Remus and Severus both reached for their wands.
'Kingsley?' Lupin demanded into it.
'Minerva?' Snape tried.
There was a heart-stopping pause. The voice, when it came, was not much more reassuring. 'Sev...s. Trapped...ministry. The floo ... sabotage.'
'Minerva, focus. And why, of all times, did you choose to go to the Ministry tonight?'
'Do be quiet, Severus,' she snapped back, clearly this time. 'They were under attack. I offered assistance. Now, however, we have a problem.'
'You can't get out.'
'I can get out. You can't. Hogwarts has been cut off from the Floo network.'
'What?'
'The attack on the Ministry has been subdued. We're rounding up the stragglers now. But when I tried to Floo back to check that everything was well here. The Floo wouldn't connect, so I tried for Hogsmeade but...'
'You couldn't.'
'And there's an anti-apparition ward around the village. It won't hold long, but for now...'
'This plan has been a long time in the making.'
'Exactly. Severus, is everything alright there?'
'Mr Potter was recovered, he's well. However, there is one slight concern.'
'What is it?'
'He believes Voldemort is going to attack Hogwarts tonight.'
Another long pause. 'You believe him?' McGonagall asked, as calmly possible.
'I do,' Severus stated plainly.
'Can we get the children away?'
Severus looked at Harry, who shook his head. Severus nodded shortly at him. 'Harry says no.'
The Headmistress took a deep breath. 'Then ... Good luck, Severus. Look after the children. I'll be there as soon as I can.'
'That's it?' he asked in disbelief. 'No instructions on how best to do it?'
'Albus put you in charge of the Order, and made you the Deputy Headmaster, Severus. He knew what he was doing. I wish I was in the school as well, but if I can't, then there's no one else I would rather be there instead. You know what to do.'
'Of course I know what to do, woman!' Severus shot back, but he looked more than a little reassured.
'I know. We'll bring help as soon as we can. Until then.'
'Until then,' Severus repeated. He lowered his wand and turned to the children. 'Well?'
'What?' Harry asked.
'Voldemort is coming here, with perhaps twenty death eaters, plus Dementors. Help will not be here until it's too late. What do you think we should do?'
'You're asking me?'
'You, Mr Potter, are the one with the army. Which you announced the existence of rather publicly if you remember.'
'I know that,' Harry answered with a slight smile. 'I meant why me? Ron and Draco do the tactics.'
'You'll need to talk to them,' Ron said. 'They listen to you more than me or Draco.'
'What do I say?'
'Decide soon,' Snape said. When he next spoke, his voice was magically amplified around the school. 'Proceed to the Great Hall.'
Snape had disappeared to confer with the other Professors. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco were in a nervous huddle at the end of the Gryffindor table by the High Table. The other DA members came to stand with them, pelting the four with questions about what was going on.
Harry would only say one thing. 'When everyone else is told to go, you stay.'
Snape arrived with the other Professors in tow. There was muttering even before he spoke. The Headmistress being absent was cause enough for concern.
Snape came to stand in front of the High Table. He didn't mince words. 'Voldemort is making his way towards the school. We estimate that he will arrive within the next ninety minutes. Unfortunately, the school has been cut off from the Floo Network, so we must be ready to hold out here until help can arrive. Everyone, after we have all finished speaking, should make their way to their common room. These rooms are designed to hold up to an attack, even more so than the school building itself. Do not leave these rooms. The people protecting you need to know that you are safe. I assume none of you wishes to be the reason why someone else dies. So stay where you are told, and don't let anyone have to come and rescue you.' If there was one thing Snape was good at it, it was commanding silence. No one said a word. Snape looked down at the group at the front. 'Mr Potter, Ms Bones? Do you have anything you wish to add?'
Harry looked at Susan, who shook her head quickly. Harry stepped up to the platform. 'First off, does anyone want to ask anything?'
One third year nervously raised a hand. 'Is Professor McGonagall okay?'
'She's fine. She was in the Ministry when the Floo was cut off. I'm sure she's trying to get here as fast as she can. For now, we need to stick together, and look after each other.
We're putting some DA members in each common room to make sure that you're not unprotected. There'll be some traps set outside, so please don't leave until you're told it's safe. Don't open the door unless the person asking is Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, or Ron Weasley. Ron has a way of talking to the DA, so the people staying in the rooms will know whether or not it's him. Any more questions?'
They mutely shook their heads.
'Alright then,' Harry answered. 'Then I guess this is it. Tonight we win this war, I promise you that. Voldemort is scared – that's why he cut us off. He wanted to make sure we couldn't call our friends to help us, and even without them, he doesn't know if he can win. He didn't know if he could beat a bunch of kids, so he snuck up on us, and made sure we couldn't run away. But we don't want to run. We're going to fight. You are the last line of defence. Stay alert, keep your wands out, and look after each other.' Harry looked quickly towards Snape.
