CHAPTER 08:

In the witching hour, in the quiet of the night, Harry Potter was ready to face the battle that was long brewing with the wizard that had destroyed his family, his childhood and his world in every way he could.

"Where to now, Harry?" he heard the soft questioning voice of his best friend from beside him.

He smiled at her in the darkness, "Where it all began, Mione. Back to Hogwarts."

He felt more than saw her head bob and then a soft shuffling later, she was beside him, beaded bag in sock and wand in hand and she clasped his hand in hers. "We'll finish this."

"Together." He heard another raspy voice from the other side.

He nodded at his other friend. Even his desertion had nothing on his unwavering loyalty. "Ready?" Harry asked Ron.

In answer, Ron pushed his lithe body off the mattress and joined him and Hermione. "Aren't I always?" he grinned cheekily and winked. "What do we do about Loony though?"

Hermione quickly slapped him up his head. "We ask her, of course. If she comes then great, if not we can tell her father about her whereabouts and he can take it from there."

"Of course I'll come along. Why would I ever not?" Luna's dreamy voice cut through, as she and Jacob walked into their room, their hands firmly clasped in each other's. Before Hermione could get in a word, Luna shook her head, "We are the DA. We stick together, we fight together. None of us want sneak to be pimpled across our foreheads, now, do we?" Luna smiled, her pale skin and pearl white teeth shining in ethereal beauty in the filtering moon light of their darkened room.

The wizards gave a mischievous smile to Hermione who flushed under their teasing smirks.

"I'll come with," Jacob said and as one the wizarding folks shook their heads.

"No offence mate, but you wouldn't stand a chance against magic, much less dark one. We need you to be here and mind the fort until Luna comes back to you and then you can help her heal," Harry and Ron both spoke together, each completing the other's sentence.

"So, Charlie is getting the back up and said he'd inform the Order about our plan before he left so we now just need to apparate out?" Harry looked at Hermione for confirmation. She nodded once.

"Let's leave then. We can keep a letter for the Cullens on the dining table and pop out," Ron shrugged as he pulled his backpack on his shoulder.

"They are vampires, you idiot. They aren't asleep like the other folks. If my understanding of the family is correct, they are as boisterously loving as your own brood and are probably listening in on our conversation from downstairs and worrying sick about our choices."

A booming laugh followed Hermione's words. And loud, "That's right." "We are worried," followed in different member's voices.

"So much for leaving without disturbing anyone," Harry grinned and pulled on his own rucksack over his back.

"You live with the vampires, you live with non-existent privacy," came another indignant voice from the hallway below.

Laughing riotously, the trio exited the room, Luna and Jacob following soon behind. Once down, they bid their farewells to the Cullens with a promise to stay in touch should they live to see the other side of the war.

Emmett, being the big baby that he was, hugged them all and Ron was sure that if vampires could cry, at least Esme would be breaking down on her husband's shoulder. They do make a good couple, he smiled warmly at the picture they made, thinking of his own parents in their lovey-dovey displays that he had so affluently gagged at along with his siblings but now more than anything hoped that he could see it again, he hoped that his family survived intact and that the children who were fighting the adults' war sufficed in their prowess.

"Please pass on our good wishes and best luck to Edward and Bella," smiled Harry at Carlisle. Unaware of their guests' impending departure, Edward was again spending the night at Bella's and both were thus conspicuously absent from the gathered party.

Jacob gave one lingering kiss to Luna before she stepped away from him. Be safe he thought in his mind, his inner wolf roaring at him to not let his imprint go towards the danger she was headed for, but in just the two days he had spent with her, he knew his Luna well enough to know that she would never stay back, she just wasn't a coward at all. He laughed, she is probably the bravest girl I've ever met he thought, unwittingly, unintentionally comparing her, his imprint, to his previous crush and best friend. He visibly shook himself, he couldn't do his imprint that big an injustice, he couldn't, he wouldn't compare her to the.. other girl.. he sighed, watching the pale beauty standing beside the red headed wizard.

Suddenly he felt warm hands clasp his, "I'll keep her safe. I'll send her back to you.. or I'll die trying," the bushy-haired brunette witch spoke in soft hushed tones as she gave him a small smile. She gave his large hands one last squeeze of reassurance, that he barely had time to return, before she turned on her heels and joined her three friends.

Smiling their good-byes, the four apparated away, their pops ringing loudly as they twisted on the spots they stood and disappeared into thin air.

"Alice!" Rosalie whispered harshly.

"On it!" Alice nodded and ran into the house, seating herself by the glass wall, a sketch-pad in hand. Jasper flew to her side and Rosalie and Emmett followed suite. Esme smiled warmly at Jacob and both her and Carlisle extended an invite to him to share in Alice's visions.

"Might as well," Jacob accepted their invite. Till Luna didn't return to his side, he knew he would be hard-pressed for sleep anyway. Sighing Jacob joined the six Cullens in their spacious drawing room. Not an hour in, Alice was frantically scratching the pad in front of her, her hazy unseeing eyes seeing something primal to Jacob's own survival.