Chapter 13

One Team, One Goal

With all of the chaos, February breezed by and, before anyone knew it, March had arrived. The entire D.A. was training every spare moment they had with Harry, Ron and Hermione occasionally participating. The four members who were underage still protested to being left behind simply because they were a few months away but Harry stood firm in his decision. After all, having a few people stay behind to help defend the school wasn't a bad idea.

Snape had kept up with providing information from behind enemy lines at least once a week, including names of those who had joined Voldemort. It had been extremely disconcerting to learn just how many people in the Ministry had given up on the fight already but with the way the Ministry was losing ground on the war, it was understandable. Snape had also passed along that Voldemort's next target was the Ministry as soon as enough people in enough divisions joined 'the winning side'.

This revelation forced the entire 'resistance' into a corner. If the Ministry fell to the hands of Voldemort, there would be little hope for the British wizarding community. Chaos would ensue and Voldemort would win. Harry knew they would have to attack before Voldemort finalized his plans which could be as soon as a few weeks. Deep down, Harry knew that if they had to attack tomorrow they probably could but wanted his classmates to have as much training as possible.

Surprisingly, most of the training relied on the D.A. honing and trusting their instincts. Even though many of them had fought at the Hogsmeade battle, many of them still put too much faith in dueling protocol, something that made no difference to Death Eaters. The D.A. needed to be prepared to fight fire with fire. It was the only way they were going to survive.

"Harry?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Harry looked across the table in the Marauder Quarters to see Hermione staring curiously at him. This was supposed to be one of the rare hours they worked on their schoolwork only he had quickly drifted off, thinking about anything but. "Sorry," he said and returned his attention to his Transfiguration essay.

Hermione let out a sigh as she put her quill down, making Harry feel even more uncomfortable. Ron had finished his essay the day before while Harry had been in the hospital wing helping with Tonks' weekly checkup. She was still comatose but there were signs mental activity making everyone hopeful that she would wake soon.

"I talked to Ginny this morning," Hermione said nonchalantly. "She does make a good case, Harry. She's a member of the Council and has more experience—"

"—I don't doubt her experience, Hermione," Harry interrupted evenly. He was really getting tired of this argument. Ginny had approached everyone she could to get Harry to change his mind. "She is underage. If she can't accept my decision then she's certainly not ready to go into battle. She would need to follow orders without hesitation and without questioning every little thing."

Hermione's lip quirked slightly. "That's what I told her," she said. "Let me tell you, she wasn't happy. She started ranting about not being there for you in your time of need—"

"—oh, bloody hell!" Harry exclaimed as he buried his face in his hands. "Doesn't she ever give up?!?"

Hermione laughed. "I don't think Ginny will ever give up, Harry," she said bluntly. "She's really smitten with you, you know. I think she's always been." Hermione inhaled deeply as she sat back in her chair, causing Harry to look up. "You're making this more difficult than it needs to be. If you wear the ring Sirius and Remus made for you—"

"—no," Harry interrupted firmly. "You don't know what you're asking. Yes, the ring blocked foreign waves but it made me feel like there was a part of me missing. I refuse to go back to that." He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He really didn't need this now. "Hermione, I know you're put in a tough spot between friends but Ginny needs to get it through her head that I don't think of her that way. I don't know if I ever will. The Weasleys are like family to me which means that Ginny is like family."

Hermione smiled compassionately. "I understand that, Harry," she said seriously. "I just want to make sure you're making your decision for the right reasons. I'll admit that my knowledge of your abilities is limited simply because there isn't much information about it. There are some natural healers throughout the world—I think the closest works at a hospital in the States—however, none of them have ever disclosed that they are also empathic."

Harry let out a sigh as he ran a hand over his face. "I doubt that they would," he said tiredly. "How many people would openly admit that they could read the feelings of those around them?"

Hermione's face grew pensive. "I suppose," she said quietly. "I just wish that people didn't have to hide in fear. Can you imagine the information that's out there waiting to be discovered but never will be because of prejudice?"

