A/N: Incredible! We've shattered our previous record with 108 reviews for this chapter! Mum and I are beside ourselves! And in celebration, here's Chapter 37 for your reading pleasure!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Holiday's End

The next day, Harry was plagued by a nagging headache that even a strong potion couldn't completely alleviate, and Grimmauld Place was plagued by a gloomy atmosphere as glum as Harry's first summer there.

He wasn't the only one who felt it either; wandless magic lessons were fraught with tension. His friends were subdued. They kept sending nervous glances between each other, Harry, and Remus and Sirius.

Their two teachers, the last of the legendary Marauders, had not met each others' eyes all day except to glare. What words they exchanged were curt and sharp, with a poorly-maintained effort at civility.

Hermione was desperately flipping the pages of a book on wandless magic that she'd found in the Black library. She was tapping a charmed fountain pen she'd been making notes with feverishly against the binding. "Sirius," she blurted. "It says here that a wandless wizard can direct a lumos-like light out of his hand strong enough to blind his opponent. Could we learn this?"

Sirius gave her a forced smile. "It might be possible. More complicated than a simple lumos, but we could probably figure it out. That is," he glanced sideways at Remus, "if your Professor approves."

No one missed the bitter edge in his voice.

Ginny hastily said, "We, ah, we'd have to find a way not to blind ourselves."

"Or anyone else!" Ron added.

Remus gave a stiff nod. "Well, we'd start with a standard lumos," he said tightly. "After all, you'll need to be sure you can produce that before you try blinding people."

He was staring straight ahead, but Sirius bristled. Harry's headache flared, and his jaw was clenched so tightly that it hurt. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening

"It'd probably work best at close range," said Hermione. The words ended in a nervous squeak.

"True," Sirius growled, no longer looking at her. "And there'd be less risk of blinding anyone else that way." He closed his eyes suddenly and took a deep breath. "Maybe we could combine two charms: a lumos forward and a nox behind to block it."

"Good idea!" Hermione chirped.

"No," Remus said. "It's not. The charms would have to be simultaneous or the nox won't protect you. And we don't even know that a lumos can be done wandlessly, let alone both."

"Perhaps if we tried..." Sirius practically snarled.

Harry felt like someone was twisting his stomach into a knot. His fists were clenched so tight his fingernails were digging into his palms. Ron was watching.

"It's in the book," Hermione whimpered.

Remus gave her a thin smile. "There are lots of things in the Black family books, but I'd council a little caution before trying any of them."

Someone caught their breath sharply, and Hermione quickly put the book and pen down on the table.

Through clenched teeth, Sirius muttered, "Caution, my arse."

The pen began to vibrate its way across the table. Hermione snatched it up, and she and Ron exchanged a look of panic.

"We could use dummies!" Ginny exclaimed. "Or...or the mirror," she held out a hand mirror, "to reflect...you know..."

"Yeah!" Ron grabbed the book, patting it as though he was sure it could be trusted. "Sirius, don't you think—"

Remus's hard voice cut him off like the crack of a whip. "No. He doesn't."

Sirius shot to his feet, his eyes blazing, and Remus was on his feet only a second after. Both their fists were clenched.

His face white, Sirius roared, "I know what you're really about!"

Remus shot back, "You don't know—"

CRASH! The mirror in Ginny's hand exploded, the glass shards flying across the room and scattering upon the floor at Remus and Sirius's feet. Before they could react, Harry was leaping to his feet, an unearthly rage in his eyes, and the two men found themselves slammed backwards against the wall. They couldn't have moved even if they'd had the wits to.

"STOP IT!"

Harry had screamed so hard that the windows rattled. He took several gasping breaths. His entire body was shaking. In a voice gone hoarse from the force of his cry, and his emotions, he said, "You're tearing me apart."

He took a stumbling step backward, then turned and fled the room. Remus and Sirius stared after him, their mouths open in identical expessions of horror.

Ginny's eyes were full of tears, but her voice was scathing. "Well. You've gone and done it now."

Sirius's knees buckled and he sagged on the arm of the sofa next to him. "Oh my god, Remus..." he murmured.

Remus leaned back against the wall and put a hand over his face. "What've we done?" Blinking rapidly, he held out a hand and pulled the trembling Sirius to his feet, and they started toward the door.

But the door opened in front of them to reveal a thoroughly irate Molly Weasley. Folding her arms determinedly, she declared, "Neither one of you is going anywhere near Harry until we've talked."

Sirius and Remus blinked. One of the twins muttered, "Good show, Mum."

