Disclaimer, Summary, Warnings and Important Notes are in chapter one.
KEY
"speech"
'thoughts'
'letters'
books/information/files/newspapers
The following next few days consisted of tension, silence, happiness and worry. No one outside of Slytherin, Fred, George, Neville and Luna knew why or noticed. For some those days passed quickly, for others slowly.
On the day after Tom informed Bellatrix to prepare for three days time, a lot of people received letters.
—LINE BREAK—
Luna sighed as she read her letter with Neville, it had only been a matter of time and they were prepared. Both wanted to fight, but at the same time, they weren't sure if they should. After taking their conflicting thoughts to the others, they had all but forced the two to remain neutral and inside the Great Hall. Both were upset, but they understood that as the two youngest students in their group, it was more for their safety than lack of strength and magic. So begrudgingly, they decided to remain safe and out of the fight.
—LINE BREAK—
"Sirius!" Shouted Remus with a tone of urgency sending the dark haired man running into the kitchen at Moony's Cottage,
"Remy! What's wrong? Are you hurt? What can I do?" Rushed the panicking man sending the werewolf into a burst of chuckles,
"Calm down, you idiot." He said with a smile before his expression became serious, "Read this."
Sirius and Remus,
On the 2nd of February in three days time, we fight.
The fool has reigned for too long and knows too much as of recent.
Prepare yourselves, I trust you will be fighting with us but should you chose neutral that is fine -although, from our last talk, I assume your decision stays the same and that you will fight with me.
Should you fight, meet us on the border of the Forbidden Forest and grounds of Hogwarts at 9 am.
Sincerely,
Tom.
"Oh." Is all that came from Sirius, after moments of silence he turned to his partner, "I trust we will be fighting still?"
"Of course." Smiled Remus, who scribbled on the back of the note before handing it to the black and regal looking owl.
We're ready and willing to fight with you.
For the future and our honorary Godson and Cub.
-Moony and Padfoot.
Is all he scrawled down and once he told Sirius the man smiled and chuckled.
—LINE BREAK—
The next to receive a letter was one Severus Snape, who then had the duty to inform all of the Slytherins as they knew the Dark Lord's true agenda and not the lies the Old Fool had been spreading.
Severus,
In three days, the 2nd of February, you are to have prepared the students.
The prolonged Battle of Hogwarts is to happen.
You are required to find those who wish to fight and those who wish to remain Neutral.
Neutrals are to remain within the Great Hall as we, who fight, will meet on the edge of the grounds by the Forbidden Forest at 9 am during breakfast when everyone will be in the Hall.
I ask that you inform the Slytherins and make sure Damien's friends understand the situation, then when possible talk with the Weasley Twins about a certain…thing…they've come up with.
Sincerely,
Tom.
Snape responded with a nod despite the fact that no one was there to see save for the owl and wrote back with a simple note saying he would do so.
—LINE BREAK—
The twins were up to their usual plotting, planning and creating within the Room of Requirement when an owl appeared. Taking the letter, Fred and George read its contents.
Fred and George,
As you may know, the Battle of Hogwarts is to happen in three days on the 2nd of February.
Severus will be speaking with you both but I trust your little 'invention' is coming along marvellously.
Note, I do know you both prefer to remain neutral like your father and older brothers. Should you do so, I trust you will remain within the Great Hall like the others. But should you choose to fight, I warn you to prepare for your family as they may turn on you and for that, I apologise.
Sincerely
Tom.
"Fred."
"Yes, Georgie?"
"Are we going to fight or remain in the Hall?"
"You better be remaining in the Great Hall." Came a sudden voice, the two yelped and turned around. There standing in the doorway was Bill and Charlie,
"Why are-"
"You two-"
"Here?" They asked and the two older brothers both held a letter up,
"Tom sent us a letter each, we felt that we should sneak in and talk to the two of you," Charlie answered. The room changed and another sofa was placed down as they all took a seat.
"We spoke with dad, he knows that mum, Ron and Ginny will be fighting, he doesn't want any of us -Ron and Ginny included- to fight. Percy, as everyone knows, has always been and always will be neutral. Dad…he asked us what we would do." Bill looked at Charlie,
"I plan to fight." Charlie said bluntly looking at his younger brothers, "I…I can't stay out of this. Look at it from my perspective, Tom wants to accomplish equality in the world and this includes creatures that are considered dark. I need to fight for this, all my life I've dedicated it to magical creatures and I need to help fight so they can get the chance to be brought out of the hate and cruelty." To some, Charlie's reasoning would be ridiculous, but to the Weasley brothers, they understood. Ever since Charlie had been born, he'd been fascinated with all magical and non-magical creatures. Bill could remember a time when their mother had told Charlie that werewolves were not to be trusted and that they were vicious beasts…only Bill could calm the younger boy down. Since that day, Charlie had gone against everything his mother had said, his life goal was to understand and help others understand that amongst the creatures good and evil, light and dark, didn't exist. It was simply the prejudice of the wizarding world that claimed if one creature does bad, then all of that kind must be bad as well.
"Bill? Are you going to fight too?" Asked Fred quietly. The oldest brother was silent for a few seconds,
"Yes. Yes, I am." Fred and George looked at each other, remaining quiet as they had a conversation between themselves that no one else could hear or understand,
"We have to fight. For Damien-"
"Damien has done so much for us-"
"And we need to do this for him.-"
"He is one of the few people who always know's the difference between us." George finished. Bill and Charlie sighed internally, they had had a feeling the twins would fight, but they had wished the two wouldn't.
