"I can definitely wait for my seventh year," Ginny said, eyeing the stack of parchment that sat in front of Harry.

"Want to help?" Harry asked.

"I said I can wait," clarified Ginny. "Sixth year is hard enough as it is. You know how it goes."

"I just shouldn't have done N.E.W.T.'s this year," Harry mused. "Skip a year. Graduate with you."

Ginny smiled. "I can't pretend I wouldn't have enjoyed having you here."

An owl soared through the window and dropped a scrap of parchment on the table in front of Harry.

"The poison's ready," Harry told her. "Time to destroy the cup."

"I want to come with," Ginny said.

Harry ran upstairs to retrieve the goblet, and he and Ginny walked hand-in-hand down to Slughorn's office.

"Ready for this?" Slughorn said darkly.

"Are you?" Harry returned.

Slughorn took the cork out of a flask and handed it to Harry. "There you are," he said.

Taking a deep breath, Harry poured the deadly poison into Hufflepuff's cup and, in ringing tones, repeated the incantation.

Ginny jumped as the fire went out and watched intently as the cup shook and the potion exploded, with green glowing force, all over Slughorn's desk.

"Perfectly good pineapple ruined," lamented Slughorn, disposing of a poison-soaked bag.

"I'll get you some more, Professor," Harry promised, shaking his hand gratefully. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it, m'boy," Slughorn acknowledged. He looked around himself. "Does this shaking ever stop?"

Harry frowned. "Usually when the light escapes, it stops." He set the cup down. "The fire's back--"

"It's not part of the potion," Ginny said from the window, sounding frightened.

"Oh, Merlin's beard," Slughorn gasped, pushing the curtain aside.

"What?" Harry said impatiently. "What is it?"

Ginny's eyes were wide. "Trolls."

"And goblins," Slughorn added, peering out the window.

"Veela," Ginny said, as Harry joined her at the window.

"Who's that leading them?" asked Slughorn.

Now Harry's face was set in a grim hatred. "Lucius Malfoy," he answered. In a split second, he knew what he had to do. "Notify McGonagall," he commanded Slughorn. "She'll call for the Aurors. Ginny, go get Ron and Hermione." He headed for the door.

"Wait!" Ginny called. "Where are you going?"

"To find Malfoy," Harry said. "He'll want to know his father's here."

Harry found Draco tossing snappers into the fire in the Great Hall. Hermione was sitting near him, studying furiously, aided by a bowl of oyster crackers.

"Hey, Malfoy," called Harry.

"Potter," came the reply.

"Your dad's here," he told him nonchalantly.

Draco dropped the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes bag to the floor. "What?"

"Yeah," Harry continued. "He's got a great army of trolls, goblins, werewolves, and veela with him."

He swore, using some incredibly colorful metaphors and a few words Hermione hadn't even heard before. After his outburst, he swiveled around to look at Harry, grey eyes glittering furiously. "So what have we got for a counter-attack?"

"Nothing here," Harry replied.

"We have Eva Wingfield," Hermione said confidently.

Just then, Ron and Ginny burst into the room, along with Neville, Luna, and Padma. "We have Dumbledore's Army," Ron said stoutly.

"He's talking to Filch!" said Neville abruptly, standing at the window.

"C'mon," Harry said, and they raced to the doors.

Professor McGonagall was there to meet them. "Mr. Filch is speaking with your father, Draco. There's no need to get anxious quite yet."

"But Professor," Harry interrupted, "he has a whole army of creatures out there--"

"Yes, Mr. Potter, I am quite aware of that," she said crisply. "Aurors are on their way right now."

The doors opened, and Filch slipped in.

"He says he's not leaving until he's killed Harry Potter and his son," Filch reported.

McGonagall's lips flattened into a line. "He can throw whatever he wants at the walls of this castle," she said firmly, "but he is not getting in, and he is not killing anyone."