Not taking her eyes off the two men, Molly pointed imperiously at the sofa. "You sit yourselves down."

Without a word of protest, they obeyed. Molly closed the door behind her and came to stand directly in front of them. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins got up and clustered around her, all pinning Remus and Sirius with their accusing gazes.

The men were bracing themselves for a tirade, but it was in a quiet voice that Molly delivered the most devastating question they'd ever been asked.

"Do you have any idea how badly you've hurt that boy?"

Remus shuddered violently, and Sirius made an attempt to rise. "I have to go to him."

Molly's response left no room for argument. "You're not moving, Sirius Black, until you two have resolved this." Sirius sank back again and put his face in his hands.

After a long silence, Remus spoke. "Severus said this would happen."

Startled, Sirius looked at him. "Snape?"

Remus nodded dully. "He said I wouldn't be able to handle Harry having his godfather back." With a weak smile, he reached out and touched Sirius on the arm. "I was so glad to have you back myself that I didn't believe him. We all thought things would go back to how they were. I know that's what you wanted; I thought that's what Harry wanted. I tried, Sirius! I swear, I did. You're his godfather; it's your right. But for six months, he's been my whole life. I can't just step away now as if that never happened."

Sirius had his face in his hands again. Without looking up, he grabbed Remus's shoulder. "It wasn't like Azkaban. At least there, I knew time was passing. But those six months are gone. I never had them. So many things, so many people have changed, and I can't account for any of it. It just doesn't make sense. I should have realized...you and Harry...it's what I asked of you, after all, and you did it. I've had so many people take so much from me...Wormtail, the Order, our whole side. I guess I've come to expect betrayals. When I thought you were trying to take Harry, I just panicked."

"I've never betrayed you," said Remus, "and I never will. With Harry, I just...when we disagreed, I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I wasn't trying to undermine you...I guess I just thought I knew better than you."

Sirius sighed heavily. "Hell, you probably do."

"No," Remus said firmly. "I worry too much. I don't make him happy like you do. Besides, I'm a werewolf. He's better off with you."

Sirius let off a bark of dry laughter. "Bollocks, Remus. You being a werewolf is the least of anyone's worries, considering all the ways my stupidity could get him killed."

From behind Mrs. Weasley, Hermione piped up timidly. "Well...Sirius...maybe the firecall to Gryffindor Tower wasn't a very good idea."

Sirius and Remus both winced. "I know," Sirius muttered. "That's been brought to my attention."

Mrs. Weasley broke in matter-of-factly. "Both of you have things to offer. And he needs both of you."

"And he's been hurt enough," added Ron.

"Yes, I think we've figured that out, "said Remus.

Harry was sitting on the floor of Mrs. Black's room, leaning back against the bed. Every so often, Buckbeak would lean over and nuzzle his hair. He was reaching up absently to pat the hippogriff when the door opened. He froze.

Remus and Sirius stood in the doorway for a moment. Harry couldn't move. They walked silently over and sat down on either side of him. Remus gave him a sheepish grin, then lightly ruffled his hair as Sirius put an arm around him.

Harry let out his breath in an intense sigh of relief. He looked at Sirius, then at Remus and shook his head. "You two..."

Sirius lifted his hand off Harry's shoulder to give Remus a playful swat. "We three."

There was a markedly different atmosphere in the main parlor after dinner. Harry was curled up on the sofa with his feet tucked under him, reading The Magic of Emotions and Instinct while leaning slightly against Remus. Sirius was on his other side, draped over the edge of the sofa listening to the twins and Percy working on the latest line of Weasley products.

"If you two insist on using dragon's liver, you'll break your Gringott's account! It costs too much and Runespoor gizzards work just as well."

"They decay too fast, Perce. It'll lose its punch!"

"Oh, go on, Fred. Anything new you release flies right off the shelves. It won't have time to decay."

Ron and Hermione were in chairs on opposite sides of the room, painstakingly using wandless magic to pass a chess piece between them. Ron's face was screwed up in concentration as the little knight wobbled its way through the air towards Hermione, passing over the heads of Ginny, Bill, and Charlie, who were playing poker in front of the fire.

Observing the chess knight's shaky progress, Remus remarked, "You know, Ron, it's possible to concentrate too hard."

Without taking his eyes off the knight, Ron replied, "I...can't...help it!"

Harry looked up from his book and grinned. The chess piece began to spin wildly in place, squealing in protest. Everyone stared in surprise as the little knight sailed in an arc away from Ron and Hermione – straight into Harry's waiting hand.

Bill whistled appreciatively, and Remus said, "Good! That's good!"

