Disclaimer: I don't own it.

WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH IN THIS CHAPTER

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Chapter Seven: Attack

Draco went downstairs a little later than usual and was surprised when nobody except Severus was awake. He sat down in a chair as the man looked up from his paper.

"Good morning, Draco," Severus said, reading his paper.

"Good morning, Dad. Where are Hope and Harry? They're usually the first ones up."

"Both are sleeping. What would you like for breakfast?"

Draco shrugged to show it didn't matter, so Severus went to inform the house elf to start cooking before going to wake up Hope and Harry. Draco followed him up the stairs, but stopped in front of Hope's door.

Sometime during the night, Hope had curled up against Harry and had her head lying on his chest. Harry had wrapped an arm around her. Both were sleeping peacefully.

Severus made a face and cleared his throat before shouting loudly to wake the teens up.

Hope groaned and rose up enough to see who was waking her up.

"Morning Sev'rus," Hope grumbled before laying her head back down.

"Kindly put some space between yours and Mr. Potter's body and get out of bed."

Hope mumbled incoherently, Draco laughed, and Severus glared.

"Both of you need to get out of bed. Breakfast will be ready at ten and we are expected at the Weasleys by eleven thirty."

Severus turned and left the room. Draco went to his room to shower before breakfast. He was on his way back downstairs when Severus reappeared.

"Where in Merlin's name is your sister?" Severus asked, agitated.

Draco looked up toward her room. "Still in bed, perhaps? She hasn't exactly had the best past couple of nights."

Severus' face softened a bit. "I guess she can grab something to eat at the Weasleys, as can Harry. We'll wake them after breakfast."

During breakfast, Draco and Severus discussed different potion. By the time they were finished, it was quarter till eleven. They made their way back upstairs – Draco to go finish getting ready, and Severus to wake up the other two teens.

As he entered Hope's room, he went around to the side of the bed that she was on and gently shook her.

"Go away," she muttered.

"I will, once you get up. We need to be ready to leave in about thirty minutes."

Hope jerked up, causing Harry to wake as well. "We need to be where in what!?"

"Hope, thirty minutes is plenty of time to get ready if you get moving now."

"GET OUT!" Hope screamed as she grabbed a hand of both Severus and Harry and dragged them into the hall. The door was slammed in their faces and a few minutes later they heard the shower kick on.

"What happened?" A confused Harry asked from his spot in the hallway.

"She's worried she won't have enough time to get ready before she has to be at the Weasley's house."

"It's only the Weasleys," Harry muttered.

"My thoughts exactly. Get ready and come downstairs," Severus said before walking away.

Harry shook his head and went to get a shower before throwing on jeans and a t-shirt. He went downstairs and started a game of chess with Draco while waiting for Hope.

Twenty minutes later, Hope rushed downstairs. Harry, Draco, and Severus raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hope, we're going to the Weasleys, not to see the minister," Draco said sarcastically.

Hope shrugged, looking down at her white pants and baby pink halter top. "As if I would dress up to see him. Besides, today is the first day that I've actually had sleep and don't have to practice fighting or blocking spells. I'm a girl, let me act like it."

Everyone shook their head. Severus walked over to the fireplace and got down the container with floo powder.

"Who's going first?" Severus asked the teens.

"I will," Draco replied.

"All right, make sure that you go wherever the headmaster asks you. I imagine all the children will be outside while we are working on the wards that Albus wishes to strengthen."

"All, including Ron?" Harry asked with a weird expression on his face.

Severus sighed impatiently. "Yes, including the youngest Mr. Weasley. You three had better be sure to behave yourself, because if any of you get into any trouble while we are there, then the rest of your summer, you will be wishing to be in Voldemort's hands. Now get moving!"

Everyone made a face as Draco grabbed a handful of floo powder hurriedly. Within a few minutes, all of them were standing in the Weasleys's living room.

"Hope! Harry! Draco!!" Hermione yelled as she rushed forward to hug her friends.

"How are you guys doing?" She asked, looking at Hope.

"We're all fine, Hermione. It's only been two days since you've seen us. How are the party plans going?"

Hermione sighed. "Ginny's been at a friends house all week, so I've not gotten very far. Do you think that we could work on them today while the adults are working?"

