Chapter Fifteen

In school Daphne and Pansy had never been the best of friends. Clare had always been a lot closer to Daphne because of her shared not-one-of-Draco's-inner-circle status. Pansy had never approved of Daphne seeing a wizard who might as well have been a Mudblood for all his parentage was worth. Still, they had been Housemates and roommates and they had never really fought. Daphne was really more afraid of Draco than fond of him, too. Still, once the Weasley Twins had given them that bit of information, she knew immediately that she was going to go, with or without Michael.

It wasn't just that, really. If what Clare and McGonagall were saying was true, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's plans would call for Michael and Clare being done away with. Daphne wasn't especially brave or fond of heroics, and perhaps if it had been she who was not Pure-blood and they who were, she wouldn't have been so set in her decision. Still, as it was, she knew that she couldn't sit back and do nothing. Michael and Clare were her first real friends at school, and she wasn't going to let them slip away that easily.

Once they'd told McGonagall, Clare, and the others about what they'd learned in Diagon Alley, all had immediately said that they were going. That they had to. Dean had wanted to go, too, but he was too badly injured to be of much use. Susan, still having no voice and thus little magic at her disposal, also eventually decided to stay behind and watch after Dean. Thus it was decided that McGonagall, Zacharias, Ernie (who was still hobbling painfully), Clare, and Daphne would go. Michael hadn't answered immediately. Apparently he'd taken the Twins warning that if he was uncertain in the least he should be wary of going.

She couldn't blame him, but she still was a little upset when the arranged time for departure started to draw closer, and he was not among them. The plan was to Apparate to a secured area in Diagon Alley from which they'd floo into the secret location. McGonagall wanted to give Lupin notice first, though, so as not to surprise the people already there.

So it was that Daphne, Clare, Zacharias, and Ernie found themselves in a windowless room on the upper floor of the Leaky Cauldron. They would continue once McGonagall arrived.

"Corner's not coming? Doesn't surprise me," Zacharias said loftily.

Daphne bristled but didn't reply.

"It's for the best. A coward just gets other people killed," the blonde continued in a drawling voice.

Daphne started to go for her wand, but Clare grabbed her arm and shook her head. She frowned at her friend, feeling more than a little betrayed. It was then that distorted popping sound came from behind the blonde, and McGonagall appeared.

She looked around the assembled youth and nodded curtly. "One by one, if you will," she directed, holding out a pouch of powder.

Zacharias smirked and took the first pinch. "Number 12 Grimmauld Place." He was followed by Ernie and then by Clare. Daphne hesitated as she took her own handful of powder.

"Sorry, I'm late," Michael said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere (as people were wont to do when Apparating). "That Shacklebolt bloke came to the hospital. He told me that they've found Dumbledore and several of the others who were with Potter. They're with Lupin now."

"Then let's hurry," Daphne said, smiling faintly (though she tried to make it look like a smirk) and dashing her dust into the fire and stepping inside. "Twelve Grimmauld Place!"

Like so much else she was learning not to hate, the trip via the Floo network wasn't that bad, and when Daphne arrived, those that had gone before were still there waiting. Professor was with them, too, though all in all, the house wasn't remarkably crowded. There were voices in the next room over... Some of which she recognized. Especially when she heard Finnigan raise his voice to complain about something.

"Welcome," Remus said to her, then nodding a greeting at the others as they arrived one by one. She took a few steps in, trying to see around the various doorframes and decorations. It wasn't the most beautiful house, that was for sure.

"I'd like to ask you to be quiet, if you will," the werewolf went on to say, though he didn't offer any other explanation beyond that. "It's rather a complicated setup we have here, the various groups. But you can feel free to make yourselves at home."

"Thank you, Remus," Professor McGonagall replied, and even allowed the smallest of smiles. It was the first time a lot of them had been here, and some of them - Ernie, most notably, was afraid to touch anything. Clare, however, was taking Professor Lupin's advice, and was already heading into the adjacent room. Daphne, too, started to explore... But with the sound of footsteps and a rather cold voice, she found herself stopped in her tracks. Standing in frond of her, blocking her path, was Cho Chang.