"Show-off, "Ron grumbled without rancor. Hermione giggled. "What're you going to do, pelt Voldemort with chess pieces?"

Harry laughed and made as if to lob the chess piece back at him, but Percy winced. "Ron!"

"What? Oh, knock it off, Percy. The name can't hurt you."

Percy looked less than convinced. "Still..."

Ginny pressed, "We've been saying Voldemort's," (Percy cringed) "name for months, and nothing bad has happened."

"Go on, Perce," urged the twins. "Just say it once! Voldemort!"

Percy shook his head vigorously. "No, you lot can be brave. I don't want to."

"Just say it!" Ron joined in. "It gets easier, I promise! You just have to decide not to let it scare you anymore!"

"Well, maybe it's just easier for you than for me," Percy replied, and attempted to return to the twins' accounting papers, only to have the twins snatch them from his hands.

"Say it!" they insisted. "Vooollllldeeeeemooooort!"

Ron sprawled sideways in his armchair. "When I was trying to get used to it—that was last summer—I just started saying it to myself over and over until it got easier and I was sure nothing would happen."

"I remember," Hermione groaned. "'Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort' all over the house for three days!"

"But it worked," Ron protested.

"That's right!" said Ginny firmly. "And it'll work for you, Percy, all you have to do is believe! Go on!" She dropped her voice to a half-whisper. "Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort..."

"No!" Percy protested, but then the twins joined in.

"Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort..."

"Will you bloody knock off? I don't want to—"

"Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort..."

And so Ginny, Bill, Charlie, and the twins pursued Percy right out of the parlor (Harry could hear them chasing him up the stairs,) all still chanting, "Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort," over Percy's furious shouts of denial.

Harry and Ron laughed as they returned the chess set to their room. "Do you have practice tonight?" Ron asked him.

"I don't think so," Harry said. "Snape and Tonks wanted me to take it easy on my head after last night."

"Can't believe you let him zap you like that," Ron muttered.

Harry shrugged. "I had to get an idea of what I was really up against—though I guess that wasn't the best way to go about it. We'll think of some other way to get ready for Voldemort."

In their room, Ron deposited the chess set in his trunk, then stood up, a troubled expression on his face. "Say, mate...can I ask you something?"

Harry blinked. "Sure."

"Well..." Ron's ears went red. "I was wondering...about what happened at Hermione's house, when you...when...I mean...about the Killing Curse."

"Oh." Harry shrugged and sat down on his bed. "You mean, what it was like?"

"Well, sort of." Ron sat down on his own bed, contemplating his feet. "I was wondering, whether you...saw anything."

"Saw anything?" Harry repeated stupidly. "Uh...well...it was green. That's all I remember, really. Just green, and I felt all...tingly, afterward. Then I fainted," he joked weakly.

Ron mustered a weak smile and nodded. "Oh. I was just..." His ears darkened further.

Harry frowned. "What? Did you see something weird?"

"Well..." Ron drew his knees up to his chest and rocked absently on his bed. "You know the Curse rebounded on Goyle, right?"

"That's what I heard," Harry replied, still failing to see what Ron was getting at. "I guess I must have seen him when the light went away, but I don't really remember."

Ron nodded. "He just sort of...dropped. The Curse, it..." Abruptly he looked straight at Harry. "I did see something...weird. I didn't really know how you'd feel about it."

Harry's mouth went dry. "Go on," he mumbled.

"It's...uh...it's really weird, I mean, maybe I was just imagining..."

"Tell me," Harry said quietly, dropping his eyes.

Ron took a deep breath. "I could see you and Goyle, when he...when he threw the Curse. It was green, and...it went right at you. I remember thinking it was going to hit you right in the chest, but...it didn't." He cleared his throat. "It sort of...spread out...just a few inches in front of you, as if there was a pane of glass in front of you that stopped it." Harry looked up at him again, and Ron went on, "But it wasn't...just smooth, like glass. There was...a shape." Ron swallowed hard, and blurted out, "It was the shape of a person, a...a woman. She was only there for a second, it was like a flash, the Curse Light was all around you, and I saw her raise her hand like she was warning Goyle off, and the Curse rebounded back onto him. He fell, and she was gone."

Harry stared at the wall, his insides churning horribly.

Mum?

She'd been there again. Someone else had seen her again, but not Harry. Everyone kept seeing the shade of his mother except him!

"Mate?"