Harry stared at Hermione for a long moment before sitting back in his chair. He couldn't believe it! The answer had been right in front of him the entire time. He had just been too narrow-minded to realize it. Slowly, Harry rose to his feet and moved over to the fireplace. It was such a radical thought that could either guide them to victory or blow up in their faces. The question was did they have the time to create a completely different strategy now?

"Harry?" Hermione asked tentatively. "What did I say?"

Harry stared into the reddish-orange flames for a minute before answering. "Hermione, what group of people does the majority of the wizarding world overlook?" he asked.

Hermione stared at Harry in confusion for a moment. "Well, muggles, of course," she said uncomfortable. "Why?"

Harry finally met Hermione's gaze and smiled. "I think I know how to infiltrate Voldemort's base of operations without it being a suicide mission," he said. Hermione leaned forward eagerly. "We create a monitoring system that will mimic muggle surveillance. Think about it! We could have someone actually warning people of danger, giving us the advantage."

Hermione stared off thoughtfully as she tapped the tip of her quill against her parchment. "I don't know, Harry," she said softly. "That sort of spell work certainly would be more complicated than the earpieces Fred and George are duplicating for everyone. You'll need a powerful and complex monitoring spell that won't interfere with the earpieces or any spells we may cast. I would have to research the options and maybe recruit some people—"

"—Hermione, hypothetically, how much work are we talking about?" Harry asked cautiously. "No offense, but you are barely getting enough sleep as it is."

Hermione let out a huff. "I can handle it," she insisted.

Harry gave her a reassuring smile. "I know you can but you're already being pulled into so many directions," he said. "Let me talk to Fred and George first. They may already have something similar, even if it is only in development."

From the look on Hermione's face, Harry knew he had said the wrong thing. Research and muggle items were Hermione's area of expertise. Fred and George had some basic knowledge of muggle items but not enough to know what Harry was thinking without a lengthy discussion. "Okay, we'll talk about it to Fred and George, all right?" he asked hopefully.

Hermione hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement, allowing Harry to let out a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed at the moment was tension with his friends or anyone else associated with the attack on Voldemort. Hermione would just have to learn the hard way that she was taking on too much.

As it turned out, including Hermione wasn't such a bad thing after all. She had clearly known more about the details of muggle surveillance than Harry, managing to even confuse Fred and George with the spell list she had already thought up. Fred and George agreed that having some sort of 'look-out' was essential for success. They took all of the information and locked themselves in their office at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes for the next four days, forcing their friend, Lee Jordan, to mind the entire store.

When dawn arrived on the fifth day, Harry found himself being pulled out of bed for an urgent meeting in Professor McGonagall's office. Countless scenarios ran though Harry's head as he quickly changed clothes, grabbed his glasses and slid into the nearest pair of shoes. Had Voldemort attacked the Ministry? Had something happened to someone in the Order? Had some other group joined Voldemort? Was Hogwarts closing?

Harry's panic dissipated the moment he stepped into Professor McGonagall's office and saw the Weasley twins standing in front of a long table, waves of excitement and exhaustion surrounding them. Sirius, Remus, Ron, Hermione, Professor McGonagall, Moody, and Malfoy were already

seated at the long table leaving two open chairs. Harry took the open chair beside Sirius, leaving Kingsley to take the open chair beside Moody when he arrived a few moments later.

Everyone looked exhausted except for Hermione who already had a quill, ink and parchment ready to take notes. Harry bit back the grin that threatened to escape. Some things would never change.

"Welcome, most trusted members of the Potter Assault Team," Fred began as he raised his wand and conjured a semi-transparent screen, floating behind him and George in the air. "We are here today—"

"—to inform all of you of our progress on a little task our master planner gave us," George continued, shooting Harry a wink. "With the help of the master thinker of the group, of course—" he gave a grateful bow to Hermione—"For it is because of her preliminary work that we are here today."

"What are they talking about?" Ron hissed to Hermione.

"Shhh!" Hermione shot back.