Honestly, Daphne had nothing against the former Seeker. But ever since... Well, Cho had been jealous of the Slytherin for a while before she and Michael broke up. In fact, Daphne knew it was because of her that they broke up in a way.

Cho really didn't like Daphne.

"Looks like you got your pretty face mauled a bit," Cho remarked almost conversationally, and Daphne's hand went up to touch her cheek where the wounds were still healing. Pink, and almost invisible by now... But still there.

Daphne simply offered Cho a smile, though, because it was at that moment that someone else appeared behind her. The smirking face... He always smiled. Did he ever not smile? At that moment, it wasn't infuriating in the least.

"It's still pretty," Anthony said.

"Trying to steal her away, Anthony?" Michael asked, suddenly appearing from behind her, dusting soot from his hair.

The smirk disappeared from Anthony's face, sliding into what looked like a genuinely relieved smile. Cho's face, too, softened, and for a moment it looked like she might cry. This was only exacerbated when Michael grabbed both Ravenclaws into a group hug of sorts. Daphne glanced away, feeling more than a little like an outsider to this happy reunion.

"You berk," Anthony said, shaking his head and squeezing Michael's shoulder as he drew away. "I thought you were dead--Terry, too. He told me, but... It's good to see you, mate," the ex-Prefect said with that same ear splitting grin.

Cho was reluctant to let go, and Daphne could actually hear muffled sobs coming from where the small Asian girl's face was pressed into her boyfriend's chest. Michael was making some sort of soothing noise and stroking her hair. It didn't seem romantic, but Daphne couldn't help but feel a flare of jealousy. Cho broke up with Michael because of her... And Michael hadn't taken it well, but at the same time, it was obvious that he didn't hate his ex. Daphne thought he really ought to have, after Cho did that with him and then...

Well, it was ancient history. Let Chang try to get her claws in. Michael was Daphne's now. Anthony seemed to see the rather aggravated expression on Daphne's face and began to peel Cho off Michael. She turned to Anthony, instead, burying her face in his solar plexus and continuing to sob softly.

Michael looked uncomfortable, running a hand through his hair and grinning uneasily. "Well, we're quite alive, as you both can see," he said, moving a little closer to Daphne.

"Let's go into the kitchen," Anthony said, somehow managing to shepherd Cho--who was still clinging to him, but now just sniffling rather than crying loudly--towards the door that Daphne could only assume was the kitchen. Daphne glanced at Michael before very firmly taking his hand and following after. Take that, Cho Chang.

He squeezed her hand, and when Daphne glanced up, she could see a somewhat bewildered amusement on his face. When he noticed her looking at him, he smiled and shook his head. At least there wasn't anything to worry about there.

Like the rest of the house, the kitchen was a bit run down in that old house sort of way. Though the wood was rotting a bit at the corners and the finishes were chipping off the ornamental carvings, it still appeared regal in a way. There was a sort of warm feeling to the place, especially because there were so many people in here currently. Dumbledore wasn't among them, but the refugees from Hogwarts that had traveled to the werewolf village were there. Somehow Daphne didn't mind as much when Mackenzie nearly tackled Michael in a hug.

As he worked on prying the other Ravenclaw off, Daphne glanced around to see if there were any new faces. Seamus offered her a wave while Hermione continued talking to him. Then she noticed another of her Housemates off in the corner, leaning between a cupboard and the wall. It was almost as if she was trying to hide. She'd never seen Pansy look so defeated before, and she was accepting comfort from Terry, of all people. Assuming it was because Draco was missing, Daphne didn't hesitate to kneel down in front of her... And she was just about to ask how she was holding up when the once-Prefect nearly knocked her over as she wrapped her arms around the other Slytherin's neck.

It was about then that Daphne noted that Terry, while trying to be a comfort, looked almost horrified. Or, at least, he looked less blank than he usually did.

"Pansy, what's wrong?" Daphne asked softly as she patted the girl's back. She was sobbing. Pansy Parkinson was hysterical. This very witch, whom Daphne actually really looked up to even if they never exactly were great friends, was having a breakdown in her arms.

"I was scared," she said. "I didn't mean to do it..."

Anthony, having finally separated himself from Cho, crouched down next to them. "I keep telling her that she probably saved us. Pansy, I'll say it again."

