the right moment to emerge and defend Hogwarts. Harry looked in vain for Dumbledore. There was no dot labeled with his name, but Harry was pretty confident he would be there if he could. He hoped so. He wasn't sure how they could do this without him.

He turned to the others. "It looks like Hogwarts is going to be well defended. That's a relief. But now we need to figure out what we're supposed to do."

"Well, we're going to ride out, aren't we, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, we are. We just need to figure out when."

Ron looked puzzled. "What do you mean when? Let's get out there as soon as we see the bad guys. The sooner we get out there the better,"

"No. I don't think that's what Dumbledore wants. I think he wants me to appear when it's best for us. I just don't know when and what's going to give me the signal; or if there even will be a signal. I just think I'm supposed to appear at a point in the battle when it'll surprise everyone."

Ron grinned at Harry in a morbid way. "Believe me, mate, you'll surprise everyone, no matter when you appear. I just hope you don't surprise our side as much as you will the others. I'd hate to see some of our defenders fall over with heart attacks." Everyone had a good chuckle over that and Ginny, who was standing next to Harry, flushed bright red again.

"At least you'll be on a broom and they can't hit you." Everyone laughed a little louder at that.

Hermione finally broke in through the laughter, bringing them back to the point. "I think Harry's right. I think Dumbledore would want Harry to make a grand entrance at some point in the battle. You just need to figure out when, Harry."

"I know. Dumbledore said I need to follow my instincts. So, I guess that's what I'll have to do. Hopefully it works. Uh, Hermione, could you take a look out the window and see what's going on. It's already a little after 6:00."

Hermione made her way to the window while the others watched. She peeked out and reported nothing new. There was an audible sigh of relief from the others. Harry then continued the battle planning.

"Okay. So, Ron, Ginny and I'll fly out through the windows. Hermione, you need to get down and help direct the DA as soon as we go. Cassie," Harry turned and looked at her with obvious concern, "You better stay in here. You'll be safe here in case . . . well, in case anything should . . . well, you know."

Cassie had a hurt but defiant look on her face. "No way, Harry. I'm going down with Hermione."



Ginny looked at Harry in puzzlement. "Harry, we need everyone we can get." Turning to Cassie she asked, "Do you have your wand? How good are you at defensive spells? Can you cast a patronus or anything?"

Cassie blushed a little and stared at Ginny with wide eyes, unsure of what Ginny was talking about. Hermione come back over from the window and saved her. "Uh, Ginny, Cassie's a Muggle."

"Oh," Ginny said as she looked at Cassie with a new understanding. She smiled at Cassie, who smiled in return and, while still smiling, asked, "Then why is she here?"

Cassie's smile slipped a little. "You can speak to me. I'm a Muggle but I'm not an idiot. I'm here because I had to come. I was trapped with Harry when Ron and Hermione came to get him."

A look of dawning comprehension splashed across Ginny's face and she too began to blush. "Oh, I . . . I, didn't know about that. I'm, well, I'm sorry, Cassie."

Harry's stomach turned over and he was about to say something when Hermione put her hand on Ginny's shoulder and soothingly said, "We can explain more later, Ginny. Cassie was visiting with Harry when we went to get him and then Death Eaters showed up. She couldn't get out of the house so we had to bring her with us. She's really nice. I'm sure you'll like her."

Casssie glanced at Hermione in gratitude and Ginny relaxed a little. She looked at Cassie with an expression of self-conscious embarrassment. "Cassie, I'm sorry if I offended you. I don't have anything against Muggles. We weren't brought up that way. I was just wondering why you were here. I thought you were going to help . . . ." She stopped, unsure of where to go, since she basically had backed herself into a corner where she was going to have to say that Cassie was pretty well useless if she continued.

"It's okay, Ginny." Harry was glad that Cassie was naturally a friendly person or she might be the one doing the hitting this time around.

Ginny looked at the others with a concerned expression. "We need to hide the fact she's a Muggle. You know what'll happen if they catch her." The others nodded and again Cassie went white at the insinuation of what they would do to her. Ginny tuned and looked at Cassie directly as she undid her black robe and handed it to her. "Here are my robes. I'm going to be wearing my Quidditch robes anyway. Put them on and pretend you're, uh, a witch. Don't let anyone know you're a Muggle."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. "What's Dumbledore's password now in case things don't go well and Cassie has to come back here? She'd be safe here."

Ron grinned at Harry. "You'll love the new password. It's canary cremes." He, Harry and Ginny chuckled at that. But Hermione broke in, trying to concentrate on what was really going on.

"Harry, I don't think Cassie will be able to find her way back up here; even if the battle does go badly."

"Well, maybe not, but at least she has it - just in case. Remember, Cassie, canary cremes."

Cassie nodded but had a rather bewildered look on her face. Harry then turned back to Hermione. "When the two of you get down to the entry hall, hide her in that big broom closet." Hermione nodded in reply and Cassie scowled.