Harry could tell that Fred and George certainly had everyone intrigued which was mostly because no one else in the room knew about the 'surveillance study'. Fred and George had insisted on a vow of silence in case the plan fell through. This would undoubtedly create a surge of hope for the entire team if it worked but could have sent everyone into despair if they had known what slipped through their fingers.

With a flick of George's wand, the screen came to life. An elaborate manor appeared, standing proudly against the rising sun. The building structure was similar to castles, practically screaming 'look at me, I'm the best'. There were two tall towers on each end of the exquisite stone structure that looked like it had taken years to build. The place almost looks as conceited as Malfoy is…er—used to be.

"Hey! That's my manor!" Malfoy said loudly.

"We know," Fred said proudly. "Malfoy Manor is one of the most magically warded properties in England. It was the perfect test subject, especially since it is currently abandoned." Malfoy let out an annoyed huff and angrily enfolded his arms across his chest. "Now, this screen is enchanted with three different 'modes'."

"First, there is the viewing mode," George said as he tapped the left side of the manor with his wand, causing the screen to zoom in on only that part. "This allows you to view the property as if you were standing there with an enhancement to lighten the property so you can see clearly, even in the middle of the night."

Fred tapped the screen twice, causing it to return to the original view of the entire manor. "The next mode allows us to see inside the manor," he said then moved his wand in a zig-zag motion. The screen immediately changed to replicate what resembled a muggle x-ray. Stone and brick faded to reveal thin lines that could only be the walls inside the manor.

"As you can see," George said tapping the screen with his wand, causing it to zoom in and reveal several white dots moving around in a room, "it can show the presence of any living being. What we're seeing here are the Malfoy family house elves meeting in the kitchen before they begin their daily tasks."

"We are still working on a how to separate the readings to make it easier to determine friend from foe," Fred added quickly.

"That is remarkable," Kingsley said as he rose to his feet and approached the screen. "Is there a way to tell whether the entity is human or not?"

Fred and George shared a look before nodding to each other. George tapped the screen twice, causing the screen to 'zoom out' before tapping on a small fixture at the upper left corner of the screen. The screen zoomed in on that fixture for them to see several large grey dots standing stationary between thin lines. "As you can see, these are different from those in the kitchen," George said. "What you're looking at is the Malfoy Stables that holds four horses. The dots are not nearly as bright because these creatures have no magical signature."

"So the size of the dot reflects the size of the entity and the color represents the presence of magical ability?" Hermione asked curiously. "What about the difference between a human and a dementor?"

"Dementors are nearly pure magic, Hermione," Remus interjected. "They would probably read higher on the screen than any witch or wizard."

Harry ran his fingers through his tousled hair nervously. This was certainly better than they had ever expected but he understood why Kingsley and Hermione questioned the readings. In addition to fighting Death Eaters, vampires and Voldemort, they needed to find Nagini—the final Horcrux. Being able to point her out would certainly make that task easier.

Fred cleared his throat and Kingsley retook his seat. "Now, the final screen," he said as George tapped the screen twice before waving his wand in a circular motion. The x-ray version of Malfoy Manor was replaced with a property map containing several different colored circles with the darkest surrounding the manor itself. "This screen allows us to view the wards of the property."

"As you can see, they become more intense the closer you get to the structure," George added as he pointed out several different colored circles. "We felt this screen was necessary to ensure that the security measures that had been discussed were put into place."

Harry leaned forward slightly in interest. "Is it possible to know what wards are already present on the property?" he asked curiously. Especially if any of the wards are offensive.

Fred and George nodded. "The red circles are dormant offensive wards," Fred answered pointing to several small circles around the manor.

"The blue circles are protective wards," George added as he pointed out the larger circles closer to the manor as well as the ones all around the property. "From what we can decipher, the majority of the pale circles are defensive wards except for green circles." He motioned to the small circles clustered near the main gates of the manor. "We believe those are the muggle repelling wards."