"I know, I know," she said, a bit of that temper showing through. That relieved Daphne a bit, except the next thing Pansy said kind of caused the bottom to drop out of her stomach.

"Daph... I didn't think it would work. I swear if... I thought I might just scare him a little. But it did. He... He..." She leaned in close, whispering. "He died, Daphne."

"Who died?" Daphne asked, eyes narrowing on Anthony.

"Walden Macnair," Anthony replied.

"I knew him... My parents had dinner with him at Christmas... three years ago," she hiccupped. "I knew... but I didn't..."

"You didn't want to, but you did," Daphne replied. "If what... Anthony says is true, you'd be dead if you didn't."

Pansy shook her head, not replying. "He... had Draco and I thought I could get him back and he was going to kill..."

"...me," Anthony finished with as wry a look as Daphne had ever seen him don.

"If he had Draco, and you... Well, what happened to...?" Daphne asked, frowning even more deeply now.

"I didn't know who it was... Harry knew him, though. Rodolphus Lestrange grabbed him and escaped," Anthony said with a sigh.

"So who's missing now?"

"Harry, Ginny, Luna, and Neville. Everyone else is here," Terry replied, tentatively patting Pansy on the back, though he looked too afraid to touch her to really be comforting.

"When did all this happen?"

"Last night... Harry finally managed to track them down--Ron and Malfoy," Anthony replied. "We... well, it was really intense. Pansy ended up killing Macnair, and then the next thing I knew... I felt funny. They put the Imperius Curse on me, but Cho grabbed us both, and she somehow managed to get us away from there before Lestrange could make me..." The Prefect was actually frowning now, averting his gaze.

"So I take it the others continued chasing after them?"

"Potter left immediately. They had Ron, too, and as soon as they left with him, Ginny and him were gone. Luna followed them... Then Neville left when the Lestranges did..."

Daphne nodded, trying to process all this.

"I've never seen him like that," Cho said softly from behind, making Daphne's heart nearly stop in surprise. "Harry. That rodent looking man... He had Ron..."

"So they're probably right behind the Death Eaters now," Terry broke in.

"Which means You Know Who is going to have to act quickly," Daphne continued.

"You know?" Anthony asked, clearly surprised.

"Well, we did a bit of guessing from what Clare told us..."

"We better tell you the whole story."

"The whole story," Daphne repeated. Were they actually going to tell her all the little missing details now? She must have sounded a little incredulous, because Michael, sitting down next to her, elbowed her. He hadn't heard what happened to Pansy since he'd just arrived, and so Daphne diverted his questioning glance from the other Slytherin with a shake of her head. Not now. She could tell him later.

Pansy leaned back against the wall, wiping her face with the sleeve of her torn robe. She also leaned against Terry who looked rather terrified but didn't move. It was amazing one man could do to people... On one hand, Pansy had become a killer. As justified as it probably was, it was scary. On the other hand, it was finally bringing the houses together.

Other people sat down around them. Now that everyone was around, there was a story to be told.

"He--"

Hermione interrupted Anthony almost as soon as he started speaking. "Voldemort. Use his name."

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Anthony said, and Hermione sighed, "He's very confident at the moment. He didn't mind telling us before he left Hogwarts what he's planning to do. Every witch, every wizard... We're all connected by Magic. It's a force, you know? Everyone that has it is, well, in a way, we're all in the same family."

Pansy snorted a bit, but said nothing. She didn't entirely like associating with Half-bloods and Muggleborns, even if she was getting used to it. And she had used the killing curse to save Anthony's life.

"It's something he created. Something that relies on... Well, he didn't say all this. We got more information later. It uses magic, drawn from people, and it makes a sort of relay, position to position, of magic. It's like a wall, if you want to look at it that way. When it's activated, it's like he'd be casting the Imperius Curse over most of Europe. Game over."

"I believe... I can take it from here."

Everyone looked up toward the door to see Professor Dumbledore standing there. The last headmaster of Hogwarts, still looking quite regal, though there was something very different about him. Not defeated... Albus Dumbledore could never look defeated. That did give Daphne a bit of hope. But when Hermione and Seamus rose to their feet and guided the old man over to a chair, Daphne knew exactly what was wrong. His eyes weren't focusing at all. In fact, they didn't even seem to be working. Like they were dead... She knew the horror of blindness. Out of everything that happened when the Gryffindor tower collapsed, she remembered the helplessness of learning she was blind. Still, even though she was well aware now that Dumbledore couldn't see, she felt a surge of pride knowing that he was there, and that in some way, she was connected to him.