"What are you going to throw at him?" Draco demanded. "A small task force of Aurors is not going to overcome that lot out there."

Just then, a long, low noise sounded from outside.

Neville jumped. "What's that?"

Luna went to the window. "Look," she said serenely, and Ginny arrived at the window in time to see a host of goblins come running over the hill.

"It's Bill," she said breathlessly, "with the goblins!"

Grawp followed the goblins, beside Madame Maxime, who was astride a magnificent black Belgian horse. Several other giants lumbered up after them. With them came a host of Aurors.

Alastor Moody clumped into the room. "Not bad, eh, Minerva?"

A head peeked into the room; Harry caught a glimpse of the long, waving ears out of the corner of his eye. "Dobby?"

Shyly, he came out from around the corner, dressed in a tea cozy, a towel, and socks. "We say," he began, his eyes glittering, "that we wants to help Harry Potter."

"Who's 'we?'"

Slowly, a crowd of house-elves emerged, all dressed in Hermione's hand-knit elf clothes.

Hermione let out a gasp. "My clothes!"

Ron let out a short laugh. "We're not so defenseless after all."

No sooner had the words escaped his mouth than the window crashed in and a troll seized Hermione. Lucius crawled in after him.

"Don't crush her just yet," he drawled, "we may need her as a bargaining chip."

"Hello, Father," Draco said, his voice full of hatred.

Lucius peered up at Hermione, who was wriggling in the fist of the troll. "You mean you're not going to beg that I put her down? Your Mudblood girlfriend?"

"If you so much as break her nail," Draco said levelly, "I will kill you."

"Oh, but you're not a killer, Draco," said Lucius, his words an eerie echo of Dumbledore's.

"Try me." He drew his wand.

"Don't, Draco, it's not worth it, leave it--"

Draco opened his mouth, but Lucius was faster. "Stupefy!"

Harry jumped to his defense. "Expelliarmus!" He swiveled around to Draco. "Ennervate!"

Ron helped Draco to his feet.

The troll was sniffing Hermione, thinking she would make a very tasty morsel. She shrieked. "Harry! Draco! Do something!"

"No!" commanded Lucius, pointing imperiously at the troll. "You are not to hurt her-- unless I say so."

The troll gave a pained sort of grunt and shifted its weight. The floor shook.

"Now," Lucius said, turning on his only son, "you're going to be coming along with me."

"No," said Draco flatly. He steeled himself, knowing what was coming--

"Crucio!" seethed Lucius, his eyes blazing, and Draco hit the ground screaming. Hermione called Lucius a name she didn't even know existed in her vocabulary.

Ron glanced at Harry, who looked thunderstruck. "She must have picked it up from Malfoy," he said.

"Finite incantatem," said Harry smoothly, and turned to Lucius. "Expelliarmus!"

Neville snatched up Lucius' wand.

Lucius stared down his son. "You won't do anything," he sneered. "You're too frightened of me."

Draco glared at him with equal hate. "You're right, Father," he said slowly, handing his wand to Harry. "There is no magic I can perform that will stop you."

For a moment, Lucius felt victorious. And then Draco curled his fist into a tight little ball and delivered a vicious right cross to his father's face.

Draco turned his attention to the troll. "Put her down!" he demanded sternly.

The troll was confused. He looked from Draco to Hermione.

"Put her down!"

Dobby's eyes glowed. "Friends of Harry Potter will not be harmed," he said astutely, and held a hand out toward the troll. He crashed through the castle wall, knocking several goblins out in the process, and Hermione leapt from his fist, rolling across the ground.

"Hermione!" Draco ran to her, cursing several goblins along the way.

"Come on!" Dobby led a charge of house-elves into the fray.

Ron watched in amazement.

"Look," Hermione breathed, as Draco held her. "I knew it."

He grinned, watching his father's army get demolished by Hermione's legion of strangely-clad house-elves, overpowering

everyone from the trolls to the veela.