Chapter 44-

AN-Due to popular demand…Here is the next chapter…

Last Time January 2nd…

"Wait, I have an idea." Harry said. "Remember the prophecy?"

"Yes Harry. Everyone knows that you have to kill Voldemort. But that doesn't tell us how." Ron said.

"No, I think that Mr. Potter is on to something. Go on, Harry." Dumbledore said as he nodded for Harry to continue.

"First, I am talking about Hermione's prophecy not mine!" Harry began in a slightly annoyed voice. "Second, I think that the prophecy will help us. Here's the plan…"

"…According to Hermione's prophecy, People have to be present in order for everything to go right: Draco, Dumbledore, Hermione, and me. So, I was thinking that Professor Dumbledore and I should leave and come back as guest for Hermione's and Draco's Marking Ceremony. You two," he said as he pointed to Ron and Ginny, "will stay inside the house and get things ready and make sure everything goes smoothly." The others all nodded and waited fro Harry to continue. "Professor Dumbledore and I will come in tomorrow night and help you guys carry out the plan. I am pretty sure that we will be able to fool Voldemort into thinking that we are who we say for two reasons. One, there will be too many Death Eater here to give us a second thought. Two, I have finally master Occlumency, so Voldemort won't be able to see into my mind as easily, if he even bothers to look."

"Okay, but what was the plan exactly?" Ron asked.

"I was getting there. Anyway, I think that we are going to need to get Voldemort alone. We need it to be just the five of us in there. So, we need to get all of the other Death Eaters out, but keep Draco and Hermione in. In order to do this, we will need the Orders help. We need them to surround the manor. I think that they should attack from all directions. Land and air. That way, the Death Eaters will be forced to split up and they won't know what we are doing until it is too late. Then, we still have the problem of getting Voldemort, Draco, and Hermione to stay in the room. I am pretty sure that Voldemort won't be the problem. He is not a coward, but I think that he is probably the type of guy that wait till his side is winning and then goes in and claims the victory."

"I agree with you, Harry. Tom is no coward, but I also don't see him as a front lines kind of guy. He will want to make sure his side is winning before he goes out into the fight."

"Okay, but what about Draco and Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Well, that's where you two come in." Harry said to Ginny and Ron. "You two are going to stay behind and talk to Draco and Hermione."

"But I thought--"

"I know that we aren't supposed to talk to them, but they have to stay in that room. So, I figured that it would be best if you two went and found them before the ceremony started and told them. That way, they will know that they can't leave the room, but you have to be discrete. You two won't have a lot of time to do this."

"What do we tell them exactly. What if they don't believe us?" Ron asked pessimistically.

"Make them believe you! Tell them that we have a plan and that they need to stay in the room no matter what happens." Harry said.

"We can do it." Ginny said as she punched Ron in the arm.

"Good, Now Dumbledore and I have to go. We have to get the Order set up and make up a plan as to how we are actually going to kill Voldemort." Harry said as he headed for the door.

"Bye, Harry. Be careful." Ginny said as she gave him a kiss goodbye.

"Ron?" Harry asked as he pulled away form his girlfriend.

"It's a good plan…And we can do it! Be careful, Mate." Ron said. Then he turned to Dumbledore. "You too, Professor."

Dumbledore nodded and they were gone.

"Let's go to bed. We have a busy and long day ahead of us." Ginny said as she hugged her brother.

"You're telling me." he said before laying down.

"Goodnight, Ronnikins."

"Funny." he said in a voice that obviously said that he didn't think that it was very funny at all.

"I thought that it was." she said as she too laid down and shut her eyes.

Dumbledore and Harry hurried through the passageways and back to their brooms. When they got there, they immediately hopped on and flew away. They flew directly to the Order's home base, Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Just as they were walking up the porch, they began changed back into themselves.

The first person they met was Molly Weasley.

"What's going on? Where are my kids??" she asked Dumbledore as she rubbed at her tear-stained cheeks.

"Hush." Dumbledore said in a soothing voice. "Everything will be okay. Is everyone here?"

Molly Weasley nodded and pointed towards the dining hall.

Dumbledore nodded and escorted her through the doors.

Harry was momentarily caught off guard when he saw all of the people in the room. There was hundreds upon hundreds of wizards sitting all across the floor, and Harry immediately assumed that Dumbledore had made the room to fit the people. 'When did the Order get this big?' he wondered, but his thoughts were interrupted when Dumbledore raised his hands in the air. The entire room immediately went silent and they all stared expectantly at Dumbledore.

"Now, I have called you all here tonight for a very important reason. I am pretty sure that you all know this reason, but for those of you who don't I will enlighten you. The war is upon us! Voldemort took two students from Hogwarts yesterday, and we are going to get them back." With this, murmuring spread throughout the room. Everybody was guessing who was taken. "Silence please!" Dumbledore said with such force that the room went dead silent almost immediately. "These two students are Draco Malfoy and the Dark Lords only daughter, Hermione Granger." Ahhhs of horror and sadness swept the room, but once again with one gesture everyone quieted. "Now, we have a plan to save them, but it is going to take each and every one of you…"

January 3rd 12:30 pm…

"Draco," Hermione whispered as she shook the blond boy. "Draco! Wake up!" Hermione said, louder this time.

"Huh? What happened?" Draco said as he sat up and tried to make his eyes focus.

"I think that I found something." She replied.

"You did?" he made it a question.

"Yeah. Here look." She said as she pointed to the book that was sitting in front of her.

Draco looked down at the page and scanned the text. "We already know all of this stuff." he said. "It just says that the 'binder' binds one or more individuals to a place and themselves by doing an incantation and placing their energy into a certain object. That's Voldemort, us and the rings." he said matter-of-factly.

"Duh." Hermione replied in a slightly irritated voice. "I know all of that Draco, but it is continued on page 1,342. I just haven't got to read it yet because I thought that you would like to hear it."

"Sorry. Please, continue." He said in an apologetic, don't-get-mad-at me kind of voice.

"Thank you." she said as she began flipping through the pages. "Damn!"

"What?"

"It's gone! See, here's page 1,341 and then it goes right to 1,344!"

"Damn!"

"Exactly."

"What do we do now?"

"I have no idea. I found it, it's your turn."

"Oh gee, thanks." he said in a highly sarcastic voice. "What time is it anyway?"

Hermione pulled up here sleeve and looked at her watch. "12:30"

"At night?"

"No. You've only been sleeping for twenty minutes."

"Oh. Well, I think that we have been here way to long. Let's go take a break."

"Well, okay, I guess. But you have to promise me that we can come back in an hour and continue looking. I mean, that Marking ceremony is tonight and I don't want a Dark Mark on my arm. We have to find something before then. We just have to." She said.

"Deal, but you need some rest."

Hermione nodded and let Draco guide her to his room.

After about ten minutes, Hermione couldn't stop fidgeting. "Draco, I can't do it! We need to be in that library trying to find something that will get us out of this mess!"

Draco jumped at Hermione's sudden outburst, but he smiled down at her. "Of coarse. You are right. Let's get down there and find something that will save us."

"Thanks."

They searched for four and a half more hours with mo success. "Come on, Hermione. We have to go get ready. We will think of something." Draco said as he helped her up and escorted her towards his room once again…

AN-Well, that's all I can do for one night. Thanks for all the great reviews!! Love ya guys!! Read and Review, as always!!