Harry glanced at Hermione and had to bit back a smile at the look of utter excitement on her face. Ron, on the other hand, made no point to hide his obvious confusion while Malfoy appeared to be trapped between amazement and nervousness. Harry turned his attention to the 'adults' and could only watch as they quietly talked to each other. Excitement sang through the air along with caution, nervousness and hope. All of them wanted this to work but feared to get their hopes up.

"How long will it take to have this ready once we have a location?" Kingsley asked at last.

Fred and George shared a look before nodding to each other. "Perhaps a few hours to locate it and run a few tests but no longer than that," Fred said confidently.

"Of course that's assuming it isn't hidden with the Fidelius Charm," added George.

"But if it's under the Fidelius Charm than our source won't be able to tell us where it is to begin with," Hermione said quickly.

"Unless he passes on the information before the Charm has been placed, Hermione," Remus countered patiently. "Until we know the actual location, I suggest that this resource be used to examine the residences of known Death Eaters. Who knows? We may get lucky."

Plans were made for Fred, George, Sirius, and Remus to begin the search with the new monitoring system while Harry, Ron and Hermione took up helping the D.A. train in their absence. Everyone had been shocked when Malfoy volunteered to be the 'lookout' when it was time to strike. It had been the first time Malfoy had ever spoken up about actually helping. It was enough to leave several wary until Moody announced that he would 'assist' Malfoy the entire time.

Suddenly, it seemed like everything was happening so fast. Training, preparing and planning overtook everything. Against Professor McGonagall's judgment, the entire D.A. along with Harry, Ron and Hermione were pulled out of classes to avoid any sort of distraction. The war had completely overtaken everything. Scrimgeour had sent word that he had grouped as many trustworthy Aurors as well as a number of well-trained Unspeakables as he could. Harry had even sent word to Snape to notify them of Voldemort's location. All they could do now was wait.

The time arrived as the sun set on the fifteenth of March. Snape's parchment came to life, detailing the exact location and what defenses were already in place. Voldemort's current residence was a warded abandoned building only minutes away from the Lestrange Estate but far enough away to avoid detection from any search. If Snape's intel was to be trusted, they only had a few hours until the wards were completed—including harsh offensive wards.

There was no time to waste. Scrimgeour was contacted, the Order was summoned and the D.A. was gathered while the 'leaders' made the final plans. Taking portkeys to the final destination was too risky and too easily detected. Their only option was to floo to the Ministry and then Apparate a safe distance away from the strike zone. Those who couldn't Apparate would need to be taken by those who could. To enforce Harry's importance, Harry would essentially be in charge of the mission, much to Harry's annoyance. He didn't think he could handle Sirius, Remus and Kingsley having to answer to him instead of the other way around.

As the meeting concluded, the Surveillance Screen was ready, allowing everyone to see what they were in store for. There were at least three levels with bright white dots present on the first two. A rough count put the ratio at nearly three Death Eaters against one resistance member. Harry knew they had their work cut out for them. Having so many together at one time could only mean one thing: Voldemort was up to something.

With everyone's ear pieces in place, Harry left Professor McGonagall's office where Malfoy and Moody were stationed to join everyone else in the Room of Requirement. Every step he took seemed to place another ounce of fear in his heart. All of the training and preparing seemed to vanish at the realization that this was really happening. It would all come down to tonight. Win or lose, the wizarding world would never be the same.

Harry let out a long breath as he stepped into the Room of Requirement and was nearly overwhelmed by the waves of nervousness and fear. As difficult as it was, he couldn't think about the ramifications of what the evening would bring. Dwelling on it would only make the situation seem bleaker. No. Harry was determined to do everything in his power to succeed and make everyone believe that success was possible. After all, that's what people expected leaders to do.

Silence filled the air the moment Harry's presence was noticed. Everyone was dressed in simple black robes that had various pockets sewn in to hide various items provided by Fred and George to either serve as a defense or distraction. Harry, on the other hand, wasn't wearing robes. His black, loose fitting trousers had pockets on the outside seam at thigh level for him to hide the small charmed balls that everyone else carried along with one of the poisoned daggers he had found in the Chamber of Secrets. He wore a black long-sleeved high neck shirt with a charmed black vest over it. Hidden in a pocket of his vest were the charmed sunglasses, just in case. His sai were at the ready on his charmed belt and his wand was hidden underneath his sleeve, held into place by his wand holster.