Ron was watching him nervously. Harry met his gaze and sighed. "It...I think it's because of the Pillar of Storgé. Anytime I'm in danger, these...shadows of my parents turn up." Ron sucked in his breath, and Harry nodded bitterly. "Only I never see them. She must've been right in front of me but I was blinded. It was the same in the Pillar chamber. I felt her but I didn't see her. I've never seen her." He tried and failed to keep an edge out of his voice.

"Bloody hell, mate," Ron murmured. "I'm...I'm sorry." Harry mustered a smile and shrugged to say it didn't matter. Ron awkwardly changed the subject. "Anyway, we've...got a lot of stuff to look forward to now. More practice with Remus...and Sirius. That's...good, isn't it?"

Harry recognized what his friend was trying to do, and felt a smile come more easily. "Yeah. Things are good."

And they were. The Easter holiday was over much too quickly. No one was especially enthusiastic about the prospect of taking the Knight Bus back to Hogwarts, and if there was one thing Harry and his friends had wished for, it was the chance to get out of Headquarters. So Remus and Sirius proposed that they go up early and spend the day in Hogsmeade.

"That's great!" Ginny said. "No one would expect us to be there today; they'll think we're Flooing back as usual."

"Will it be safe for Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Remus will be with you," said Sirius.

"Say hello to the twins and Percy for us," said Mrs. Weasley, giving each of them a kiss on the cheek. "They're at Zonko's this afternoon—and do remind them not to blow anything up!"

Ron laughed, "We'll do our best."

Sirius hugged Harry and ruffled his hair. "Look after yourself."

"You too," Harry told him. "You'll firecall Remus and the rest of us, right?"

"Sure," Sirius assured him. "It's all arranged. Don't forget to practice."

"I won't!"

"Come on, Harry!" Ron urged from the doorway. "You haven't seen the new Nimbus at the Quidditch supply..."

Sirius laughed and gave him a shove. "Off with you. Have fun!"

"Bye, Sirius!"

"Bye, Hermione, bye, Ron! Keep an eye on Harry for me!"

Mrs. Weasley sent their trunks through the Floo to Hogwarts, Remus arranged a portkey to Hogsmeade with the help of Hagrid, and they arrived near the Shrieking Shack. "Oh, look at that, I think I visited it once or twice..."

Everyone laughed. "You know, I don't think it's quite so scary anymore, now that we know what was really making all the noise," said Ron.

Remus shrugged. "Sorry. So where are you going?"

"Quidditch supply store!"

"Book store!"

"Zonko's!"

"Honeydukes!"

"You four are going to run me ragged, aren't you?"

"That's the plan, Remus! Come on!"

They didn't quite run Remus ragged, but they had almost as much fun at Hogsmeade as they had third year, when it all had been new and exciting. The village wasn't very busy, since the Hogwarts Express hadn't arrived at the station yet, and no one expected to see Harry Potter in town. It was a chilly afternoon, even for April, so Harry kept the hood of his school cloak up, and hardly anyone looked at him twice.

He and Ron and Ginny could have spent half of the afternoon at the Quidditch supply store, admiring the new models of broomsticks that Harry hadn't seen due to his confinement at Hogwarts, but Hermione finally dragged them out for a reasonably brief trip to the bookstore. They hit Honeydukes before going to Zonko's so they'd have some presents to bring Percy and the twins.

Mr. Zonko let them in cheerfully and slapped a sign on the front door that read Closed for Inventory. "So, 'ow are yeh, Harry?"

"I'm fine, thanks," said Harry, admiring the new Puffer Powders that the twins had just released. ("We got the idea from you blowing up your aunt!" they'd told him.) "How's business?"

"Better 'n ever, thanks to this lot," said Mr. Zonko, indicating the twins and Percy. "Our twins got the gift fer laughter business, and their brother 'ere keeps 'em on schedule. Good 'ead on 'is shoulders, that one!"

Percy blushed, and Harry grinned. It made him look like Ron. "What can I say," Percy said. "If someone didn't keep them in line, they'd bankrupt themselves!"

"Codswallop!" retorted one of the twins, unpacking Skiving Snackboxes.

"That's an awful lot of those, isn't it, Fred?" Ginny asked.

"Definitely not, they're one of the best sellers," said Percy. "And school's back from a holiday—trust me, half the student body'll be stopping by to replenish their supply today!"

"Oh. Good point. I'll take three."

George grabbed Percy around the neck and gave him a big, sloppy kiss on the cheek. "What'd we do without this brilliant lad, eh, Fred?"

"Gaaah! Bloody get off me!"

By late afternoon, Remus dragged Harry and his friends out of Zonko's, and they said their goodbyes to Percy and the twins. "The train will be back any minute. I'd rather we were back at Hogwarts beforehand."

