Chapter 74: To Stand Unite… Or Fall

The trio were soon reunited with an old friend and classmate of theirs. Neville Longbottom, and it was difficult to look at… for it was clear that the torture he had been enduring at the hands of the Carrows truly starting to take its toll. One of his eyes was swollen yellow and purple, there were gouge marks on his face, and he looked as if he had been forced to live in the wilds for several weeks.

Yet Albus also knew that every scar that he had, Neville was bearing them with pride.

He watched as Neville jumped out of the passageway and ran to his friends so that he could hug them all excitedly. Soon enough, he informed Aberforth that there would be several more people arriving, and asked that he show them the passageway into the castle. Albus couldn't help but smile as he thought to the messages that he sent to all their allies outside the castle, informing them that now was the time to fight.

Getting a little ahead of themselves here, but that was probably the best thing that they could do right now. Tom will undoubtedly come here tonight, whether Harry was here or not, he would check that the Horcrux was still safe. In any case, they needed the extra time to put up defenses and evacuate the students, if possible.

He did not want him to set foot inside the castle ever again, if he had his way.

After a quick word with Neville, the four of them clambered up into the passageway, but Harry paused for a moment. He then turned back to Aberforth, and despite all that they had heard and said to each other, he thanked him once again.

"I don't know how to thank you. You've saved our lives twice," Harry told him gratefully.

"Look after 'em, then," said Aberforth gruffly. "I might not be able to save 'em a third time."

Albus couldn't help but felt a chuckle in his throat at the sight of it. He was afraid that 'you're welcome' had always been difficult for his dear younger brother. Though his heart still ached with sadness over what was said earlier… he hoped that Aberforth was given at least a little bit of peace of mind.

Harry followed his friends through the hole and into the passage, allowing Neville to lead them as he quickly informed him everything that had been going on in the castle all year. And the horrors he spoke of made the cruelty at Umbridge's hands seem like a slap on the wrist compared to the tortures administered by the Carrows. And he thought that the blood quills were bad enough…

But to use the Cruciatus Curse…? And on First Years? And that was just the beginning. He did not know how Neville could be saying this all so calmly, but the fact that he was felt like a punch in the gut.

Eventually, they reached the exit and emerged into the Room of Requirements, where a whole gathering of students were waiting for them. As soon as they saw them, they jumped at them, hugging and crying out in joy that their heroes have finally returned. The Room of Requirement was completely unrecognizable now. Multicolored hammocks were strung from the ceiling and from the balcony that ran around the dark wood-paneled and windowless walls, which were covered in bright tapestry hangings. The banners of three of the four Houses were hung all around the room—with the silver and green of Slytherin the one that was missing.

"It's quite straightforward, really," said Neville modestly as they explained where they were and why the room looks like this now. "I'd been in here about a day and a half, and getting really hungry, and wishing I could get something to eat, and that's when the passage to Hog's Head opened up. I went through it and met Aberforth. He's been providing us with food, because for some reason, that's the one thing the room doesn't really do."

"Yeah, well, food's one of the five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration," Ron couldn't help but speak up and Albus could not suppress the smile as everyone looked at him in surprise. It looks like he had been listening to Hermione more often then he let on. As the explanations went on, Albus noticed that Harry seemed to be in a terrible amount of pain and knew that it was his scar again.

And so, he checked on Tom and bit his lower lip to see that he had already arrived at the House of Gaunt and was tearing it apart, searching for the ring beneath the floor. Albus then returned to the Room of Requirements just as he heard Tom's scream of fury echoing in his ears.

Harry had pulled himself together, having just seen the same thing that Albus had undoubtedly, and the others looking at him with concern. Yet as he looked to Ron and Hermione, the three of them shared a silent understanding, knowing that Tom had realized that another of his Horcurxes was gone. Time was running out. Tom would soon go to the cave and check on the Locket next, Albus was sure of this, and he could also very well imagine just the fury he would have when he realized that was gone as well.

"We need to get going," he said, and the other two nodded in understanding.

"What are we going to do, then, Harry?" asked Seamus Finnegan excitedly. "What's the plan?"

"Plan?" repeated Harry, looking around them. "Well, there's something we – Ron, Hermione, and I – need to do, and then we'll get out of here."

And like that, the excited and happy atmosphere faded as they all looked at him.

"What d'you mean, 'get out of here'?" Neville asked in confusion.

"We haven't come back to stay," said Harry, rubbing his scar, trying to soothe the pain. "There's something important we need to do – "

"What is it?" Neville pressed on.

"I – I can't tell you," Harry confessed as others were all starting to mutter at this.

"Why can't you tell us?" Neville asked him firmly, "It's something to do with fighting You-Know-Who, right?"

"Well, yeah – " Harry admitted and Neville spoke up quickly, "Then we'll help you."

All around them, the other members were all agreeing, looking ready to fight and Harry was looking more frustrated as he tried to tell them that they had to do it alone.

"Why?" Neville demanded, wanting a good reason why they were turning down all this help.

"Because…" Harry said, looking around him for an answer and Albus felt his heart constrict painfully at the sight of it. "Dumbledore left the three of us a job, and we weren't supposed to tell – I mean, he wanted us to do it, just the three of us."

"We're his army," Neville reminded him. "Dumbledore's Army. We were all in it together, we've been keeping it going while you three have been off on your own –"

"It hasn't exactly been a picnic, mate," Ron spoke up, sounding resentful that they would suggest that their journey had been a walk in the park.

"I never said it had," Neville added, "but I don't see why you can't trust us. Everyone in this room's been fighting and they've been driven in here because the Carrows were hunting them down. Everyone in here's proven they're loyal to Dumbledore – loyal to you."

That was a very good point… Albus learned a little too late that there few things in this world that were as precious as unconditional support.

"Look," Harry began, just as the tunnel opened up again behind them and this time it was Luna and Dean who appeared. At the sight of his best friend, Seamus let out a roar of happiness and went running to him as Luna looked around happily.

"Hi, everyone!" she said brightly. "Oh, it's great to be back!"