His voice was softer than it ever had been. 'Go to your Common Rooms.'
They left quickly, hanging on to each other, as if Harry's words to look after each other meant not to let each other get lost on the way back.
Harry looked at the DA. 'Anyone younger than fifth year, go the common rooms.' The younger members protested loudly, and he silenced them with a wave. 'No arguing. I need DA people in the Common Rooms, and I'm not putting thirteen year olds against Voldemort.'
'So what have we been training for?'
'So that if someone gets past one of us, I know that there's someone in the Common Rooms who knows what to do. I don't want to worry that while I'm fighting Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange is killing first years.' That silenced them. 'I need one older student from each house to go back as well. Any volunteers?' As expected, no one moved. 'Please?'
'I'll go,' Daphne offered.
'Are you sure?'
She smiled. 'It won't be Draco, Theodore hates children, and Blaise is better at hexes. I'll set the traps in front of the dungeon entrances. Anyone who gets past those is going to be too battered to put up much of a fight.'
Harry hugged her quickly. 'Thanks.'
'No problem.'
Zacharias Smith stepped forward next. 'I'll look after Hufflepuff.'
Dean and Padma offered to take care of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Harry gave them final instructions, and they left.
Severus walked up behind Harry. 'The Professors will go out first. Harry, don't argue. I promise you, you will get to fight. We won't hold them all off. But I'd like to at least pay lip service to the notion that we should be able to protect you. Command your troops, I will see you afterwards.' Snape walked to the door, leading the other professors behind him.
Harry stopped him. 'Professor?'
'Yes?'
'Good luck.' Snape nodded, gave him one last scrutinising look, and left.
Harry turned to the rest of the DA. 'Okay then. This is it. A few simple rules. If someone gets hurt ...' he stopped. 'I'm not very good at this, am I? If someone gets hit, do what you think is best. I can't ask you to leave them, because I can't ask you to do something I couldn't do.' He looked at Draco, at Ron and Hermione. 'Don't take unnecessary risks, but I know you all, I know you won't leave each other out there. And that's the difference between us and them. We're a team, they're just a mob. We're going to win for a very simple reason. We're in the right. And we're together. And they are none of those things, and so we will triumph over them.' He waited for that to sink in. 'Now, the plan.'
'So,' Harry checked off. 'Ron's in the Entrance Hall. Neville's group's gone towards the forest. 'Seamus...'
'Harry!' Draco protested. 'Everyone knows what they're doing. Ron has your map, he can see what everyone's doing. All we have to do is wait for them to set the traps outside your common room, and we're ready.'
'Do you think they're done yet?'
'I think maybe they're taking advantage of the time alone...'
'Draco,' Harry sighed. 'We're just around the corner from them. I think we'd hear something.'
'Maybe they're doing something very quietly.' A wicked smile twisted on his face. 'We could do something very quietly...'
'We haven't done anything yet. Do you really think this is the best time to start?'
'I think it's a perfect time.' Draco's hands wound their way under Harry's robes. He could feel Draco's fingers splayed against the bare skin of his back. Everywhere they touched felt warm. Harry knelt his forehead to Draco's. 'Later.'
'That's one reason to come through then.'
Harry could hear Hermione and Ron coming back. He smiled in amusement. 'Do I need to say it first? I love you. No matter what happens.'
'Just for that, Harry, I'm not going to say it back. Don't act like you won't come through this like everything else. "Boy-who-lived" remember? You wouldn't want to make all those nice people liars, would you? Besides, you have to come back to prove that this isn't just part of your Slytherin reform programme.'
Harry was confused, 'Why would you think...?'
'I'll explain later. Now you have three reasons to come back.' They met in the middle this time. The desperation of the kiss belied the joking words.
When Hermione and Ron appeared, Harry almost opened his mouth to apologise. But Hermione's hair was tousled, and Ron was flushed, so he decided not to bother.
Draco smirked. 'Just remember that the battle's that way, Weasley,' he said, pointing out the castle's doors as they reached them. 'Not in Hermione's eyes.'
'Just remember that Voldemort isn't hidden up Harry's shirt, Malfoy,' Ron shot back.
'Boys,' Hermione muttered.
'How many times a day, on average, do you say that?' Ron asked curiously.
Harry didn't want this moment broken. But he had been in Severus's head for a good ten seconds now. 'They're here.'
Hermione pulled Harry and Draco close. 'Be careful.'
Ron hugged Harry quickly, and then (much to his shock) Draco. 'Good luck.'
'You too,' Draco answered.
'Just this last time,' Harry reminded them. They nodded, and with one last look, Harry and Draco walked away from them.
As they reached the door, Harry heard the crash. He turned to Draco. 'Ready?'
'Whenever you are.'