They had cut it rather close, and were hurrying back up the road to Hogwarts when they heard the train's whistle at the station. "That's funny , it sounds like it's a little late," Hermione mused, checking her watch.

Ron glanced over his shoulder at the station, where the students could be seen disembarking. "Looks perfectly normal." He shrugged, and they kept walking.

Seconds later, there was a loud BOOM, and Harry felt the concussive force of a powerful blast shock across his skin. They all whirled around to see a belch of flame and a mushroom of smoke coming from the engine of the Hogwarts Express. "Bloody hell!" Ron yelled over a louder blast, and the sounds of many voices screaming reached their ears. From their vantage point, Hogsmeade Station looked like a disturbed ant's nest.

Remus snatched out his wand, "Get back to Hogwarts, all of you!"

"No, Remus!" Harry grabbed his arm without thinking. "You can't—we can't just—"

Remus shot Harry an anxious glance, "Harry, you know you..."

Ginny screamed, "It's the twins!" They followed her pointed finger to three red heads amid the mass of panicked students, these running in to the fray rather than out.

Ron yelled and started down the path again, but Remus caught both him and Ginny by the arms. "Listen to me! You four will come down to help get the students up the road inside the wards. You will stay with me and follow my instructions, is that clear?"

Wide-eyed, breathing hard in alarm, the four of them nodded. Remus set off at a run, and they followed him. "Guess we're about to find out how well that training really worked," Hermione said breathlessly.

"Death Eaters," Harry said, pointing at the black robes amid the running figures and flashing curses. He felt strangely calm. But he obeyed Remus and stayed behind the werewolf, keeping his wand ready. He found himself running through the curses that might be useful in his mind.

Remus stopped them a hundred yards or so from the chaos. "I'll be sending students toward you. Keep them moving up the road to Hogwarts, as fast as they can. If Death Eaters get too close, protect yourselves and get back." Then before any of them could reply, he was running full-tilt into the chaos.

Harry quickly lost sight of Remus, but heard his voice as he shouted at students to make for Hogwarts. Then there was a flood of Hogwarts robes and panicked students racing up the road toward him. He hurried forward, pushing them along. "Come on! Keep going! Get inside the wards!"

A group of Hufflepuff first years came stumbling up, half-carrying a Ravenclaw who'd been hit with a Bone-Breaking Hex in the foot. Harry's mind was whirling so fast that it took two tries to perform a Hover Charm on the sobbing girl, but he got them moving again and sent them up the road. We need to learn to conjure stretchers in DA, he thought dazedly.

Hermione at least seemed to know how to conjure bandages, and was pressing rolls of them into the hands of Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas as they carried Susan Bones up the road, keeping pressure on her badly slashed leg. "Someone's using Diffindio," Ron yelled to Harry.

Harry nodded distractedly, looking past the flood of students at the station, where a battle was now in full swing. Hogwarts teachers, wizards and witches from Hogsmeade, older students, and Death Eaters were firing off curses at each other, setting the station and train cars and abandoned luggage on fire. He spotted the twins at one point, working back-to-back around each other on the departure platform. Thank heavens, they seemed okay. He couldn't see Percy, but the twins didn't appear worried, just focused on fighting.

Speaking of which, a curse impacted the ground a few yards in front of Harry, and he jumped. There was a Death Eater, dodging around trees, buildings, and panicked people, unmistakably making his way toward the students on the road. Adrenaline surged through Harry like a prickle of electricity, and he dropped into a crouch, bringing his wand to bear.

Ron had seen it too, and started throwing shields in front of the fleeing students nearest the black robed figure. Harry gritted his teeth, trying to take aim without risking hitting any students, but the Death Eater wasn't about to make himself a clear target, and was ducking and dodging through the crowd, hexing people right and left.

No dangerous curses then, in this crowd, he thought grimly, and shouted, "STUPEFY!"

He missed, and the Death Eater ducked, but Ron and Ginny joined him, throwing a barrage of Stunners, some of which hit students, but finally brought the dark wizard down.

"Harry!" Neville Longbottom appeared out of the mob, his lip split, either from a hex or stray elbow, and followed Harry toward the Death Eater. "There's at least a dozen or so more in Hogsmeade! They're burning buildings!"

"Give me a hand," Harry said, and Neville joined him without hesitating. He handed Neville the Death Eater's wand, putting the dark wizard in a Body Bind for good measure. The face behind the mask didn't look familiar. "Hold onto the wand and give it to a teacher or an Auror, if you find one. Professor Lupin says to get all the students inside the wards as quick as we can!"