Harry looked at one of Dumbledore's clocks (they did actually tell time, he thought) and then asked Hermione the time to make sure. She announced it was 6:15. They looked at each other with a mixture of anticipation and foreboding. Harry then asked Hermione to go and look out the window, which she did.

"Oh, Harry! I see some people right outside the gate. There, another just apparated. Two, no three, no, five more just apparated. I can't really see them too well, so I don't know who they are, but . . ."

"Wait," Harry said, his eyes lighting up. He hurried to his trunk and rummaged feverishly through it until he came up with the pair of Omnioculars he'd purchased at the Quidditch World Cup. He handed them to Ron who hurried to the window and sidled up next to Hermione. He adjusted the Omnioculars and began looking at the various Death Eaters in the front of the pack.

"Hey, I see those big lugs, Crabbe and Goyle. I see McNair, and the LeStranges. Oh, there's Malfoy, that bloody bast..."

"Ron!" Hermione cut him off mid-sentence.

"Well, it's true. He is a bloody bas..."

"Ron! It may be true, but you don't need to say it." Hermione glared at him while both Cassie and Ginny did their best to hide the smiles on their faces. She took the Omnioculars from Ron, who knew well enough to retreat while he could.

"Oh, Harry, there must be somewhere between fifty and sixty of them. They're just standing at the gate. They haven't entered onto the grounds yet."

All of a sudden, Harry let out an involuntary scream as he clutched his scar and felt his knees buckle under him. He sank to the floor and swore under his breath at the pain and his own continued vulnerability to Voldemort's power. The other four turned and looked at Harry with varying expressions of shock, sympathy and dismay. Cassie moved toward Harry but checked herself as she saw Ginny, who had been standing next to him, kneel down and speak quietly to him. After a moment or so, Harry stood up resolutely. His scar was still causing almost blinding pain, but he steeled himself against it, hardening himself to endure it for a while. He had certainly felt it enough times. Perhaps it was because he had not felt it too much recently that he had reacted so powerfully to the pain today. He chided himself for having earlier wondered if perhaps the castle had already been taken over by Voldemort. Obviously, he told himself, he would have known if Voldemort had been there by the pain in his scar.

Hermione was again looking out the window and confirmed what Harry already knew. "He's arrived, Harry. Now they're getting ready to come onto the grounds."

Cassie turned toward the window and walked tentatively over. "Hermione, may I see those binoculars please? I'd like to see this Voldemort guy."

"Sure." Hermione helped Cassie adjust the Omnioculars and Cassie looked out the window at the group entering the Hogwarts gate. She turned the Omnioculars on Voldemort and let out a cry of horror, dropping them to the ground and stumbling back as if she had been physically pushed by an invisible force.

"That is the most evil man I have ever seen! I can feel his evil from here."

The others looked at Cassie for a moment in shock as she struggled to regain her composure. At the same time, Harry was also struggling to get back his strength. He knew he had to have everything he could muster from within himself. Hermione was again looking out the window and reporting what she saw.

"They're coming in through the gates!"

"Yeah, I know," Harry said grimly as he rubbed his scar and reached for his broom.

"They're walking up the lane! Where are our people? Oh, here they are!" Hermione was looking almost straight down and to the side. "It looks like about twenty of the Order and teachers they're walking down the lane and now they're spreading out in a line across the lane. Ron, Ginny, I see your mum and dad with them, and Bill too. Harry, Lupin's there, and McGonagal and Flitwick. The DA and a couple of teachers are still up by the steps. They're also in a line across the entrance." She then looked out toward the gate. "Ooh, Voldemort doesn't look happy. In fact, a few of the Death Eaters are turning around. Well, they didn't get too far. They were stopped by some of the other Death Eaters." She was speaking calmly, which Harry was grateful for. The tension was high in the room already.

"Yeah, I can only imagine that desertion is not an option. Okay, Ron, Ginny, we better get ready."

Hermione sucked in her breath in a shallow gasp. She turned and looked at Harry and then Ron. then hurried to Ron and hugged and kissed him. "Please be careful. Please," she whispered as she again kissed him.

Ginny turned to Harry, pulled him into a hug and kissed him. She went to let go and Harry held on to her for another moment. "Don't do anything crazy out there. Be careful." He gave her another quick kiss and then let go. She blushed with pleasure and then turned to both Ron and Hermione, giving them each big hugs. Harry noticed Cassie standing near him watching the others with a very nervous expression. He reached out and pulled her into a hug. Her expression turned to pleased surprise. "Be careful, Cassie. Just listen to Hermione and stay out of view of the Death Eaters. And . . . thanks for everything." He kissed her on the cheek. She beamed at him and then looked at the other three. She reached out and gave Ron a hug, turned and hugged Hermione and then turned and looked for a moment at Ginny. She smiled shyly and then reached out and hugged Ginny, saying quietly to her, "Take care of yourself, Ginny. For Harry's sake. He needs you." Ginny nodded.