"Luna," said Harry distractedly, "what are you doing here? How did you - ?"

"I sent for her," said Neville, holding up the fake Galleon. "I promised her and Ginny that if you turned up I'd let them know. We all thought that if you came back, it would mean revolution. That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows."

While a wonderful thought, rebellion wasn't a game, and if they tried that then there would be a price to pay. But with Tom now on the warpath, that no longer meant anything at the moment. This was the time to act. The time had come… they couldn't survive as playing the part of victims anymore. If they were going to take back their freedom and their futures, then now was the time to do so.

"Of course that's what it means," said Luna brightly. "Isn't it, Harry? We're going to fight them out of Hogwarts?"

"Listen," said Harry louder than ever, "I'm sorry, but that's not what we came back for. There's something we've got to do, and then –"

"You're going to leave us in this mess?" demanded Michael Corner angrily.

"No!" Ron yelled back at him. "What we're doing will benefit everyone in the end, it's all about trying to get rid of You-Know-Who – "

"Then let us help!" said Neville angrily. "We want to be a part of it!"

They weren't going to let this go, Albus could see that. But at that moment, the tunnel opened up a third time and now it was Fred and George Weasley, followed by their best friend Lee Jordon… and… to Harry's obvious dismay… Ginny Weasley.

Fred Weasley looked around brightly, raising his hand in greeting to them all as he called out, "Aberforth's getting a bit annoyed! He wants a kip, and his bar's turned into a railway station."

Oh sure, he knew that his brother would act annoyed, but he suspected that he was secretly enjoying this. Perhaps it was the presence of young blood stirring his own that was doing this. He was always a rebellious soul at heart.

At that moment, a fourth person appeared behind them, this time it was Harry's old girlfriend, Cho Chang, who gave him a beaming smile. Albus couldn't help but notice that Ginny glared at her out of the corner of her eye, as if daring her to try anything.

"I got the message," Cho informed them as she held up her own fake Galleon and she walked over to sit beside Michael Corner.

"So what's the plan, Harry?" said George happily when he spotted him.

"There isn't one," said Harry loudly, his eyes twitching in pain, and he knew that the scar on his forehead was still burning.

"Just going to make it up as we go along, are we? My favorite kind," Fred declared with a beaming smile.

Yes, they do work better under pressure. But that wasn't the point right now. They were running out of time, and quickly. The enemy was heading to their gates as they spoke and they had to hurry up.

"You've got to stop this!" Harry told Neville furiously. "What did you call them all back for? This is insane – "

"We're fighting, aren't we?" Dean said, having heard him and held up his own coin. "The message said Harry was back, and we were going to fight! I'll have to get a wand, though –"

"You haven't got a wand-?" began Seamus in surprise.

Harry looked ready to start telling them all off again, but to Albus's surprise, it was Ron who spoke up to him.

"Why can't they help?" he asked him.

"What?" Harry asked, turning back at him and soon their voices were low enough for only Hermione to hear them. As Fred and George spotted them, they began to tell jokes to their friends, giving them a second to talk it over without being heard—and it was clear that they were hoping that they would decide to accept their help in the end.

"They can help," Ron said to him, "We don't know where it is. We've got to find it fast. We don't have to tell them it's a Horcrux."

Harry looked from Ron to Hermione, who thought that over for a moment. She then looked up and murmured in agreement, "I think Ron's right. We don't even know what we're looking for, we need them." And when Harry continued to look unconvinced, "You don't have to do everything alone, Harry."

Ah, but Harry didn't do everything alone. He could never have made it this far without support and Harry would be the first one to admit that. But Albus could see that he had made another mistake. He should've encouraged Harry to accept help more often. Even when he only trusted Ron and Hermione with insight into his life, he was still determined to shut them out, only relenting when they stood their ground and stayed with him by force.

That was what he, himself, had done for most of his life.

But Albus did not want Harry to become like him. Albus had always been afraid to trust another completely, and so he kept his secrets close, and lied when he thought that the truth was not truly needed. And even though he could see so much of himself in Harry, he did not want him to have the same regrets that he had in life.

He did not have to tell them everything, but to give them a basic idea of what was needed.

Harry thought it over before, and to Albus's immense relief, he answered, "All right. Okay."

He turned back to the room at large, who noticed him, and fell silent as they hung on to every word that he was about to say.

"There's something we need to find," Harry announced to them all. "Something – something that'll help us overthrow You-Know-Who. It's here at Hogwarts, but we don't know where. It might have belonged to Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of an object like that? Has anyone come across something with her eagle on it, for instance?"

He looked over to the Ravenclaws in the room, but it was Luna who answered him first. Now that Albus thought about it, perhaps they should've asked her while they were at Shell Cottage.

"Well, there's her lost diadem. I told you about it, remember, Harry?" she said, "The lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Daddy's trying to duplicate it."

Yes, now that Albus thought long and hard about it, that object seemed to the most likely, if not the only, choice… if the final Horcrux had something to do with Ravenclaw then it had to be it. For as far as he knew, the diadem was the only object that was associated with her. But if it was the diadem… then how did Tom get his hands on it? It went missing around the same time that Ravenclaw died… where had it been all this time?

"Yeah, but the lost diadem," said Michael Corner, rolling his eyes at Luna, "is lost, Luna. That's sort of the point."

"When was it lost?" asked Harry quickly.

"Centuries ago, they say," Cho Chang spoke up this time, informing him how Flitwick told her that it vanished around the time of the founders. And though many had searched for it, no one had ever found a trace of it.

"Sorry, but what is a diadem?" Ron could not help but ask.

"It's a kind of crown," answered Terry Boot from a corner. "Ravenclaw's was supposed to have magical properties, enhance the wisdom of the wearer."

"Yes, Daddy's Wrackspurt siphons – " Luna began, but Harry cut her across by asking the room at large, "And none of you have ever seen anything that looks like it?"

They all shook their heads again and the trio looked back at each other with disappointment. But Albus knew that it wasn't too surprising. After all, the only reason that they knew that the diadem existed was because of her statue in Ravenclaw Tower. It had to be the diadem though, the question was… where was it?