"Right!" Neville stuck the other wand in his pants pocket and jogged away.

"Harry, have you seen Ron and Ginny?" shouted a familiar voice.

Harry waved Percy over and pointed up the road. "They're there, getting everyone to Hogwarts."

"Good show," Percy panted. "They're moving further into Hogsmeade, but I saw some Apparating out. I think we're okay." He wiped sweat and grime off his forehead and muttered, "Bloody hell. I think there's some students dead back there."

Harry winced. The noise of the battle was quieting, even if there were still students screaming and crying from panic as they made their way up the road. "Can you conjure some ropes here?" he asked, gesturing to the Petrified Death Eater.

"Yeah." Percy did so. "The Aurors'll have a few questions for him."

"That's what I figured. There, come on!" Harry and Percy ran back to the crowd, spotting the twins in its midst, hurrying students along.

Fred was carrying Padma Patil with a sobbing Parvati stumbling along behind him when they reached Harry and Percy. "Concussion, I think. She's breathing all right," said George. "Keep 'em moving, a couple of Death Eaters may have doubled back."

"Here, I've got her," said Terry Boot, and he took Padma from Fred as Anthony Goldstein urged Parvati along with them up the road.

Harry and Percy joined the twins scanning the station and the Hogsmeade buildings. Thick clouds of smoke were rising from the village and the train station. "I don't see anyone," muttered Fred.

A curse sizzled just past Harry's neck, and he jerked to one side with a shout. They spun around and spotted two black-robed figures emerging from the trees. "Bugger, they got around us!" Percy yelled, and they charged forward to get between the dark wizards and fleeing students.

"SHIELDS!" Harry roared, and conjured the strongest, largest one he could, hearing his friends and DA members in the crowd doing the same.

The next volley of curses from the Death Eaters—there were three that had slipped through the trees to reach them—bounced harmlessly off the shields, and the cover gave Harry a chance to strike back. "FERITO!"

The blast of the curse threw one of the Death Eaters aside, but the other two dove for cover and rolled away from the worst of it, throwing Killing Curses as they righted themselves.

"Watch out!" Students ducked and scattered, screaming in terror, but Harry's dazed mind registered with a surge of relief that both jets of green light fizzled away without hitting anything.

Fred and George were moving in front of Ron and Ginny, conjuring Shields while Percy was firing off curse after curse at the attackers. The one who'd been knocked down by Harry's Concussive Curse never managed to get up before a Stunner followed by someone else's Body Bind kept him down, and the other two had been driven apart as students began throwing hexes at the black robes.

"Pressum!" Harry flattened the one nearest Hogsmeade station, and threw a Stunner at him for good measure before tearing up the road with the twins at his heels after the third.

The flow of frightened students was down to a trickle, and if they could just keep that last Death Eater occupied, everyone still here could reach safety. "Watch that one!" yelled Ron, and Hermione threw an Impedimenta at him.

It struck home, slowing the Death Eater down, but he rolled back down the hill toward the trees, obviously aiming to use the cover to his advantage. Harry aimed for his head and shouted, "Plaga!" but his target ducked so the hit was only glancing, causing the mask to fly off his face.

Her face.

Bellatrix Lestrange rolled to her feet, wiping a streak of blood away from her eyes as her lips curled with rage, and took dead aim at Harry. "Perfringo!" she screamed, and Harry conjured his strongest shield.

The hex was still enough to knock him off his feet, and he heard a Stunner from Ron sail over his head. Bellatrix dodged it and threw several Bone-Breaking Curses at random into the crowd of students, striking home at least twice, judging by the screams of pain and sounds of people falling to the ground. Fury surged through Harry's insides, making him feel as though he were on fire, and he shot a Bone-Breaker of his own at her.

She dodged it, but lost her balance and fell, and Harry took that moment to scream at the bystanders, "Get out of here! All of you! GET OUT OF HERE!"

There was a sizzling roar from somewhere in Hogsmeade as a building exploded, and Harry concentrated on shielding the last few students as they fled up the hill. Just over that hill, they'd be inside the wards, safe from Lestrange. Percy was conjuring stretchers for the three students who'd been hit by curses on the road, and uninjured students were seizing them and sprinting for safety. "Go, go, go!" Harry could hear them shouting.

Fred and George materialized on either side of him, and they began throwing every hex they could think of at Bellatrix, driving her backwards. They were just starting to think they had her when another curse caught Fred in the shoulder. "Aah! Bloody—"

"Careful!" Hermione shrieked, throwing a Shield in front of them as two more Death Eaters came charging up from the station.

