The day after the attack on Snape, Petunia, Dudley and Hermione's parents dawned much the same as any other. To everybody in Hogwarts, however, it seemed far bleaker. The Gryffindors continued to treat Hermione very gently, all of them doing what they could to console her. Neville helped more than anybody else. He told her more details about what had happened to his parents than he had ever told anybody before. The most crucial thing he told her was "Don't worry too much about your father, Hermione. He wasn't under the curse long enough for him to end up the way my parents did. Even if he never regains his memory, he should be able to live a fairly normal life and over time he will grow to love you again. There's no way anybody who raised a person like you won't love you whether he remembers you or not."

At about midday, Dumbledore summoned those that had been in the earlier meeting that were at Hogwarts to the Room of Requirement. When they arrived, the room was very different to how it had ever been before. In the very centre of the room was a large model of the school and the surrounding area showing where every single person was. Next to this table were two equally large models, one showing the interior of the school and the other the outside. "We are here," Dumbledore said gravely, "to begin planning the defence of Hogwarts. The events of the past day have shown that Voldemort is nearly ready to act. I have reason to believe that he will either come tomorrow or the day after. We need to be ready for him when he arrives."

"Yes, constant vigilance," the gruff voice of Mad-Eye Moody put in. Moody had arrived at the school with the rest of the Order and had taken the place of Lupin in the meeting, as Lupin had not yet returned to the school. Moody looked very old and tired. The events of the previous year, which had cost him his left arm and left him with several new scars, had clearly taken their toll upon him. "Nice to know that I've finally gotten through to you Albus."

"Yes, Alastor," Dumbledore agreed. "From now on Hogwarts must be in a state of constant vigilance. We must be prepared. That is why we are meeting here. The room is set up to aid us in planning our course of action. We will need to establish a guard of Order members and Aurors who can tell us when and where the Death Eaters strike. That will allow us to position our forces to fight them most effectively."

"What about the students, Albus?" McGonagall asked.

"They will be inside the castle until and unless we need them," Dumbledore said firmly. "I do not want to risk them if we do not need to. I am afraid we will need them, however. There will be too many opponents for us to defeat outside. All we can do is slow them down so we can get everyone in place to fight them. Look," he gestured to one of the walls where there was a mirror that displayed what he described. "We can expect to the face all the Dementors that the Ministry employed. I believe that to a large extent I can limit their effectiveness. Not one Dementor will enter this school while I still live. We can also expect many giants to march with Voldemort again. I fear that despite the valiant efforts of Hagrid and Madam Maxime, he has persuaded them that they will be rewarded for their actions. In addition, there will be many deadly snakes amidst the ranks of our foes. Finally, there are the wizards that will oppose us, most but not all Death Eaters. And lastly there is the most fearsome of our foes, Lord Voldemort himself."

"How will the rest of us be arranged?" Kingsley questioned Dumbledore.

"I believe we can expect some of our enemies to attempt to infiltrate the school via the secret passages that we all know about. I intend to allow them inside …"

"What?" Mrs Weasley asked indignantly. "Professor Dumbledore, how can we allow them inside? It will expose the children to great risk, and us too."

"Indeed it will Molly," Dumbledore replied. "However, we do not have enough people to defend all the passages, and I am loath to block them off completely. If we fail and Voldemort is victorious, the passages represent the best hope of escape for some of us, and therefore the chance to continue the struggle. We will allow them in and, once they are inside, we shall engage them with part of our forces while others cut off their retreat. This will require several members of the Order and Aurors. Those not being used to entrap anybody that uses the secret passages will either be placed to protect the children or to fight outside. In the end, however, we will almost certainly be forced to fight within the walls of the school itself. I shall be here, trying to direct the battle until the point at which I can no longer influence events from here, when I shall join with the rest of you."

"What of the DA, Professor?" Harry asked quietly.

"They are ready, Severus, Kingsley?" Snape and Shacklebolt along with Lupin, Tonks and Mundungus Fletcher had, at Dumbledore's request, spent time teaching and evaluating the DA. While it was still almost entirely a student led and taught group, the DA, especially the newest members, had greatly benefited from their instruction.

"Yes," Shacklebolt replied. "They are at least as ready as any group of young Aurors that I have ever seen."

"Indeed," Snape said with more than a hint of tiredness in his voice. "They are capable. They know more than Potter did in any of his early encounters with the Dark Lord. You should use them, Albus."