"If you'd like to see what the diadem's supposed to look like, I could take you up to our common room and show you, Harry?" Cho Chang offered, "Ravenclaw's wearing it in her statue."

Harry winced a little in pain, and unable to help himself, Albus checked on Tom as well, and he saw him flying over the countryside, and he knew where he was heading. Tom would be at the cave with the lake very soon. He probably still thought that Hogwarts was safe and at the rate that they were moving, it probably is.

"He's on the move," he said quietly to Ron and Hermione, "Listen, I know it's not much of a lead, but I'm going to go look at this statue, at least find out what the diadem looks like. Wait for me here and keep, you know – the other one – safe."

Yes… if something happened to either of them, he didn't think that Harry would ever recover. Besides, they were safe so long as they remained in the room, it was Harry who was putting himself in danger.

He turned back to Cho, who had just gotten to her feet, but Ginny put her foot down at the sight of it.

"No, Luna will take Harry, won't you, Luna?" she snapped coldly. If the situation wasn't so serious, Albus might have laughed. But he doubted that Ginny would have left Harry alone with his ex-girlfriend if she could help it, even if they weren't in the middle of a war. Though he doubted that she had much to worry about. It was clear that Harry's heart belonged to her, alone.

"Oooh, yes, I'd like to," said Luna happily, as Cho sat down again, looking severely disappointed.

"How do we get out?" Harry asked Neville, who pointed his way to a corner where a small cupboard opened up to a steep staircase, warning him that they never know just where they end up. As well as a warning of caution that there was always someone patrolling the corridors at night.

"No problem," Harry reassured him. "See you in a bit."

And the two slipped down the stairs, reaching the bottom of a long walkway that was lit by torches; Harry then pulled out his Cloak and told Luna to get under it with him. Once they were safely covered, Harry pushed the wall a little, for it to melt away and they stepped somewhere outside on the fifth floor. As soon as they crossed over it, the wall behind them melted back into place, leaving no trace that there had been a door there.

Though invisible, the two of them stuck to the shadows as he heard Harry pull out the map and whisper to Luna where they were.

"We're up on the fifth floor," he whispered, "Come on, this way."

Albus was suddenly reminded of when Harry had still been a young child and he wandered the corridors in his first year. It was hard to believe just how much had changed since he first started to sneak out of bed. Though he had prowled through the corridors at night before countless times, this was easily the most dangerous it had ever been. Here, it was life or death… if he wasn't careful, he could easily be caught.

But somehow, they only passed by a few ghosts before Luna led him towards a spiral staircase that would take them to Ravenclaw Tower. They climbed up the tower stairs, eventually reaching a door with nothing but a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.

Luna's hand slipped out from under the cloak, looking like it was just floating in midair, and knocked once upon it, though it was still quiet, it felt like a blast to his ears in this eerie silence. As he expected, the eagle's beak opened up and a soft, musical voice spoke up, asking the riddle, "Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?"

"Hmm… what do you think, Harry?" Luna asked thoughtfully.

"What? Isn't there a password?" he asked, startled at this.

"Oh no, you've got to answer a question," she informed him patiently. In this case, it was probably a good thing. For if it had been a password then they would certainly not know it.

"What if you get it wrong?" Harry's voice asked worriedly.

"Well, you have to wait for somebody who gets it right," Luna answered back as if it was obvious. "That way you learn, you see?"

Unfortunately, they didn't have time to wait for someone to come along and open the door for them.

"Yeah…" Harry said awkwardly, "trouble is, we can't really afford to wait for anyone else, Luna."

"No, I see what you mean," Luna agreed seriously before she gave an answer, "Well then, I think the answer is that a circle has no beginning."

"Well reasoned," said the knocker and the door opened. Albus followed them inside, having rarely been inside Ravenclaw tower. The wide, circular room, with arched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue-and-bronze silks. By day, the Ravenclaws would have a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains. The ceiling was domed and painted with stars, which were echoed in the midnight-blue carpet. There were tables, chairs, and bookcases, and in a niche opposite the door stood a tall statue of white marble.

Harry slipped out from under the cloak and went straight over to the statue, staring up at it. He strode right up to the marble woman, and she seemed to look back at him with a quizzical half smile on her face, beautiful yet slightly intimidating. A delicate-looking circlet had been reproduced in marble on top of her head. Albus looked at the tiara, knowing that it had to be it… what else could have belonged to her that would've survived a thousand years? But there was still that nagging fear that the last Horcrux did not have anything to do with Ravenclaw. And even though they know what it looked like, they were still no closer to finding out where it was.

"'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure,'" Harry read out the inscription from underneath her name.

"Which makes you pretty skint, witless," said a cackling voice and Albus felt his insides run cold. No, not now…

He spun around almost at the same time that Harry had, who was so surprised by the voice that he slipped off the plinth that held the statue, landing hard on the floor. Hiding in the shadows behind them was none other than Alecto Carrow, smirking evilly at the sight of him as she pressed a finger to the Dark Mark exposed on her arm. Before Harry could even raise his wand to attack, Luna had stepped in and had stunned Alecto, causing her to hit the ground so hard that she caused the bookcases around them to tremble.

"I've never Stunned anyone except in our D.A. lessons," said Luna, sounding mildly impressed with herself. "That was noisier than I thought it would be."

"Good going, Luna!" Albus whispered approvingly as the sounds of the Ravenclaws above them woke up and started to run downstairs to see what the commotion was about.

"Luna, where are you? I need to get under the Cloak!" Harry hissed quickly and she appeared by pulling the cloak up high enough so that he could see her feet. He ran over to her, ducking down just as the students appeared, all in their nightclothes, and staring in shock at Alecto lying there.

They huddled together, frightened of getting to close to her, until one brave First Year tip-toed closer, carefully prodding her back with a toe—ready to jump back at any moment.

"I think she might be dead!" he shouted with delight. Albus shook his head, knowing that she had only been stunned, no worse than that. While resentful that such a cruel woman was still alive, at least the students here weren't dealing with a dead body.