Muttering a dirty word that he'd learned from Sirius on New Year's Eve, Harry turned to deal with the new arrivals, George next to him, while Fred stumbled back, swearing and cradling his arm. They took down one of the Death Eaters with Hermione's help, and the other broke and ran toward the trees.

And then...

"George!"

Percy slammed into George, knocking his younger brother sideways into Harry—which, fortunately, got Harry out of the path of a Slashing Hex. He stunned the other Death Eater and straightened, trying to catch himself and George, when he spotted Bellatrix out of the corner of his eye.

She swept her wand in a sharp, slashing movement, and screamed, "QUASSIO!"

A jet of what looked like purple flame erupted from the wand and blazed through the spring air, striking Percy directly in the chest.

His eyes lost focus, and he did little more than gasp before he collapsed. His glasses flew off as he hit the ground, his eyes closed, his face colorless except for a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.

From somewhere behind Harry, Ginny screamed. So did Ron. His mind had frozen in shock, and he hesitated too long, which gave Bellatrix time to take aim at him.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Harry stiffened in panic at the sight of that green light, his eyes on Bellatrix as he braced himself. But strangely, the light was behind her, silhouetting her body, instead of coming towards him. She suddenly went rigid in surprise, her mouth open, her body was framed by green light.

And then her eyes went blank, and she fell. As her body hit the ground, lifeless, the figure standing behind her was revealed, standing tall with a hard, determined look on his face.

Harry didn't move, his mind feeling too sluggish to comprehend what had just happened. Near him, Ron and Ginny had frozen where they were kneeling over Percy's still form, and Hermione's hands were over her mouth.

"Neville..."

Neville lowered his wand, glaring at Bellatrix Lestrange's body for a moment before looking at them. "She's finally stopped."

"I...I..." Hermione was blinking rapidly as if trying to make her mind work. She still looked more coherent than Harry felt. "The...Neville, the Aurors..."

Neville frowned, as the ramifications of what he'd just done began to occur to him, but then Harry snapped out of his daze. "Run."

Neville blinked. "What?"

"Get out of here. Leave your wand and get back to Hogwarts, fast. We'll say we didn't see you." Harry knew, somewhere in the jumble of shocked thoughts in his mind, what he was telling Neville to do, but it was like a single sane thing in all the insanity: Neville couldn't be caught for this. "Neville, GO!"

Looking again more like the Neville Harry knew from his early years at Hogwarts, rather than the one who'd finally taken his complete revenge on Bellatrix Lestrange, Neville dropped his wand on the ground and turned and ran up the road.

Shaking slightly, Harry turned to his friends. Ginny was crying, her eyes wide and frightened. "We need a Healer right now!" she sobbed, bending over Percy.

After finding some Aurors and getting them to take Percy to Madam Pomfrey, Harry was about to follow when he heard a familiar voice calling him from the trees. "Harry?"

Harry drew his wand, then relaxed. "Neville, what are you doing here? I told you to go!"

"I watched; they've got the wand. They'll be too busy securing everything to worry about finding out who threw the curse," Neville said solemnly.

"Speaking of secure, we need to get out of here," said Harry. "Professor Lupin'll be waiting for me."

They walked up the hill in silence for awhile, scanning their surroundings for any signs of Death Eaters, and Neville muttered, "You think I'm a murderer, don't you?"

Harry glanced sideways at him, and said, "No."

"Really?" Neville sounded surprised. "I thought the others did."

"Dunno if they do," Harry sighed, rubbing his aching forehead as he paused to check out a clump of bushes. "But I don't."

"Why not?"

"Because...I think I'd have done the same thing, given half the chance. She had to be stopped." Harry sighed. "She'd have killed me then if you hadn't got her first," he went on. He couldn't look Neville in the face for some reason, but he went on, "And if anybody had a reason, or...I guess...the right...it was you."

"It's weird...I knew what I was doing. I knew why, I knew...you know, that wasn't my wand." Harry blinked, and looked at him at last. Neville looked puzzled, as though trying to explain everything to himself even as he was explaining it to Harry. "I used that Death Eater's wand. I just...I heard people screaming and knew there was trouble, but when I saw her...I just pulled the other wand out and..." he shrugged. "I did it. What does that mean?"

Harry sighed. "You know...something happened over Christmas...I had...my wandless magic...I killed something—someone," he corrected himself. Neville listened silently. "A house elf. It was an accident, but...at the time, I wanted to hurt him. I didn't know what it meant after it...happened. I didn't know what I was. I guess I still don't."

"Did you..." Neville bit his lip hesitantly. "Do you ever feel like this...all this...war, is sort of...changing people? Changing you? Making you into something?"