Hermione hurried back to the window, again taking up her observation position. "Oh, here are some more of our defenders. They must have come out the back of the castle because they're coming up by the side of it, next to the lake. Ginny, I see Fred and George with them." Hermione looked back out over the main field of battle and let out another sound of surprise. "We have about fifteen more of our people coming at fast pace from the Quidditch pitch! They must have been hiding behind the dressing rooms or something. They're Aurors. I see Tonks and Shacklebolt leading them. We have Voldemort and his Death Eaters hemmed in on almost three sides."

The all-too-familiar sounds of shouts and bangs reached the ears of Harry and the others. He looked at Ron and Ginny. "Let's mount up. Then we'll wait until it's time. Hermione, could you open the windows please and then keep telling us what's happening. You're doing great!" The three mounted their brooms and then hovered in Dumbledore's office a few feet off the ground. Cassie stood to the side, her mouth open in shock.

"Wow, they really do fly!" Harry flashed her a grin and then had to concentrate on keeping his broom in check. The Firebolt seemed anxious to get out of the window to freedom.

Hermione let out a cry of concern. "Oh no! A number of Death Eaters turned toward the Aurors and they're being pushed back. Oh, it looks like some of ours have fallen. Shacklebolt's helping one of them back. Ooh, this looks bad. The curses are flying back and forth in waves."

Ron kicked at his broom a little and it nudged forward. Ginny moved forward and backward nervously, pushing her hand off the wall as she struggled to remain in position. At another cry of dismay from Hermione, Ron let out a rather strong swearword and nudged his broom forward even further. "Come on Harry! We've got to get out there and help them!"

"No, it's not time yet!"

"I can't think of a bloody better time than when our side is getting beaten back."

"Hey, I want to go out there, too. It's just not time."

"Wait!" Hermione yelled, cutting off Ron's retort before he could even speak. "I don't bloody believe it! Oops, uh . . . sorry." Hermione blushed in embarrassment at her letting loose with a swearword.

"Ron, you're a bad influence on Hermione." Ginny laughed at her brother. He rolled his eyes as Hermione explained her outburst.

"It's Hagrid and Charlie! They came from the other side of the castle and they have three giants, well one of them is Grawp, but still, and they actually have centaurs with them. I wonder how they got the centaurs to join them?"

Harry grinned at Cassie and Hermione. "I told you there were giants."

Hermione studiously ignored Harry's comment. "Oh, wow! The two biggest giants each picked up a Death Eater and threw them. They must have flown about thirty feet. They're not moving. But the others are. That part of the Death Eaters' line is moving back and Hagrid and Charlie and the others are pushing them. The Aurors are advancing again."

Ron looked at Ginny and then nudged up by Harry again. "Now is it time? Can we go?"

"No, it isn't time yet. I can't explain it. I can just tell it isn't time.

Ron didn't look too happy as he pushed back to his original spot. All three were getting obviously antsy as they shifted side to side and to and fro on their brooms. Hermione's attention was drawn from the battle to the other direction and she let out a cry of delight.

"It's Dumbledore! He's coming from out of the Forbidden Forest. And . . . eew . . . he's riding a thestral. I hate those things, they're so ugly and scary looking. They're coming this way, you'll see them in just a moment. Here they are."

Everyone looked straight ahead out the window. Albus Dumbledore raced past the window riding a thestral and was followed by four other thestrals, two on each side. Cassie had a shocked expression on her face.

"He's flying through the air with no broom or anything. How is he doing that?"

Ron and Harry turned to Cassie as Ron said, "Take our word for it, they're there. They look kind of like horses with wings except they're black and skeletal. They're pretty scary looking."

"But, I don't see anything."

Ginny looked at Cassie with an odd, almost haunted expression. "Be happy you don't. I don't see them either, but after today, I have a feeling I'll be able to. You, um, well, you can't see thestrals unless you've personally seen death. Unless you've seen someone die right in front of you." Cassie gave a horrified gasp and looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione with a mixture of pity and surprise.

Hermione continued to describe what was happening. "Dumbledore's landed right in front of our people and he's dismounted the thestral. I wonder why he brought the other thestrals. Boy, Voldemort looks very upset. He's screaming something and I bet it isn't very nice. " She turned to Harry with a knowing expression. "Harry, it looks like Dumbledore's rallying the troops or something. He turned and raised his arms high and now he's turned back to the Death Eaters."

Harry swallowed hard, nodded and said, "Hermione, you and Cassie head downstairs. It's time." He turned to Ron and Ginny. "Ready?" Both were pale but had their wands out and were wearing determined expressions; they nodded. Harry nodded in acknowledgment.

"Right then. Now!"

Harry leaned forward on his broom and, with his red and gold robes flying, he streaked forward out through the open window, followed closely by Ron and Ginny.