Hope smiled. "Sure, Hermione. We need to get a definite guest list done today so I can send out the invitations."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "When are we going shopping for the dresses?"

"The weekend before. You and Ginny are going to come over the night before the ball and decorate with me, right?"

Hermione nodded against as the adults walked into the room.

"I think it's time for you children to make your way outside. My sons are already out there on those broomsticks," Mrs. Weasley said.

Hope nodded, but Hermione's inquisitive nature got the better of her. "Surely you can't be ready to reconstruct the wards yet. The old ones are still up, and I read that you have to…"

"Ms. Granger, we are all aware of how wards are constructed," McGonagall snapped.

"Now, now, Minerva. Curiosity has not killed anyone yet," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "No, Hermione, we are not ready to replace the wards. It will be several hours before we reach that point. However, it will be easier to do the necessary tasks now without children in our way."

Hermione looked ready to ask more questions, but Hope smiled at everyone before clamping her hand over her best friend's mouth. "We'll be outside if anyone needs us," she said before dragging Hermione outside. She looked up and saw the majority of the boys flying and longed for an instant to be up there with them.

Instead, she took a seat on one of the chairs and pulled a piece of parchment toward her. She and Hermione discussed the guest list until an hour later when Draco and Harry flew down to the ground, along with all the Weasleys who were playing.

"Hey, Harry, Draco, come here!" Hope yelled.

Both jogged over to her and Hope handed them the list. "Can you think of anyone else?"

Both glanced at the list and shook their heads. Hermione rolled the list up and stuck it in her pocket before glancing at her watch.

"According to what I read, the adults should be getting ready to take a break. Once they introduce everyone to the existing wards, they must wait an hour to take them down, otherwise it won't work properly. We'll probably be eating lunch during that hour break."

Everyone shook their head at the girl before playing some more games. As if to prove Hermione correct, Dumbledore came out a half hour later to inform the group that lunch was ready.

All seven teens rushed inside. Hope was about to sit down when she felt someone behind her. She turned around and found herself standing in front of a very nervous Ron.

"Hello, Ronald," Hope said politely.

"Hey, Hope. I was wondering if I could talk to you and Harry for a couple minutes."

Hope glanced around until she saw Harry. He seemed to understand what she wanted because he nodded and went into the living room. Hope turned back to Ron.

"I guess so. Is the living room okay?"

Ron nodded, so she led the way. She waited for Ron to start talking as she leaned against the wall.

"Look, I owe both of you an apology. I was a complete and total git last year, and I've felt horrible since then."

Hope glanced at Harry and raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly are you sorry for, Ron?" Harry asked.

Ron looked at his shoes. "For accusing Hope of trying to poison herself. For telling you she was using you to get popular. For being so uncaring about everything that was happening, and even for being so rude to everyone, including Malf…I mean Draco."

Hope stared at the boy while Harry spoke. "That's quite a list."

"Yeah, I know. But will you accept my apology?" He asked, looking up.

"Ron, when have I ever turned down an apology?" Hope asked, pushing off from the wall. "All I ask is that you are nicer to everyone, and you understand that we won't be as close as we were."

Ron nodded, already expected that. He turned to Harry. "What about you?"

Harry took a step toward Ron. "Apologize to Draco, and then I will be more than happy to accept your apology."

Ron looked hesitant before nodding and turning to go into the kitchen. He walked up to where Draco was sitting and looked at Harry, who was standing in the doorway. Looking defeated, he said something to the blonde. Draco listened and gave a curt nod before Ron walked to his seat and sat down. Hope and Harry shared a surprised look before going to sit at the table themselves.

As soon as the two sat down, all of the adults abruptly rose and shared worried looks. Severus looked at the headmaster who began chanting an old spell before looking even more worried.

"How many?" Severus asked.

"Around fifty. I'm going to go alert the Order. We only have a few minutes before they arrive."

"What about the children?" Molly asked.

Dumbledore sighed. "Sending them through the floo would be more danger than they would be in here. Send them into the back yard if they do not wish to fight. Otherwise, they are all strong witches and wizards and we certainly could use the help."