"Oh look," he heard Luna whisper happily to Harry, "They're pleased!"

"Yeah…great…" Harry hissed back as the rest of the students gathered around Alecto, as if wanting to make sure that she was dead. But at that moment, there was a knock on the door, causing all the Ravenclaws to freeze in terror, even more so when they heard Amycus's voice shouting at the door to open up.

"Alecto? Alecto? Are you there? Have you got him? Open the door!" he yelled as the Ravenclaws backed as far away from the door as possible, knowing full well what this monster was capable of. Albus felt fear inside him at the thought of that beast anywhere near them, hoping that one of his teachers will soon be here to protect them.

"ALECTO!" Amycus shouted out, trying to force the door open, "If he comes, and we haven't got Potter—d'you want to go the same way as the Malfoys? ANSWER ME!"

Terrified, the Ravenclaws were all backing away, and some of the most frightened began scampering back up the staircase to their beds. That won't protect them for long and Albus's hands were trembling at the thought of what he would do to them if he was able to get in.

But thankfully, another showed up, and he let out a sigh of relief at the comforting sound of Minerva's voice.

"May I ask what you are doing, Professor Carrow?" she asked, speaking his name as though it was a disgusting word.

"Trying—to get—through this damned—door!" shouted Amycus at her. "Go and get Flitwick! Get him to open it, now!"

"But isn't your sister in there?" she pressed on coolly. "Didn't Professor Flitwick let her in earlier this evening, at your urgent request? Perhaps she could open the door for you? Then you needn't wake up half the castle."

Albus let out a shriek of laughter at that, knowing that she was more than capable of handling things here. She was more than a match for both of them—only allowing them to do as they please because she did not want to bring Voldemort's wrath down on them all.

"She ain't answering, you old besom! You open it! Garn! Do it, now!" he roared at her.

Albus smiled at the terrible coldness in Minerva's voice, "Certainly, if you wish it." That was when he heard her tap the door with the knocker and the musical voice asked her the question: "Where do Vanished objects go?"

"Into non being, which is to say, everything," she replied evenly as the doorknocker answered, "Nicely phrased," and swung open for her. The few Ravenclaws who had remained in the room, all sprinted back to their rooms at the sight of Amycus, who burst in with his wand held high—yelling with fury and fear at the sight of his sister on the floor.

"What've they done, the little whelps?" he screamed, his eyes budging out with fury. "I'll Cruciate the lot of 'em till they tell me who did it-and what's the Dark Lord going to say? We haven't got him, and they've gone and killed her!"

"She's only Stunned," Minerva impatiently, who had stooped down to examine Alecto. Though Albus could hear the disappointment in her tone at those words. "She'll be perfectly all right."

"No, she bludgering well won't!" bellowed Amycus at her. "Not after the Dark Lord gets hold of her! She's gone and sent for him, I felt me Mark burn, and he thinks we've got Potter!"

Minerva's head shot up at once.

"'Got Potter'?" she demanded sharply, her eyes flashing at the mention of Harry's name. "What do you mean, 'got Potter'?"

He had said the wrong thing… Minerva was fiercely protective of her students and would rather die fighting than allow any harm to come to them. Especially when it came to her favorites… and though she may deny it, Harry had always been on of them.

"He told us Potter might try and get inside Ravenclaw Tower, and to send for him if we caught him!" he shouted at her.

"Why would Harry Potter try to get inside Ravenclaw Tower?" she demanded, unable to keep the pride in her voice out, "Potter belongs in my House!"

"We was told he might come in here!" Amycus repeated impatiently, "I dunno why, do I?"

Minerva then stood up to her full height, her eyes searching the room, and he knew that she guessed that there was a chance that Harry was still here, underneath the Cloak. Meanwhile, Amycus was thinking of an excuse to try and get out of trouble with his master.

"We can push it off on the kids," he muttered. "Yeah, that's what we'll do. We'll say Alecto was ambushed by the kids, them kids up there and we'll say they forced her to press her Mark, and that's why he got a false alarm... He can punish them. Couple of kids more or less, what's the difference?"

Rage filled up every part of him as Albus glared furiously at Amycus. How dare he? How dare he try such a cowardly and disgusting thing?

And Minerva, who had turned pale at the thought, stood up, and voiced what he was thinking.

"Only the difference between truth and lies, courage and cowardice," she snarled, "a difference, in short, which you and your sister seem unable to appreciate. But let me make one thing very clear. You are not going to pass off your many ineptitudes on the students of Hogwarts. I shall not permit it."

"Excuse me?" he snarled back at her, marching ward until his face was inches from her own. She did not back down or look away, just glared back at him as if he was the most disgusting thing that she had ever seen. And Albus felt pride go through him at how fearless she was here.

"It's not a case of what you'll permit, Minerva McGonagall," he hissed, "Your time's over. It's us what's in charge here now, and you'll back me up or you'll pay the price."

And he spat in her face.

Albus was livid, and his hand instinctively went for his pocket to pull out his wand, though there was nothing that he could do. But it was Harry who stepped up to do it. He pulled off the Cloak and pointed his wand at him.

"You shouldn't have done that," he called and as soon as Amycus spun around, Harry shouted, "Crucio!"

Normally, Albus would've been disheartened to see this, but thinking of all the harm that this beast had done to his students, all the suffering that he and his sister had caused, he couldn't bring himself to feel disappointed in Harry. The Death Eater was lifted off his feet. He writhed through the air like a drowning man, thrashing and howling in pain, and then, with a crunch and a shattering of glass, he smashed into the front of a bookcase and crumpled, insensible, to the floor.

"I see what Bellatrix meant," said Harry, panting hard, his face also furious, "you need to really mean it."

Hopefully he won't be taking anymore lessons from Bellatrix.

"Potter!" whispered Minerva, her hand over her heart as she tried to grasp what just happened. "Potter-you're here! What-? How-?" She struggled to pull herself together. "Potter, that was foolish!"

"He spat at you," Harry said stubbornly.