Harry didn't think he could be any more protected without being suffocated.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed as she hurried over. "Hurry, the portkeys are going to go off any minute."

Before Harry could say anything, he was pulled over to a group containing Sirius, Ron, Neville, Ernie MacMillian, Susan Bones, and Padma Patil. "Alright, everyone!" Sirius called out. "Fingers on your portkey." Everyone in the group reached out and touched the medallion in Sirius' hand. They only had to wait for a moment before they felt the familiar sensation of a hook tugging behind their navels, taking them away in a swirl of colors.

The moment Harry felt his feet slam into the floor, he quickly looked around and saw they were in a rather large, dimly lit chamber. With a flick of the wrist, Harry had his wand in hand with everyone else following his lead. Whispers broke out only to quickly die when two large doors off to their right opened, allowing light to pour in as witches and wizards wearing expensive looking black cloaks entered one by one, stepping aside to form two lines. Some had their hoods pulled up, obscuring their faces from sight, while the rest stood proud with their Auror badges resting over their heart.

The sound of the door opening from the opposite side caused everyone to jump and turn to see nearly a dozen witches and wizards enter, wearing black cloaks similar to their own. Harry immediately noticed Bill, Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, Hestia Jones, Elphias Doge, and Dedalus Diggle. The remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix had arrived. Turning back to the Aurors and Unspeakables, Harry noticed Rufus Scrimgeour entering the room, his limp more obvious than ever before. He still looked like an old lion with even more streaks of gray then the last time Harry saw him.

"Welcome, Defense Association and Order of the Phoenix," Scrimgeour announced as he straightened his wire-rimmed spectacles. "I will be brief since I know you are short on time. It is always difficult to make a stand, especially when the odds are stacked against you. Every one of you have proven tonight that you are stronger than anyone could give you credit for. I have the utmost faith in you individually and as a group." Scrimgeour pulled out his wand and raised it in the air. "To victory!"

Wands rose as pride and confidence filled the air. "TO VICTORY!" the crowd shouted.

Scrimgeour sought out Harry's gaze. For a moment, they did nothing but stare at each other until Scrimgeour bowed his head and rested his hand over his heart. Harry simply inclined his head in acceptance and watched as Scrimgeour left the room. Scrimgeour had had passed the torch, so to speak. Now it was up to Harry to run with it.

Harry glanced over at Sirius who nodded and sought out Remus and Kingsley. The four of them moved forward and turned to face the group as a whole. "D.A. and Order, earpieces in," Harry ordered and put his own earpiece in his ear. "Aurors and Unpeakables, I trust you have been debriefed and given your own earpieces. From now on, only communicate when necessary."

"Potter, can you hear me?" a familiar voice growled.

"I hear you, Moody," Harry answered causing a few of the Aurors to gasp in surprise.

"You better get moving. The wards are increasing. There are several targets all around the destination."

"We're on our way," Harry answered then returned his attention to the groups of people before resting his gaze on the D.A. "Take the Minister's words to heart. We are all here for the same reason: to rid the world of a tyrant that has tormented all of us for far too long. We are one group, one team with one goal. Experience and training doesn't matter. Age doesn't matter. We are witches and wizards fighting for our right to live in a world without fear and hate. For the future!"

"FOR THE FUTURE!"