"Then I shall do so, Dumbledore said decisively. "The DA will work alongside the Order and the Aurors in preparing our defences. I am afraid that this battle will cost us dearly. Even if we win there are going to be casualties. You will be busy Poppy."

"I know, Albus. I've seen the effects of war too often," Pomfrey replied sadly. "Now if you don't mind," she continued firmly, "I will take Severus back to the infirmary. He still needs plenty of rest."

"Of course, Poppy. Let him rest. I'll be along to see him later. The rest of you should go too. Tell everyone what we are planning."

"Don't tell the Slytherins," Snape warned. "I am certain that it was one of the Slytherins who revealed my treachery to the Dark Lord. If they know what we plan, the Dark Lord will know soon after."

"Sadly you are almost certainly correct, Severus," Dumbledore said, inclining his head in agreement. "The students do not need to know all our plans. Tell all the students only what you believe they need to know." Everybody left the room and began to prepare for the assault they knew would come.

A few hours later, Harry and his friends found themselves summoned before Dumbledore. "Harry, I have a great favour to ask of you and your friends."

"What do you need?" Harry asked.

"I need you to leave the school and join the older DA members and Remus Lupin's reinforcements. They are to arrive after the attack begins and cut off our enemies' retreat. Also, Voldemort is likely to be towards the rear of his followers. If you can reach him and defeat him, the battle will be won. I want you to lead the flank attack."

"You'll do it, won't you Harry?" Hermione said. "I want to be there too. I want to see Voldemort dead for what he did to my parents."

"I am afraid, Hermione," Dumbledore said quietly, "that neither you nor Ron can be a part of this."

"What?" Ron asked indignantly. "Of course we're going with Harry. You don't think we're going to abandon him now do you?"

"No, I do not" Dumbledore replied. "However, for reasons both of our morale and to make sure that the enemy continues to come they must believe Harry is inside the school. Like it or not, Harry is seen as something of a talisman, a good luck charm if you will, by most of those on our side. If he is not here they will lose heart. And Voldemort, though he does not know the whole prophecy, knows that he must defeat Harry. If he believes Harry is not here, he may cancel the attack. Everybody knows how close the two of you are to Harry. They know you would not desert him. If you are not here, nobody will believe Harry is either."

"But they will know he's not here anyway," Hermione objected. "They'll see him missing."

"That is what I must ask of Neville," Dumbledore continued. "We need a Harry Potter in the school. I believe that Neville can act the part."

"Me?" Neville said in surprise. "But I can't be Harry. I don't look like him for a start, and he's much better at magic than I am."

"The first problem is easily solved," Dumbledore said softly. "Professor Snape has a large amount of Polyjuice Potion in his office in case we ever needed it. We need it now. As for the second, you underestimate yourself. You are capable of much more than you believe. I am sure that Harry has told you that you could have been the one Voldemort chose as his foe. The talent you need is inside of you."

"You can do it Neville," Ginny said confidently. "Ron's the only person who might be able to play the part better, and you'll make a better Harry than you would a Ron."

"I'm still not happy about the idea," Ron put in. "I don't want to leave Harry on his own. I know he'll have Lupin, Fred, George and the rest with him, but we should be with him too."

"He won't be alone, Ronald," Luna said quietly. "I will go with him."

"Are you sure, Luna?" Harry asked. "It's going to be very dangerous. It would probably be safer here."

"Nowhere is safe, Harry," Luna replied. "Wherever I went I would eventually have to face danger. And Ronald is correct. One of us should go with you."

"That would probably be best, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Miss Lovegood's presence could be quite beneficial to you. Whatever you may think, neither she nor any of your friends would thank you for trying to protect them."

"Let her go with you," Hermione said. "If nothing else it will make the rest of us feel better about you leaving."

"Yeah mate," Ron said. "If I can't be with you I'd rather one of us was."

"When should I leave?" Harry asked.

"Get yourself prepared. You should join Remus and the others this evening," Dumbledore stated.

"If Neville is willing to do this, so am I."

"I'm willing to try," Neville said. "I'm not sure I can convince anybody, but I'll do what I can."

"Then I'll go to the infirmary, then get prepared. I'll see the rest of you later," Harry said as he left Dumbledore's office.

"Are you sure this is a good idea professor?" Hermione asked Dumbledore.

"Regrettably," he responded, "I am as sure as I can be. I am no seer, so I cannot tell what the future holds, Hermione. But I only do what I think is for the best."

"I hope you're right professor." The other five left to wait for Harry in the Gryffindor common room.

"So do I, Hermione, so do I," Dumbledore said quietly as he watched them leave.