Later that evening, the twins spoke with Snape. They explained that their invention was a spell that would be placed across the Great Hall doors. The spell was designed to keep stray spells, curses and possibly debris from entering the designated area so that no harm could come to those inside the spell borders. It was also designed to keep those who do not wish to fight and are neutral inside, so should Dumbledore try to force someone out as a hostage (they wouldn't put it past him) the hostage wouldn't be able to leave but Dumbledore would. As such the twins promised Snape that it worked and they would set it up before breakfast on the dated day.
—LINE BREAK—
"Blaise, what's wrong?" Theo asked as he stood by the dark-skinned boy,
"The battle starts in three days…I'm fighting."
"Why?" Theo asked in confusion, he too got a letter but he was remaining neutral with Neville and Luna, he had expected Blaise to do the same as the Zabini's were well-known for their neutrality during any and all battles and wars. Ever since the Zabini line started, they were always neutral and as such, Blaise would be the first Zabini to ever fight in a battle and a war.
"Because…because I love him, yet he will never love me." Theo wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders, he had suspected that the Italian had had feelings for Damien for a while now.
"Blaise…" He murmured, said boy turned to look at his pale skinned friend,
"Stupid I know. I swear those two are destined for each other. I could see it even when Dami was Harry Potter. They were always drawn to each other, they just didn't know why."
"Please don't throw yourself into this fight in a suicidal way."
"It's not that. I just…I need to do something. Something to make me feel…" He struggled to find the correct word and Theo just nodded his head,
"I know Blaise, I know." Neither noticed a figure walking stiffly away after hearing the conversation and shamefully listening to it.
—LINE BREAK—
To my dearest son,
Damien, in three days time, the Battle we've discussed will happen.
Dumbledore has gone too far and needs to be stopped before he does something endangering you and the others. We will be arriving at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and on the edge of the school grounds at 9 am during breakfast.
Speak with your Weasley Twins because they have been inventing as of late and it will be very useful.
Those who are Neutral will be kept in the Great Hall and out of harm's way, I beg that you stay with them but whilst saying this, I doubt that you will.
I love you my son and we will win, do not worry.
Your dad.
Damien clenched the letter tightly, his face determined. His dad was right, he would fight. Dumbledore had always wanted him to fight against the darkness and so he would. However, it wasn't exactly the darkness that Dumbledore referred to. No, he'd fight against the old manipulative fool and show the world just what the man was like.
For the youth, the following three days were…well tense and peculiar. Every time he passed a certain blond male, the very boy he was still very much in love with, a whisper reached his ears. Nothing cruel. Nothing threatening. Just simple whispers. Yet, they weren't exactly simple, were they?
When Draco passed Damien to get to his seat in Potions, he whispered to the raven-haired boy,
"Dami." That was it. Nothing else. Simply just Damien's nickname being murmured in greeting.
Then there was Transfiguration. McGonagall had paired them together for the practical and by the end of the lesson as Draco packed his bag and went to go, he bent his head as though he was checking he had everything and he whispered to Damien once again,
"Watch out for Granger and Weasley." Then as quickly as he said it, the blond disappeared into the rushing crowd of students on their way to their next lessons, leaving a frowning Damien behind.
The day after that, Draco had walked past him in the corridor as the Slytherins headed to the Great Hall for breakfast and this time the blond had brushed his hand against Damien's, his voice gently carried to the shorter boys ear and no one else's,
"I'm sorry." He had said before walking ahead.
Later that very day, the Malfoy had passed him once more, this time he was heading in the opposite direction to the Riddle,
"I mean it, I am truly sorry." Came his soft voice causing Damien's steps to falter, but as the emerald-eyed boy turned to face the platinum blond, he had already vanished.
The last time they spoke was the morning of February the 2nd. The Slytherins, Weasley twins, Neville and Luna all congregated in the house of the snake's common room. They were clarifying the plan and making sure everyone understood. Those who were remaining neutral headed to the Great Hall, whilst those fighting against Dumbledore stayed in the common room. As Snape snook them out of the castle and to the edge of the forest, Draco grabbed Damien's arm.
"Be careful," He murmured and as he turned to go, he whispered once more, "I love you." Damien froze, eyes wide as they followed the blond's back, watching as the boy walked away failing to hear as Damien repeated the sentiment.
Author's Notes:
Thank you so much for your reviews on chapter 16:
lilly-flower15 -Thank you!
kirsty21 -Thank you!
Maddyhatter13 -Awe thank you and what spell? The only invented spell I have made that wasn't canon is the one I've just mentioned in this chapter.
aisa.32 -Haha thank you!
minniemousemom -Thank you!
Gurgaraneth -Haha! Thank you
MirrorFlower and DarkWind -Aw thank you!
Jostanos -Haha! That is true lol! Thanks
WolfGirl75 -Here you go! Thank you!
Roostertheking -Thank you!
Kurosaki Yukia -Haha! Bless, thank you!
lilyflower101 -...nope I'm not scared...totally not...thanks for the warning and review lol
and JSomeOne -Here you go.
Anyway,
Thank you for reading,
Hope you enjoyed,
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Bye~