Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room with Snape's Polyjuice Potion. There was more than enough for Neville to pretend to be him for as long as would be realistically needed unless Dumbledore was wrong about when Voldemort would begin the attack. The instant Harry arrived, he noticed that one of his friends was missing. "Where's Luna?" he asked.
"She went to the Ravenclaw common room to prepare for your mission," Ginny said. "She also said that she didn't want to come in. She felt it would be wrong."
"That's ridiculous," Harry said. "Nobody would have minded if she came in."
"Yes, that's Luna," Ginny responded with a fond grin. "She's the only person I know who would outright refuse the invitation to look inside another house's common room."
"Did you get the Potion?" Hermione asked.
"Yes. There's enough to last for about three or four days if we're careful. If the attack hasn't begun by then, Dumbledore was obviously wrong."
"Then we're going to need some of your hair, Harry."
"I know, Take as much as you need," Harry said as he allowed Hermione to remove a fairly large amount of his hair.
"You ready Neville?" Ron asked. "We need to get this over with pretty quickly so that nobody hears us and comes to see what we're doing."
"Yes, I'm ready," Neville said. "We just need Hermione to finish the Potion. Do you mind me borrowing some of your clothes Harry?
"Of course not Neville," Harry answered. "Take as much as you need to be me. If you want, I'll let you keep them after we're done."
"I'm not really comfortable lying to everybody, though," Neville said. "None of us much like being lied to do we?"
"No," Harry replied, "but it's for a good cause. I think Dumbledore's right that everyone might lose heart if I'm not here. I don't like it that we have to deceive everybody, but I do think it's necessary."
"Yes, I'm afraid I have to agree," Hermione put in. "None of us really like it, but all of us think we need to do this. We need you to get to Voldemort, Harry, and if we don't do this you might not. The Potion should be ready for you now, Neville."
"Lets get this over with then," Neville said. Neville took a big gulp of the Potion and within seconds the change began. Soon afterwards, a second Harry Potter appeared.
"This is really weird, you know," Ron said. "I never thought I'd see two Harrys."
"Neither did I," Harry said. "It's very weird to see my face outside of a mirror."
"How do you think I feel?" Neville asked with Harry's voice. "Everything about me just changed. And it really hurt getting that scar of yours."
"I'm just going to go up to the dormitory and get a few things then I'll go and find Luna."
"We'll go with you, mate," Ron said. "We want to say goodbye to the two of you."
Half an hour later, using the Marauders Map the five Gryffindors found themselves waiting for Luna outside the Ravenclaw common room. "You're keeping an eye on the map, right Ginny?" Ron asked. "We don't want anybody other than Luna coming to see us. It would be a bit awkward trying to explain the fact there are two Harry Potters."
"Of course I am Ron. I've done this a few times you know," Ginny replied.
"What, waited outside the Ravenclaw common room with the map?" Ron asked, amazed at the idea.
"Of course. I borrowed the map a few times so that I'd know when people were coming when I shouldn't have been here waiting for Luna. Did you think Luna and I only met in lessons or the Great Hall? How could the two of us have been Mischief Makers in Chief if we did that?"
"What?" Ron asked in shock as everybody turned to look at Ginny. "The two of you are responsible for the pranks that have been pulled since Fred and George left?"
"Not all of them, of course. Just the most creative ones" Ginny said with a big smile on her face. "Luna really comes up with some clever ideas, and I'm no slouch either. What did you think the two of us were doing when we heard you talking before Umbridge caught you? We were planning something really good then. We've done better since, though. Remember when Snape's robes were turned bright blue? That was one of our tamer ones, though it did drive him mad. Professor Dumbledore seemed to find it amusing though. The 'hippogriff' that kept the Slytherins in their common Room for half a day was us too. I really enjoyed that one. It took us weeks to make a realistic life-sized hippogriff that Luna could transfigure to move and screech threateningly whenever anyone came near. I think Malfoy half wet himself when he saw it waiting for him."
"That was you?" Harry asked in surprise. "Nobody was ever caught for it, but I'd never have guessed it was you two."
"Nobody was really meant to," Ginny replied grinning hugely, a look eerily similar to the one her twin brothers sometimes had, "though I'd have thought somebody would put it together with Luna's Quidditch hats. If she can make them, why can't she make and enchant a hippogriff? I think the two of us are better than Fred and George ever were. We never get caught."
"There's no need to brag, Ginny," Luna's misty voice said from behind them. She had obviously left her common Room without anybody hearing her. "We were far more careful than they were, after all. They wanted to be known as troublemakers, we didn't really. Still, it was fun to pull pranks on people we knew took my things or who otherwise deserved it. You're ready to go then, Harry?" Luna asked, to Harry's surprise looking straight at him.
"Er, yes I am. How could you tell it was me though?" he asked.
"Neville looks like you, but he hasn't quite mastered being you yet. His mannerisms aren't quite right. Most people probably won't notice though, and if they do they'll put the difference down to what's going to happen. Have you decided how you will explain Neville's disappearance?" Luna said, turning to look at the other four.
"Yes," Hermione replied. "Neville was asked by Professor Sprout to go and collect some plants that would be of help in defending Hogwarts, plants like Devil's Snare. What about you, though? How will you explain your not being here?"
"I'm not going to. Most people won't notice I'm gone or care if they do," Luna said cheerfully, but with a hint of sadness. "If anyone asks you, I feel quite confident that you can come up with a good explanation. You are all quite creative, after all."
"We'd better get going or we won't get there before early tomorrow," Harry said. "Goodbye Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville. I'll see you later, after this is all done." As he spoke, Harry knew that it might be the last time they ever saw each other, but he was unwilling to admit it. Neither were any of his friends, but they all knew how lucky they had been to survive this long.
"Yes, goodbye everybody," Luna said. "I'm sure everything will work out."
"Bye Harry, bye Luna," Ron said. "We'll try to make sure there's still a place here for you to come back to, mate."
"Take care Harry," Hermione said. "Come back as soon as you can. You too Luna."
"Yeah, good luck to the both of you. Give our regards to Fred and George. We'll be waiting for you," Ginny put in.
"I'll try my hardest to act as you, Harry," Neville added. "Good luck when it comes to meeting Voldemort, and if you get to Bellatrix Lestrange first, leave some of her for me."
"Of course I will Neville. Come along then Luna, we'd better go." The six friends separated, four of them returning to the Gryffindor common room where they would prepare to meet the coming onslaught while the other two left the school, as quietly and quickly as they could before they got on their broomsticks and flew to join Remus Lupin and the older DA members.