"Potter, I-that was very-gallant of you-but don't you realize-?" she stuttered out, unable to form even a full sentence, just shocked at seeing him here and alive after all this time.

"Yeah, I do," Harry assured her, his breathing calming before he added, "Professor McGonagall, Voldemort's on the way."

Albus checked in on Tom quickly, and he knew that he was right. Tom had reached the cave, and was already sailing across the dark lake full of the dead, the island in the middle where stood the stone basin was in his sights. They were almost out of time.

At the sound of Minerva's gasp, he returned back to see that Luna had reappeared as well, having pulled off the Cloak and asking with bright interest, "Oh, are we allowed to say the name now?" The appearance of a second outlaw seemed to overwhelm Minerva all over again, until she was unable to stand up and fell into the nearest chair, still clutching her hand over her heart.

But Albus knew that it made very little difference at this point if they called him by his name or not for he surely knows where Harry was now.

"I don't think it makes any difference what we call him," Harry told Luna, mildly surprising Albus again that he was saying his thoughts. "He already knows where I am."

"You must flee," whispered Minerva quickly to Harry and Luna, "Now Potter, as quickly as you can!"

But Harry shook his head.

"I can't," he said hurriedly, "There's something I need to do. Professor, so you know where the diadem of Ravenclaw is?"

"The d-diadem of Ravenclaw?" she gasped, sitting up a little straighter, and taken aback by such a question. "Of course not - hasn't it been lost for centuries? Potter, it was madness, utter madness, for you to enter this castle-"

Albus couldn't hold back the smile at her words. Madness… how many times had she said to himself that he was mad? It brought back so many memories.

"I had to," Harry tried to reason with her. "Professor, there's something hidden here that I'm supposed to find, and it could be the diadem-if I could just speak to Professor Flitwick-"

But they fell silent when Amycus started to move. He was already waking up, but it was Minerva who jumped up, her shock wearing off, and already at attention. She pointed her wand at him and muttered, "Imperio."

Albus watched with some satisfaction at the sight of Amycus getting to his feet and forced to grab both his and Alecto's wands before turning them over to Minerva. She then commanded him to lie down on the floor beside his sister before Minerva caused rope to appear out of thin air and bind them tightly together.

"Potter," Minerva said, turning her full attention back to Harry and acting as if the Carrows weren't even in the room at the moment, "if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named does indeed know that you are here-"

Harry winced in terrible pain once more, swaying a little as he stood and Minerva's eyes were full of concern as she asked, "Potter, are you all right?"

"Time's running out," he said, his voice of forced calm, "Voldemort's getting nearer, Professor, I'm acting on Dumbledore's orders, I must find what he wanted me to find! But we've got to get the students out while I'm searching the castle- It's me Voldemort wants, but he won't care about killing a few more or less, not now-"

'Not now that he knows that he's been hunting down the Horcruxes's,' Albus finished for him silently. It was true. Tom's hatred for Harry just skyrocketed, especially since he now knew that the locket was gone, and he was sure that was what caused Harry to zone out like he did for a moment there. He didn't need to check to know what was happening…

Tom had reached the stone basin and discovered that another Horcrux had been discovered and taken.

"You're acting on Dumbledore's orders?" Minerva repeated with a look of dawning wonder, her eyes widening at his words and Albus knew that the argument was won.

She drew herself up to her full height and informed him, "We shall secure the school against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named while you search for this - this object."

"Is that possible?" Harry asked her.

"I think so," she answered dryly, a hint of spite in her own eyes as she answered, "we teachers are rather good at magic, you know."

Albus beamed, his affection for Minerva going even higher at those words.

"I am sure we will be able to hold him off for a while if we all put our best efforts into it. Of course, something will have to be done about Professor Snape-" she added thoughtfully.

At the sound of Severus's name, Harry began angrily, "Let me -"

But thankfully, Minerva cut him off, continuing to make plans for the upcoming battle.

"-and if Hogwarts is about to enter a state of siege, with the Dark Lord at the gates, it would indeed be advisable to take as many innocent people out of the way as possible. With the Floo Network under observation, and Apparition impossible within the grounds-"

"There's a way," Harry informed her, and then he quickly explained that there was a new passageway that would take them down to the Hog's Head.

"Potter, we're talking about hundreds of students-" she reasoned, but Harry cut her off this time.

"I know, Professor," he said hurriedly, "but if Voldemort and the Death Eaters are concentrating on the school boundaries they won't be interested in anyone who's Disapparating out of Hog's Head."

"There's something in that," she agreed, thinking that over. Albus could see that she knew that it was their best choice, so she agreed. She turned her attention back to the Carrows, causing a silver net to tie them both up tightly before she caused them to levitate up to the ceiling, knowing that they couldn't hope to break out of there.

Once she was satisfied that they weren't going anywhere, she turned back to Harry and Luna, saying, "Come. We must alert the other Heads of House. You'd better put that Cloak back on."

The two did what they were told as they followed Minerva through the door and down the stairs. As they ran, she raised her wand and caused three Patronuses of her Animagus form to appear, silently sending messages to the other heads of Houses. Yet before they could get too far, Minerva stopped dead in her tracks, raising her wand again, calling out, "Who's there?"

Just then, another achingly familiar voice spoke up from the shadows of a suit of armor, and this time it was none other than Severus who spoke, "It is I."

Oh no… the others still did not know Severus's true loyalties, this wasn't good at all.

He was not wearing nightclothes, but was dressed in his usual black cloak, and he too was holding his wand, ready for a fight. "Where are the Carrows?" he asked quietly.

"Wherever you told them to be, I expect, Severus," Minerva said indifferently, but Albus knew her well enough to know that she was preparing herself for the worse. This wasn't going to end well. Albus's wished that he could step in and stop the inevitable from happening but all he could do was stand by and watch.

Severus drew nearer, and Albus spotted his eyes flittering around the area and he knew that he sensed that Harry might be close by.

"I was under the impression," Severus said carefully, "That Alecto had apprehended an intruder."

