Ugh... It's been so very hard to update. Warmer temperatures make my health... iffy. Plus, you know, Life. But, I'm not giving this story up and I still have so much to share with all of you. Thank you all so much for the reviews. You make all the effort I've put into this story worth it. Except for that one jerk that left a comment as a guest to complain about details that aren't even in this story. That individual is an ass. Seriously, if you have an issue with a clearly marked pairing, don't freaking read it. And if you haven't read it, don't make asinine comments about assumed content. Aside from that, you guys are generally sweet and super supportive. Thank you.

So, this chapter is a bit dramatic. And it's a game changer for the characters. It just got real. There is mention of death and major character injury, so be aware of that moving forward.


"This would be easier if we knew what Tolbert was given," Hermione muttered, her brow creased in frustration.

In the two days after Valentine's Day, the Wolves had kept a close eye on Tolbert and those that seemed closely associated with him. But nothing had come of their watchful wariness and it was only making the pack more nervous. Whatever Tolbert was planning, he seemed either content with his plan or he was much more cunning than they'd initially guessed.

"For all we know, he's just planning something on his own and he's not involved in the assassination plot," Ron grumbled. He settled himself on his back, glad that the Room of Requirement had provided plenty of cushions for their meeting.

"He's got the Dark Mark," Hermione argued. "Harry and Draco saw it. It's not likely that Voldemort has recruited a several students. That wouldn't be very secure."

Ron shrugged, not bothering to look over at her. Either way, they'd have to keep an eye on a known Death Eater.

"I feel bad for Corey," Harry murmured. "He looks terrified when his brother is around."

"It can't be helped," Blaise sighed. "We can't get close to him without risking his lunatic brother taking issue with it and doing something mad." He shook his head, leaning back on his hands and stretching his legs out in front of him. "So, what can we do, Alphas?" he said, turning his expectant gaze to Harry and Draco.

The couple sat up straighter in an unconscious response to their title. It was a reminder of their responsibility to their pack. "I'll talk to Dumbledore," Harry responded. "We'll have the Delta wolves set up patrol teams. We don't know what Tolbert is doing, but someone could get hurt if he's careless."

"I doubt that he'd be concerned about preserving innocent lives," Draco agreed with a grumble. His foremost concern was for the Slytherin pups. Tolbert Fawley was an unpleasant person, even setting aside his status as a death eater. While the Slytherin pups were clever enough to avoid publicly displaying their loyalty and affection for their Alphas, having them sharing a common room with an assassin made Draco's heart race with anxiety.

Harry got to his feet, reaching down to pull Draco up as well. For a moment they leaned against one another, enjoying the small comfort shared between them. Harry then straightened and looked around at the Betas. "Meet with the Deltas," he instructed. "We need patrols established. If Tolbert has co-conspirators, we have to know."

"So that's what we're calling them now?" Ron asked, stretching his arms over his head lazily. "Deltas."

"It seems appropriate," Hermione answered. "They are a step below the Betas and being groomed to lead the pack in the event that we cannot be here. Larger packs of werewolves have adopted such a hierarchy."

"I've always wanted to be like a pack of werewolves," Blaise joked, exchanging a grin with Ron. Ron chuckled while Vince and Greg snorted with amusement.

They left the Room of Requirement a few moments later. The Betas split up to seek out the Delta wolves while Harry and Draco made their way toward the Slytherin common room. Being uncertain of Tolbert's location and activities made them quite uneasy.

They froze once they stepped into the Common Room. Chaos reigned. Several younger Slytherins were in hysterics. Some were sobbing quietly. A few seemed to be hyperventilating, faces pale and terrified. Pansy burst through one of the little crowds and launched herself at Harry and Draco, her shaking hands grasping at their robes desperately.

"What's going on?" Harry demanded firmly.

"Alpha," Pansy whimpered, sagging against them. A sob escaped her lips. "It's Tolbert... There's b-blood everywhere. I- I don't understand."

"Pansy," Draco snapped harshly. "Pull it together."

Pansy swallowed hard, her tears spilling over. "Tolbert's been murdered," she managed shakily. "Brutally. Theo found him in his room."

Draco pulled Pansy close, offering what comfort he could. He looked around and saw Theo leaning heavily against one wall, looking pale and nauseated. Draco looked around again, frowning over who was missing. "Corey isn't here?" he asked.

Pansy lifted her head to meet his gaze with with wet eyes. "I haven't seen him," she responded. "I'm glad he didn't have to see his brother like that."

"But whoever killed Tolbert could be planning to kill Corey as well," Harry said, dismayed. "Pansy, gather the wolves. The Betas need to know immediately." He grasped Pansy's shoulder when she appeared ready to dissolve into tears again. "I need you to do this, Delta," he added evenly.