"And I don't know what it is, or whether it's good or bad. Yeah," Harry replied. "Hermione said war does that to people."

"Hermione says a lot of things."

Harry laughed weakly, without much humor. "Nothing makes sense. I don't miss...the elf. I'm glad Lestrange is dead—really glad, but..."

"Yeah. But." Neville sighed. He shook his head. "You always seem to have answers. I guess I thought..."

"Yeah," Harry mumbled. His mind still felt so sluggish. "Sorry."

"Yeah. Me too."

Remus was waiting for Harry at the entrance. "Thank God, I'd started to wonder if you—never mind, you'd better come to the Hospital Wing."

"Is Percy okay?"

"I don't know much, just that it's bad, damn her," Remus growled as they hurried down the hall.

When they came into a private ward in the Hospital Wing, Harry was mildly surprised to see all the Weasleys were there. Bill had his arms around a white-faced Ginny, while Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall were speaking softly to Mr. Weasley. Professor McGonagall had clasped his hands in hers. Charlie was holding Mrs. Weasley, and the twins were clinging to each other. Hermione was holding Ron.

Percy was still unconscious. Harry heard only the faintest, shallow breathing from the middle Weasley son. Bellatrix Lestrange had hit him with that curse that Dolohov had tried to use on Hermione, and the other Death Eater had used on Fred. Quassio. So that was what it sounded like.

Mrs. Weasley glanced up, her face red and puffy with tears still falling, and gasped when she saw Harry. She pulled out of Charlie's grip and struggled to straighten up as Harry reached her. "Harry," she choked out into his chest. "Oh...Harry...oh..."

She clung to him so tight that Harry nearly gasped—his chest was still sore from running and yelling hexes—but he returned her embrace. Awkwardly at first, until he looked down at her face, screwed up as though she were suppressing a wail of anguish, and he recalled the times she had comforted him. That thought made him squeeze her harder, and she choked back a sob, but actually half-smiled through her tears, and he held on tighter still.

Looking past her at the shocked, horrified faces of her family, at the grim faces of Remus, Professor McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey, he understood why they were holding onto each other so tight. This just wasn't a moment to be gentle.

Ron had stumbled out of Hermione's grasp and came to Harry and Mrs. Weasley's side. She let Harry go and snatched Ron into her arms, as Harry rubbed his friend's back awkwardly. He'll be okay, won't he? Harry wanted to ask, but the words were stuck in his throat.

Then Madam Pomfrey was touching his arm, and saying softly, "I must have you wait outside, Harry. Just the family right now."

Harry nodded dully, and Hermione came over to him, seizing his arm hard. He kept an arm around her as they walked out into the open wing and waited.

Hermione sat down right on the floor, half-dried tears still streaking her pale face, and Harry sat next to her, letting her lean on his shoulder as he rubbed her back. He didn't know what else to do.

They had no idea how much time passed. People moved out in the main hospital wing, but neither of them had the energy to look around, to go ask questions, or check on the condition of the rest of Hogwarts. It was all too much. And they might get news of Percy at any moment.

A click at the door made them both look up sluggishly, and they scrambled to their feet as Ron came stumbling out. He closed the door behind him, his movements slow and awkward, before turning to them. He looked fairly calm, so Hermione asked softly, "How is he, Ron?"

Ron seemed almost puzzled, as he searched for the proper words. Finally, in a barely audible voice, he breathed out, "He's gone."

Hermione sucked in her breath, and Harry just stared. What?

He didn't realize he'd spoken aloud, but Ron looked at him, his face dazed and lost, and repeated softly, "He's...gone. Percy. He...my brother's...dead—"

Ron's legs buckled as a look of utter devastation came over his face, and Harry and Hermione lunged forward. They caught him as he sagged to the ground, and Harry found himself with Ron's arms around his neck as his best friend's body began to shake with deep, wracking sobs. Hermione was trying in vain to stifle her own tears as she stroked Ron's hair, and Harry wrapped his arms around Ron and held on as tight as he could. Tighter. Tighter still.

This wasn't a moment to be gentle.

To be continue...

Coming next weekend: Yes, Percy is gone. (Sniff! Sob!) So is Bellatrix Lestrange, at last. Our heroes mourn the fallen from the Battle of Hogsmeade Station, and the Order makes plans to retaliate. A dangerous mission is in the works, but Harry has no intention of being left out this time. However, Dumbledore and the Order are prepared to take drastic measures to prevent him in Chapter Thirty-Eight: Leave-Taking!

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