"Really?" Minerva asked a little sarcastically. "And what gave you that impression?"

Severus did not answer her, but moved his left arm very slightly, something that she noticed as well and raised her eyebrows at the sight of it.

"Oh, but naturally," she scolded darkly. "You Death Eaters have your own private means of communication, I forgot."

Ignoring her words, his eyes still searching for any trace of movement, he came slowly closer, hardly paying any attention to Minerva at all.

"I did not know that it was your night to patrol the corridors Minerva," he said, his eyes never stopping their search.

"You have some objection?" she asked firmly.

"I wonder what could have brought you out of our bed at this late hour?" he stated, and Albus knew that they were both dancing around what they both knew.

"I thought I heard a disturbance," she replied coldly.

"Really? But all seems calm," Severus answered as he looked hard at her face. He then made the mistake by saying, "Have you seen Harry Potter, Minerva? Because if you have. I must insist-"

Minerva's eyes flashed furiously and she moved with the speed of someone half her age, slashing her wand through the air and sending a powerful Stunning spell right at him. But Severus saw what she was going to do at the last moment, putting up a Shield Charm, and taking Minerva by surprise. But she recovered quickly, causing a torch on the wall to fly out of its bracket and fly right at Severus, causing a ring of fire to fill the corridor and flew at him like a lasso…

It was torture to watch and even more so that he was unable to stop it.

Severus then transfigured the fire into a large, black snake, sending it flying back to Minerva, who blasted it to smoke before causing it to reform into a storm of daggers. Severus then caused the suit of armor next to him to jump in front of him and take the daggers instead. The commotion that they were causing had caught the attention of the Heads of Houses to come running.

Filius and Pomona were up front, sprinting towards them in their nightclothes, as Horace panted along right behind them.

"Minerva!" Filius shouted, getting a good look at what was happening, before his eyes hardened and he raised up his own wands. "No!" he shouted at Severus, who was still raining a fury of spells at Minerva. "You'll do no more murder at Hogwarts!"

He caused the suit of armor, which had protected Severus before, to spring to life, turning around and try to grab hold of him. Severus, knowing that he was outnumbered, did the only thing that he could. He struggled free of the crushing arms, blasting it away from him and back to his former comrades before he ran.

"Severus… please, you must escape," Albus begged, not sure how much more he could bear to watch.

Harry had dove at Luna and knocked them both to the ground, the Cloak slipping off them in the process, to avoid getting hit by the armor before it smashed into the wall and shattered into pieces. In the confusion, Severus turned and fled down the corridor, heading for the nearest classroom door. Minerva, Filius, and Pomona were on his heels, following him into the room as Harry pulled Luna to her feet.

There was a loud crash and then Minerva shouted out furiously, "Coward! COWARD!"

"What's happened, what's happened?" Luna cried out, sounding dazed as they raced to where the teachers were, and Albus followed slowly behind them.

He entered the room to see that they were all standing around a smashed window, with Minerva calling that he had jumped. And as they looked out to see for themselves, ignoring Filius's and Pomona's cries of shock at the sight of them.

As they talked, Albus only looked on ahead to see that Severus had flown out, riding through the dark air and away from the castle.

Albus felt the familiar pangs of grief and guilt inside him as he silently thought, 'Forgive me, Severus.'

"Harry!" Horace gasped as he finally caught up and tried to catch his breath. "My dear boy… what a surprise… Minerva, do please explain… Severus… what…?"

Once again, it looked like dear Horace was a little behind in the game.

"Our headmaster is taking a short break," Minerva answered briskly, pointing to the hole in the wall.

"Professor!" Harry suddenly shouted, his hand on his forehead and his eyes screwed up in pain. "Professor, we've got to barricade the school, he's coming now!"

She understood at once. And Albus knew that Tom was now so furious that there wasn't anyway that he was going to allow Harry to live through the night if he could help it.

"Very well. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is coming," she told the other teachers, causing Filius and Pomona both gasped in horror as Horace groaned.

"Potter has work to do in the castle on Dumbledore's orders," she informed them all. "We need to put in place every protection of which we are capable while Potter does what he needs to do."

"You realize, of course, that nothing we do will be able to keep out You-Know-Who indefinitely?" squeaked Filius, who had gone very pale.

"But we can hold him up," Pomona said firmly, the fires of determination shining in her eyes.

That's the spirit! They did have a chance to do this, he had to believe that. No matter how low the chances where, there was still hope that this war will soon be over.

"Thank you, Pomona," Minerva said and they both looked at each other long and hard, a silent understanding passing between them. They both knew what this meant, it would be a fight to the death upon the school that they and so many others loved so much. But it was what needed to be done. Though there was a good chance that neither of them would live to see the sun rise.

"I suggest we establish basic protection around the place, then gather our students and meet in the Great Hall," Minerva informed her grimly. "Most must be evacuated, though if any of those who are over age wish to stay and fight, I think they ought to be given the chance."

"Agreed," she answered, ready for a chance to make those Death Eaters pay, and was already heading to the door. "I shall meet you in the Great Hall in twenty minutes with my House."

And as she left, Albus could already hear her muttering to herself, "Tentacula, Devil's Snare. And Snargaluff pods… yes, I'd like to see the Death Eaters fighting those."

Oh, yes… those Death Eaters won't know what will hit them.

"I can act from here," Filius said, and though he could barely see out of the smashed window, he was already starting to put up powerful spells and protective enchantments to buy them some time and protect the castle.

"Professor," Harry interrupted quickly, "Professor, I'm sorry to interrupt, but this is important. Have you got any idea where the diadem of Ravenclaw is?"

"-Protego Horribillis-the diadem of Ravenclaw?" he squeaked in shock at such a question at a time like this. "A little extra wisdom never goes amiss, Potter, but I hardly think it would be much use in this situation!"

"I only meant - do you know where it is? Have you ever seen it?" Harry pressed on desperately.

"Seen it, nobody has seen it in living memory! Long since lost, boy," he replied.