Cheers rang out as everyone followed Harry, Sirius, Remus and Kingsley out of the chamber and into the Atrium. In small groups, they Apparated away to the Apparition point. Several members of the D.A. and Order gave Harry some sort of reassurance before vanishing whether it was a smile, a handshake or a 'thumbs up' gesture. Harry had a hard time keeping a straight face when the twins Apparated away as well as Ron and Hermione but for completely different reasons. Fred and George did everything in their power to make Harry laugh while Hermione was a bundle of nerves, something that worried Harry terribly. Out of everyone in the D.A., Hermione had the most knowledge and plenty of experience. If she was nervous…

Harry made a mental note to corner Hermione as soon as possible as he focused on his destination, turned on the spot and felt himself being squeezed through a thick rubber tube as he vanished from the Ministry only to reappear in a small wooded area that surrounded the old, three story villa that looked like it had seen better days. Windows were missing, shutters were loose and the few bricks that could be seen past the overabundance of plant life were crumbling.

No one would ever suspect the most dangerous wizard in England resided in such a place.

A tense silence filled the area as everyone spread out and waited for the signal to move. Harry immediately sought out Hermione and was relieved to see the determined look on her face that he was familiar with. There were still waves of nervousness surrounding her but no more than everyone else. Hermione met his gaze, reached out and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"This will work, Harry," Hermione said quietly. "I know it will. We really couldn't be any more prepared."

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Ron nod in agreement. Determination and protectiveness swirled around him, overpowering the hint of fear that fought to surface. Harry had to admit that Hermione was right. They had all trained long and hard for this. He could only hope that all of the precautions they had taken would pay off. "Bill?" Harry asked quietly. "Are you ready?"

"We're set, Harry," Bill Weasley answered over the ear piece.

Harry spotted Sirius standing nearby and waited for his nod before continuing. "All right. Lock it down, Bill."

"Anti-Apparition wards are going up," Bill confirmed.

Harry let out a nervous breath. There was no turning back now. "Moody?" he asked. "Do you see any activity outside the building?"

"Only the lot of you," Moody answered. "The targets are gathering in a large room on the main level leaving two guarding every entrance. You'll have to strike hard and fast."

"We intend to," Harry muttered. "Do you have a location on the main targets?"

There was a slight hesitation before Moody replied, "The pet's currently roaming on the main level, slowly approaching the gathering."

"Wards are in place, Harry," Bill announced. "Waiting for your signal."

Harry fought to ignore the churning in his stomach. This was it. This was why he had trained so hard. This was why he had turned his friends into an army to fight the fight that most pushed off onto others. Harry knew what he was in for. He knew that this battle would be the end for some and a new beginning for others. He could only hope that the new beginning would be in the right direction.

"Very well," Harry answered after a moment of silence. "Wave One, engage. Wave Two, stand by."

As a unit, half of the Aurors and Unspeakables emerged from the woods and cautiously approached the villa while everyone else had their wand at the ready. It was a plan that Sirius and Scrimgeour had devised in hope to decrease casualties on their side. The first wave consisted of the best the Ministry had to offer. The second wave consisted of half of the remaining Ministry members as well as the Order and half of the Defense Association. The third wave consisted of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus and Kingsley since their duty was to search out Voldemort and Nagini. The fourth and final wave would remain outside the building in case anyone tried to escape but could be called in if necessary.

All they could do now was hope for the best.

" Lawrence here, left entrance is breached. Awaiting orders to engage."

"Emerson here, front entrance is breached. Awaiting orders to engage."

"Dawlish here, right entrance is breached. Awaiting orders to engage."

"Andrews here, rear entrance is breached but one escaped. We are engaging. I repeat, we are engaging."

"Very well," Harry answered. "Engage, Wave One. Wave Two, engage. Remember, if you spot Voldemort or his snake, notify us immediately. Wave Four, take your positions. Wave three, we're on."

Inhaling deeply, Harry slid his charmed sunglasses on and cautiously but quickly approached the villa. All thought slid from his mind as he focused on doing what he did best: acting on instinct. It wouldn't be long before Voldemort realized what was happening. Harry tentatively reached out with his senses and searched for the familiar anger and hatred that could only come from one man. With so many present, it was difficult to sort through it all but Harry did find what he was searching for.

Now he just needed to track Voldemort down and not get killed on the way there.

A/N: So, the final battle's about to begin. Sorry if it seemed rushed.