"There's a weapon," Dumbledore went on. "Located in the Ministry of Magic. Within that weapon lies the power to erase magic completely. It is Lord Voldemort's goal to use it on those that... Might not be of Pure magical descent. Taking their magic, he will concentrate it into a device that will rob the ability to decide from, as Mister Goldstein said, everyone within a certain radius. Building on that, the Dark Lord will eventually hold the entire wizarding world in his hand."

"That's why he was separating us," Anthony added. "That's why he was trying to make the Pure-bloods go one way, and the Half-bloods and Muggleborns go another. I just ended up in the way."

"Potter's gone to stop him," Daphne surmised in a whisper.

"No, he hasn't," Dumbledore said, and she felt that he looked right at her, offering a kind smile. "He has gone..." The others looked at him, holding their breaths. He hadn't said this part yet. No one knew what he was going to say. No one could imagine why Harry Potter wouldn't be going to stop the Dark Lord!

"Harry has gone to fully activate the device. He has gone to destroy magic."

No one spoke for what seemed to be a very long time.

"So, we'll all be Muggles?" Pansy asked nearly inaudibly. Daphne couldn't help but feel the same horrified twist in her stomach at the thought. She couldn't tell what Michael or the others were thinking, but they looked shocked.

"If you wish to call it that, my dear," Dumbledore said. "Perhaps there will be magic again someday, but this is the only way for now. We have discussed this extensively," and Daphne realised there were several other people in the room now--a woman she didn't recognise with wild coloured hair, Lupin, Shacklebolt, the Weasley parents, "and we have decided for the greater good, Harry must do this."

"So it's just him, Neville, Ginny, and Lovegood goin'?" Seamus asked, looking horrified as he joined the circle. "Won't--"

"Voldemort," Hermione supplied.

"--he reckon that Harry's goin' t'do that? How're they suppose to fight off all those Death Eaters so?"

Dumbledore suddenly looked very old. "You are right. Harry will not be able to accomplish that by his own means. He is already on his way there, and surely Voldemort will be not far behind. The time has come... This is a terrible thing to ask of you all who are still so young, but Harry is about to do something more difficult than any person has done before, and he needs you. For those who are willing, I have secured a portkey to the Ministry, and it will activate in thirty minutes."

Seamus and Hermione's shoulders tightened with resolution. Gryffindors to the end, it seemed. They were the first, but then the others around them, too, began to show signs of a similar determination. Anthony smiling and shrugging as though to say, 'What else is there to do?' Terry, too, nodded briefly, his face fully accepting. Ernie, Zacharias, Cho, Mackenzie, and Clare, too, all bobbed their heads in assent. Daphne glanced at Michael, who glanced back at her and took her hand. The adults around them looked torn, but resigned to this as well. Dumbledore was right--Harry needed an army to accomplish this.

"I could not have imagined watching a braver group of students grow. I hope to see you all--figuratively, of course--" he said with a somewhat amused look. Daphne always knew he was a little barmy, though. "--alive and well and prepared for a hero's welcome. Good luck to each one of you. Please prepare yourselves."

"We won't let you down," Hermione replied, and Seamus nodded heartily.

"We all owe you a debt of gratitude I doubt any living soul can pay," Dumbledore replied, smiling fondly at the bushy haired girl.

The group began to dissipate, heading off to do whatever last minute things they needed before they left. Michael and Daphne were left alone in the corner. He still hand her hand in his own. He squeezed it, and she noticed he was staring rather pointedly at a scratch in the wall.

"Daph, since... Well, there's something I wanted to tell you," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

"What?"

He glanced at her for a long moment, his dark eyes troubled. Then he shook his head. "When we get back, I'm going to get you that umbrella." She blinked, having the feeling that that was not what he'd intended to say, but he'd already released her hand and was walking over to Terry and Anthony. She looked down at her hand and shook her head.

"Ready?" Clare asked, clasping her shoulder from behind.

"Yeah, let's go."