It had been a long shot. And he knew that it was pointless to have asked, but Albus felt bitter disappointment welling up inside him anyway. Yet even if they did find it, how were they going to destroy it? The sword was gone… so then how… that was when he remembered something… there was a chance… and it was here below the school all this time! They had the pieces… they just needed to put it all together.

"We shall meet you and your Ravenclaws in the Great Hall, Filius!" Minerva said, cutting their talk off, before bidding Harry and Luna to follow her. That was when Slughorn started to speak up.

"My word," growing as pale as Filius and was shaking, "What a to-do! I'm not at all sure whether this is wise, Minerva. He is bound to find a way in, you know, and anyone who has tried to delay him will be in the most grievous peril-"

What do you propose to do then, Horace? Are you saying you should just lie down and let him in to kill them all?

"I shall expect you and the Slytherins in the Great Hall in twenty minutes also," Minerva told him, without a hint of hesitation or fear, "If you wish to leave with your students, we shall not stop you. But if any of you attempt to sabotage our resistance or take up arms against us within this castle, then, Horace, we duel to kill."

"Minerva!" he said, aghast.

Ah, but that was just how it was now. This is war and they couldn't afford not to take it seriously anymore.

"The time has come for Slytherin House to decide upon its loyalties," Minerva said firmly. "Go and wake your students, Horace."

It was almost like this was meant to happen for a thousand years. The four Houses had been divided all that time, all this began because of the separation between them… if they were to survive they must cast aside all their differences and join together. For one cannot live without the other three there to support it…

If this didn't call for Hogwarts to unite, then he didn't know what would. Minerva led Harry and Luna out of the room, leaving Horace alone and in the dark in his emerald pajamas, a look of complete confusion and fear on his face.

"Horace… you are free to choose," Albus whispered softly. "But it's not about being able to live through the war… it's if you can live with the choices you make for the rest of your life. If you leave now… then will you be able to look at yourself tomorrow?"

He knew that he couldn't hear him, but he hoped that at least his feelings would have made it through and Horace would understand. Horace still seemed torn about what to do, but now wasn't the time to do so. He soon left the room as well and Albus went after the other three, watching as Minerva strolled straight to the middle of the corridor and held up her wand.

"Piertotum-oh, for heaven's sake, Filch, not now-"

Hogwarts aged caretaker had just appeared, his eyes popping at the sight of them there, and started shouting out, "Students out of bed! Students in the corridors!"

'I think that she knows that already, my friend,' Albus could not help but think to himself.

"They're supposed to be you blithering idiot!" Minerva predictably shouted at him. "Now go and do something constructive! Find Peeves!"

"P-Peeves?" he stammered back, and the look on his face clearly said that he thought that she was losing her mind.

"Yes, Peeves," Albus spoke up silently, "The same poltergeist that you have been complaining about every other day. We need him now as well."

"Yes, Peeves, you fool, Peeves!" Minerva shouted out him as if he had gone deaf. "Haven't you been complaining about him for a quarter of a century? Go and fetch him, at once!"

Muttering to himself, he hobbled away as Minerva picked up where she left off, raising up her wand again. "And now-Piertotum Locomator!" she cried out, just as every single statue and suit of armor in the castle were coming to life, and readying themselves for battle. "Hogwarts is threatened!" she commanded them all. "Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!"

Clattering and yelling, the horde of moving statues stampeded past them all, the statues of all sizes marching away while the suits of armor all brandished weapons—ready for a fight.

Truthfully, Albus knew that she always wanted to use that spell.

Once this was done, Minerva turned back to her two former students and said, "Now, Potter, you and Miss Lovegood had better return to your friends and bring them to the Great Hall - I shall rouse the other Gryffindors."

They nodded in understanding, parting once they reached the top of the next staircase. As Minerva rushed off to Gryffindor Tower, they hurried as fast as they could to the Room of Requirements. As they ran, students, most still in their pajamas, were all being shepherded down the corridors by teachers and prefects.

As soon as they saw him, many of them gasped in shock and wonder.

"That was Potter!"

"Harry Potter!"

"It was him, I swear, I just saw him!"

Yet Harry took no notice of any of them as they reached the entrance and opened up the enchanted door to where everyone else was waiting. And they were taken aback by how much it had grown in their absence. Kingsley and Remus were both waiting at the foot of the stairs for them, as other new faces swam into view. Such as the old members of Harry's Quidditch team, other members of the Order, and of course Bill, Fleur, Molly and Arthur.

"Harry, what's happening?" Remus asked as he rushed forward when he appeared.

"Voldemort's on his way, they're barricading he school-Snape's run for it-What are you doing here?" Harry answered quickly, "How did you know?"

"We sent messages to the rest of Dumbledore's Army," Fred explained with a grin. "You couldn't expect everyone to miss the fun, Harry, and the D.A. let the Order of the Phoenix know, and it all kind of snowballed."

A very good way to explain everything happening now.

"What first, Harry?" called George curiously. "What's going on?"

"They're evacuating the younger kids and everyone's meeting in the Great Hall to get organized," Harry called out to the whole room. "We're fighting."

As if he said the magic words that they had all been waiting for, there was a great roar of approval from the whole room and soon they're wands were drawn and they were heading straight to the door. As he passed, Dean grabbed hold of Luna's hand, and they both left together, heading straight up to the corridor and to where the Great Hall was to await their next instructions.

It took a good five minutes at the least for most of the room to leave, leaving only a small group in the middle of the room, where an argument had broken out. The Weasleys were there along with Remus, as they watched Molly and Ginny getting into a furious row.

"You're underage!" Molly shouted at her daughter as Harry approached them, standing between Remus and Fleur. "I won't permit it! The boys, yes, but you, you've got to go home!"

"I won't!" Ginny shouted back furiously, her red hair flying like fire as she pulled her arm out of her mother's grip, continuing to shout, "I'm in Dumbledore's Army-"

"A teenagers' gang!" Molly shouted back.

"A teenagers' gang that's about to take him on, which no one else has dared to do!" Fred stepped up and defended Ginny.