Pansy drew in a quick breath and straightened her posture. "Yes Alpha Orion," she acknowledged. She turned and motioned for Daphne to join them.

"Go get Professor Snape," Draco instructed Daphne. "We're going to look for Corey and alert McGonagall and Dumbledore."

"Yes Alpha Centauri," Daphne said, her voice slightly hoarse.

Draco and Harry took off, rushing away from the dungeons. They weren't sure where to look for Corey, so finding Dumbledore and McGonagall first seemed most prudent. Hopefully Pansy would locate the other Wolves quickly. Clearly something was terribly wrong. The assassin was dead. There was a killer in the castle and the Alphas would do whatever they could to keep their pack and the rest of the students safe.

"Professor Snape!" Draco blurted out urgently, relieved to see the surly man rounding a corner further ahead.

Snape hastened his stride to reach them, his brow creasing with concern. "What's happened?" he demanded.

"Tolbert Fawley was killed," Harry informed hastily. "Slytherin House is in a state of panic. The body is in the dorms. Pansy's gone to fetch the Wolves. Daphne's looking for you. Have you seen Corey? We're concerned the he might be the killer's next target."

Snape shook himself out of his shocked stupor. "I believe the younger Mister Fawley was on his way to see the Headmaster," Snape replied, shifting to move past the couple and head to the Slytherin dormitories. "He seemed a bit out of sorts. Perhaps he suspected that something was going to happen. You two move quickly," he instructed, bolting down the hall.

Feeling terribly uneasy, they continued on to Dumbledore's office. They stumbled at the bottom of the spiral staircase as the castle seemed to shudder in response to a deep boom. Draco grasped Harry's arm to steady himself. "What's going on?" he asked shakily.

"I don't know," Harry admitted, obviously unsettled. "Something isn't right."

"Harry, I have a really bad feeling about this," Draco murmured, pressing close to his boyfriend as they ascended the stairs. Another boom shook the castle as they reached the top of the stairway. Tiny bits of stone and dust rained down on them from the ceiling above.

They pulled out their wands and then burst through the door and into the headmaster's office. The room was mostly destroyed. The desk was in ruins and the many instruments that Dumbledore kept around were shattered and littered about the floor. Dumbledore was leaning against a wall and breathing heavily. He was holding his empty hands on in front of him, as if to ward off another attack. His chest shuddered with every ragged breath.

Corey Fawley was standing in the middle of the room, his expression almost bored. He held the Elder Wand loosely in his left hand, his eyes settled on Dumbledore dispassionately. His gaze shifted to the doorway, apparently unfazed by the sudden presence of Harry and Draco.

Harry's eyes were wide with shock. He hadn't had much contact with Corey. He'd known the Fourth year as shy and nervous. He appeared afraid of his older brother and uninterested in Voldemort's agenda. Then again, if Corey was the sociopath assassin that Lucius Malfoy had warned them of...

"It's you, isn't it?" Draco asked, giving voice to Harry's thoughts. "You're just a fourth year."

"You killed your own brother," Harry added, sounding horrified. Dumbledore's eyes widened in shock, staring at Corey incredulously.

"He was in the way," Corey said, uncaring. "He wasn't going to accomplish his task, and he was hindering mine. Now you're hindering me," he added, raising the Elder Wand to point it at Harry and Draco. "Just stay back."

He lifted his hand, but was prevented from further action when a spell hit him in the side, making him stumble. Hastily he threw something small and dark toward Dumbledore. The headmaster managed to dive to one side, but hadn't been able to quite dodge the debris when the massive bookshelf that he'd been leaning against buckled and crashed to the ground. A strange liquid had splattered out as well with the impact. Dumbledore let out a shout of pain as he collapsed.

"No more of that," Draco commanded sternly, glaring at Corey.

"I have a mission to complete," Corey said, sounding bored.

Harry felt sick. Corey had seemed so quiet and unassuming. Lucius had certainly been right about the assassin being quite good at hiding his true nature. Corey had fooled them all. But, Harry couldn't let him get away with it.

"Put the wand down," Harry said firmly, grateful that his voice didn't betray how shaken he truly was. His gaze darted to Dumbledore anxiously.

Corey turned and threw a small object toward Harry and Draco. Draco raised his wand swiftly, erecting a shield charm without a word. The object, a small ball, splattered harmlessly against the shield, only to drip down to the floor and burn a hole in the wood like corrosive acid. Harry leapt aside and shot a disarming spell at Corey, his heart clenching as the Elder Wand was wrenched from the Fourth Year's Grasp. Before Corey could do anything further, Harry pressed him to the floor with another spell.