"She's sixteen!" Molly shouted furiously at them. "She's not old enough! What you two were thinking bringing her with you—-"

At those words, the twins couldn't seem to come up with a comeback and looked down in shame that they had brought their baby sister to such a dangerous place.

Still, she was a free spirit. They couldn't expect her to just go home and go to bed while she knew that her whole family was here fighting.

But Bill was with his mother on this as he stepped forward and said gently, "Mum's right, Ginny. You can't do this. Everyone underage will have to leave, it's only right."

"I can't go home!" Ginny shouted, angry tears sparkling in her eyes at the thought of being forced to leave. "My whole family's here, I can't stand waiting there alone and not knowing and -"

Her eyes met Harry's for the first time. She looked at him beseechingly, hoping that he would step in and convince the others to let her fight, but he shook his head and she turned away bitterly. He was probably the worst person to look to for support in this matter. Albus knew that Harry would've been far happier to know that the girl he loved was away from here and safe. And Albus hoped that for him as well. Even a tiny measure of peace was something that he sorely needed now.

"Fine," Ginny muttered back bitterly as she slowly turned back to the entrance to the tunnel that would take her back to Hog's Head. "I'll say good-by now, then, and-" but before she could finish her sentence, someone came clambering out of the tunnel, stumbling once he pulled himself out and had to pull himself up to the nearest chair.

As he fixed his horn-rimmed glasses, he asked, "Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I - I -"

Albus smiled gently as Percy Weasley's voice died in his throat at the sight of most of his family already here and staring at him in shock. No one said a thing, as if afraid that there were any sound, there would be an explosion.

It was finally broken when Fleur bravely tried to break this awkward moment by saying to Remus quickly, "So-'ow eez leetle Teddy?"

Completely taken aback by the sudden question, Remus said loudly, "I - oh yes - he's fine! Yes, Tonks is with him - at her mother's -"

The Weasleys didn't pay them any attention and in another attempt to break the tension, Remus pulled out a picture from his jacket, showing them what his son looked like. And Albus couldn't help but smile at the picture of a tiny baby with his hair a bright turquoise color and waving chubby hands at the camera.

At last, Percy couldn't seem to stand the silence any longer. If there was ever a time that he was going to apologize for his actions, now seemed to be it as he shouted out so loudly that Remus almost dropped the picture.

"I was a fool! I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a – a -"

Fred then stepped in and offered to finish, "Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron."

Percy swallowed hard and admitted, "Yes, I was!"

"There you go, Percy," Albus said softly as Fred looked oddly impressed.

"Well, you can't say fairer than that," he said as he held out his hand to his elder brother. But it seemed to be too much for Molly as she let out a cry of joy and ran forward to pull her estranged son into a tight hug. But as Percy patted her gently on the back, his eyes found his father, who hadn't said a word or even moved a muscle the entire time.

Albus knew that they were both thinking of the words that had been spoken between them almost three years ago. And while what was said couldn't be forgotten, they could be forgiven. And now that he had started, Percy seemed determined to finish, "I'm sorry, Dad."

It seemed to take a moment for Arthur to register those words before he stepped forward as well and hugged Percy just as tightly.

At least this upcoming battle did one good thing and helped to reunite a family. Now if it could do the same for Hogwarts, then they would surely be able to win whatever came next.

"What made you see sense, Perce?" George pressed him as his parents let him go, but he was now wiping his eyes.

"It's been coming on for a while," he said in a thick voice, "But I had to find a way out and it's not so easy at the Ministry, they're imprisoning traitors all the time. I managed to make contact with Aberforth and he tipped me off ten minutes ago that Hogwarts was going to make a fight of it, so here I am."

And he was willing to fight. It was such a wonderful thing to see that for this moment he forgot about the war and felt so happy for the Weasleys.

"Well, we do look to our prefects to take a lead at times such as these," said George in a pompous manner, making Albus smile as he thought back to those simpler days when war was just a faraway thing. "Now let's get upstairs and fight, or all the good Death Eaters'll be taken."

At the sight of her, Percy held out his hand to a surprised Fleur and asked, "So, you're my sister in-law now?"

It was true that he was a bit behind, but better late than never.

And soon Fleur joined her family to the staircase and were heading up to join everyone else. But that was when Molly spotted her wayward daughter also attempting to follow them and she barked out her name, causing Ginny to stop but glare back at her angrily.

Remus then stepped in with a solution for them all.

"Molly, how about this?" he asked. "Why doesn't Ginny stay here, then at least she'll be on the scene and know what's going on, but she won't be in the middle of the fighting?"

"I-" both women began, but Arthur knew that it was the best that could be hoped for in this case.

"That's a good idea," he said before he looked at his daughter firmly, with no room for an argument, "Ginny, you stay in this room, you hear me?"

Ginny hardly seemed to like the idea any better than leaving, but as she looked at her father's stern gaze, she knew that it was the best offer she was going to get and nodded grimly.

That was when Harry was looking around them and asked, with a hint of worry in his voice, "Where's Ron? Where's Hermione?"

"They must have gone up the Great Hall already," Arthur called as he left the room with Remus and his wife.

"I didn't see them pass me," Harry told them, but it was Ginny who answered.

"They said something about a bathroom," she said, "not long after you left."

"A bathroom?" Harry asked incredulously. But even as he looked in the bathrooms off the side, Albus smiled, glad to see that the two of them must've thought of the same conclusion that he had. That they didn't need the sword anymore since they had a whole supply of Horcrux destroying weapons at their disposal.

Yet, suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding, he left the room and found Tom where he thought he would be. He was standing outside the castle gates, Nagini draped over his shoulders, and he was softly stroking her head as he looked up at the castle in the distance, the look of murder on his face. And that look said it all…

He was not leaving the castle for anything tonight… this war would end in a few more hours… and only one of the two was going to leave this place… alive.

(Sorry for such the long wait. But I've been busy packing and moving to a new state so that I can start college. But the good news is that this story is almost over. A few more chapters and we'll get to see the ending at long last. I really do hope that you let me know what you think here and are looking forward to the end as much as I am.)