Draco inched forward and picked up the Elder Wand, his eyes wide and breaths quickened. Glancing warily at the fallen fourth year, he hurried over to the headmaster. "Are you alright?" Draco asked shakily.

Dumbledore groaned and shifted slightly with a grimace of pain. Draco tucked the Elder Wand away and lifted his own wand to levitate the debris off of the headmaster. He trusted to Harry to keep Corey down. Once enough debris was moved, Draco helped Dumbledore to sit up properly, concern growing as the headmaster struggled to remain upright.

"Forgive me, but how were you bested by a fourth year?" Draco asked bluntly.

"Draco!" Harry scolded him.

"It's alright Harry," Dumbledore groaned. "I will admit that I underestimated Mr. Fawley. And I didn't want to cause him harm if it could be helped. Children aren't to be fully blamed when they're manipulated by adults."

"This 'child' is a cold, unfeeling murderer," Draco sneered, shooting a dark look at Corey.

"That is unfortunate and... disturbing," Dumbledore muttered. He groaned when Draco tried to help him stand, sighing when Draco gave up and settled for propping him up again the wall. His legs were quite useless in that moment, but Dumbledore tried not to think about it. He opened his mouth to say something more, but was caught off by another loud boom and a violent shudder from the castle. He gasped in pain as it jarred his back, causing alarm to press against his mind as he struggled to stay upright.

"What's happening?" Harry snapped, glaring down at Corey. "Is this your doing as well?"

"I suppose that you'll have to find out," Corey responded, shifting slightly from his prone position on the floor.

Suspicious, Harry bent down and reached for Corey's hand, prying the fingers open and seizing the small objects that the fourth year had been holding. They were small round balls that didn't look particularly dangerous. But, Harry had seen the younger boy throw one and make a bookshelf and part of a wall explode. "Did you give these to anyone else?" he demanded angrily.

Corey offered no response and his face remained maddeningly blank.

Harry growled in frustration. "Draco, use the floo to get Sirius and Remus," he said, his jaw tense.

Draco was swift to obey, kneeling before the fireplace and sticking his head into the green flames. After a few moments, he emerged and dusted the soot out of his blond hair. "They're calling the order and then coming here," he announced.

It was only a minute later that Remus and Sirius tumbled out of the fireplace. They looked around, taking stock of the state of the room and its occupants. "What do you need Harry?" Sirius asked.

"I was hoping that you'd come with Draco and I to see what else is happening in the castle," Harry told him hastily. "Remus, could you stay and keep Corey here? He mustn't be allowed to escape. And Dumbledore is injured."

"I'll take care of them," Remus agreed, pulling out his wand. "Be careful."

Without another word, Sirius, Draco and Harry left the office and bolted down the stairs. They followed the sound of raised voices down the hall. Soon they found themselves faced with a good number of students hurrying along.

"What's going on?" Harry asked no one in particular.

A passing Hufflepuff paused to answer, a bit breathless. "Somebody blew up a couple of classrooms," she panted, shifting a bit as other students jostled her in their hurry to get further down the hall.

"What?" Draco cried in shock.

The girl nodded, her eyes wide. "There have been a few explosions. I didn't see them myself, but I felt the way the school shook."

"Keep moving," a voice called out brusquely. It was Professor Vector, looking unusually frazzled as she herded anxious students down the hall. The Hufflepuff offered a tense sort of wave before rejoining the flood of young witches and wizards.

Harry and Draco shared a look before turning to Sirius.

"Come on Pups," Sirius muttered, keeping to the wall as he pressed against the flow of bodies. Harry grasped Draco's hand and followed along, determined to keep up with his guardian.

After a few minutes, they turned a corner to see someone throw something small at the doorway to the Transfiguration classroom. Harry threw his hands up to conjure a shield charm, just in time to protect his companions from rubble resulting from the impressive explosion.

"Nice one," Sirius complemented. "Petrificus Totalus." A flick of his wand caused the student to freeze in place before falling over with a harsh thud.

After a hasty search, they found the same small dark spheres that they'd taken from Corey. Sirius held up one of the little balls, peering at it curiously. "What in Merlin's name..." he muttered under his breath.

"Careful with that," Harry warned. "That looks like the same thing that Corey used to blow up part of Dumbledore's office."

Startled, Sirius nearly dropped the little ball, hastily cupping it safely in his hands. "Right. Probably shouldn't drop it then," he replied with a nervous chuckle. He leaned over to eye the frozen student. "It's a Gryffindor," he noted, sounding horrified. "And a young one at that."

Harry and Draco approached, their expressions grim. "Well, it's not as if Slytherins are the only people capable of making really stupid mistakes," Draco noted, slipping his hand into Harry's. "Corey seemed to be a decent sort. And it's a bit more common for friendships to cross house lines these days. I wonder what he's been saying to encourage such destruction?"

"We'll have to wait to find out," Harry said, flicking his wand and causing ropes to bind the fallen student. "We've got to make sure the rest of the school is cleared."

It wasn't long before they encountered Hermione, Ginny and Pansy. The three girls were panting and looked rather frazzled. Pansy had rushed off to find the Betas and the Wolf Pack had been assigned to different parts of the castle once the explosions had started. Four more students had been found with the destructive little spheres.

By the time it was all over two greenhouses, six classrooms, part of the Great Hall and several hallways had been damaged. There had been a good number of injuries and a third year boy in Hufflepuff had died.

Professor Snape was able to identify Corey's chosen weapon as a destructive potion that had been encapsulated in such a way that it ruptured violently on impact when thrown. It wasn't commonly used since they had been known to break open in a carrier's pocket during a scuffle. It was hardly surprising since someone determined to use such a weapon was not likely to be the non-confrontational sort.

Corey Fawley had quietly gathered a group to himself and convinced them that they needed to get the Ministry's attention. Minister Fudge's refusal to acknowledge Voldemort's return put everyone at risk. So, they'd make him listen. Each of Corey's followers had been convinced that they'd been pursuing the greater good. Destruction of a few parts of the school would be worth the trouble if it forced the Ministry to see reason.

They'd been horrified to discover that a boy had died as a result.

Corey, as it turned out, had been the one that Voldemort had recruited to assassinate Dumbledore. Tolbert had been given the mark and the task of getting rid of Draco, but mainly to help pull any suspicion from Corey. Corey had seen fit to kill his brother when Tolbert's actions threatened to disturb his plans.

Kingsley Shacklebolt had looked deeply disturbed as he'd carefully escorted Corey away from the school.

McGonagall summoned Harry and Draco to her office the next day. Her expression was grim as they sat down in front of her desk. Draco held Harry close as they were informed that Corey's potion capsule had splashed the headmaster. His spinal cord had been injured and the healers weren't able to fully reverse the damage. The most powerful wizard alive could no longer walk and was significantly weakened.

Draco had taken on the task of relaying the information to the pack. He wanted them to hear the news from one of their Alphas. Harry seemed content to let Draco take the lead while he grieved over Dumbledore's suffering and contemplate their next move.

"I think it's time to move on from here," Harry said quietly two days later. He was sitting beside the Black Lake and looking out over the water while Draco stroked his hair comfortingly. Their Betas were lounging in the grass nearby. "Hogwarts isn't safe and now Dumbledore can't go out and find Horcruxes." He turned his head to looking into a pair of concerned gray eyes. "We need to pick up where he left off."

"I'll go where ever you lead," Draco assured him quietly, leaning close to rest his forehead against Harry's temple.

"Us too," Vincent spoke up, his gaze determined as he stared at the Alphas. "We go where you go," he said while Greg and Blaise nodded solemnly.

"Don't even think about arguing," Ron added sternly.

"We can't ask you to miss your seventh year," Harry replied. "And there is still a pack here that needs guidance."

"We have Deltas for that," Hermione reminded him, waving away his arguments. "They're strong and clever. They're ready. And we are prepared to go to the ends of the earth with you," she concluded, nodding her head toward the other Betas.

"So dramatic," Draco commented, rolling his eyes teasingly.

"That's rich," Ron snorted under his breath, making Blaise and Harry crack up.

"The point is," Hermione said, ignoring their giggles, "we're never going to let you do this alone. You need your Betas. We've been training for this. The fact that the timeline has been moved up makes no difference."

Harry sighed, but offered his friends a smile. He loved them dearly and he'd always be grateful for their unwavering devotion.

Draco nodded in satisfaction. "Well, since that's decided, I recommend waiting until Harry's birthday," he said. "We can prepare, pack, whatever... But we need the trace to be gone before we take off anywhere on our own. Can't have the Ministry tracking us down if Harry uses magic."

Harry folded his arms over his chest, his lips pulling down into a little pout. "But that's in five months," he complained, aware that he sounded a bit petulant.

"We'll be glad for the extra time to prepare," Hermione assured him. "And it will allow us to make sure we've got enough resources to have safe houses prepared."

"With Dumbledore injured, things could get bad really fast," Ron murmured. "If the Ministry falls next, people will need somewhere to hide."

They fell silent contemplating their premature departure from Hogwarts. Harry dreaded having to tell Minnie about their plan and facing her attempts to put on a brave face despite wanting to weep and hold him close. He hated the thought of telling Sirius and Remus, watching their expressions crease with sadness and worry. But, Harry knew that the three people that had stepped in to be his parents would support him. He just wished that knowledge would make it easier to move forward.