Molly nodded, turning white. All the teens looked at each other, before standing and brandishing their wands. The odds were not good. Fifty trained death eaters against five fully trained wizards and seven teenagers.

Everyone knew when the wards broke because of the ringing that permeated the house. Severus turned to his children and Harry. "All of you need to be extremely careful. Try to avoid the fighting, especially once the Order shows up."

All three nodded and winced as the front door was blown down. With another spell, the house was in flames and everyone was forced into the backyard.

Hope looked around at all the fighting while dodging a brown curse thrown at her. She saw Hermione having problems fighting the two death eaters who had teamed up on her and shot a quick curse to help. Sometime later, both were bound and tied to a tree, and Hermione and Hope made their way back toward the main battle.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Dumbledore was fighting five death eaters, Harry and Draco were circled by another ten, and Ron was fighting two. Kingsley, who had shown up at some point with Tonks, Lupin and Moody, was working against four, while the other three and Minerva were trying to keep up with ten more. Severus was surrounded completely by seven, and Fred, George and their parents battled a group of ten.

Hope shook her head and looked at Hermione. "Go help Draco and Harry. I'll help the headmaster and then my father. Be careful!"

Hermione nodded and made her way toward the two boys while dodging curse. Once Hope saw her fighting alongside the two boys, she began to make her way to Dumbledore. Together they bound the five death eaters to the tree with only a couple cuts and bruises to themselves.

Hope looked around again and felt a little better. Everyone was evenly matched for the most part. Her father still had around five death eaters around him, but now Dumbledore was assisting him. Trusting that they could take care of themselves, Hope made her way over to Ron, Harry, Draco and Hermione. The boys all looked fine, but Hermione was hit with a nasty curse in the arm.

Hope went forward and grabbed Hermione's arm. Placing her hand directly over the wound, she allowed her magic to flow from her hand into Hermione's wound and watched as it healed.

"Thanks," Hermione said, circling her arm.

Hope nodded and looked around with a feeling in her stomach. She turned back to the group in front of her, feeling slightly weaker from the magic she had just exerted. "Ron, go help your family. Hermione, Draco, go help Severus and the headmaster." They nodded and took off in separate directions. Hope turned back to Harry, who looked grim.

"Harry?" She asked, putting her wand in its holster. "Are you okay, because I need to go heal people?"

Harry shook his head. "Stay with me."

Hope looked confused. "Why?"

"Because he's here, Hope."

"Who is?"

"Voldemort."

Just then the two heard an evil cackle from behind him. Turning around, they found themselves staring into a pair of blood red eyes.

"What do you want now?" Hope asked the evil creature. "You already said you weren't interested in killing me yet."

Voldemort laughed again. "I'm not, not yet anyway. But I thought it'd be interesting to see the look on your face when those you love die."

This time, Hope laughed. "Like who? Can you not tell that we are winning?"

"Oh true. My death eaters were only after two people tonight." He took the time to smirk at her. "Your brother and your father."

Hope's face drained of all color.

"Go ahead, Hope. Turn around and see what position your family is in."

Hope turned around and heard Harry gasp beside her. Draco, Hermione, and Ron were surrounded, but all the wands were pointed at Draco. Hope felt tears come to her eyes as she looked for Severus, who was lying in a pool of his own blood.

"NO!" Hope yelled. "Where's everyone else!?"

"Preoccupied with another attack. There were only a few death eaters left, and your father believed he could handle them. Unfortunately, those few unbound and revived those who were on the trees." Voldemort said with an evil grin. "Why don't we watch Lucius as he gets the honor of finishing of his traitorous son?"

Hope had tears falling down her face. Harry wrapped an arm around her and felt her tremble. Hope shrugged off his arm and turned to face Voldemort.

"You evil, sadistic bastard! Screw waiting until I'm trained, I'm going to kill you right now!" She yelled, pulling out her wand.

Voldemort waved his wand and hers flew into his hand. He smirked until his face contorted in pain, and he screamed throwing her wand on the ground by her feet. Holding up his hand, Hope saw that he had an angry red burn where her wand had previously been.

"What power is that?" Voldemort asked angrily, drawing the attention of death eaters. "Even your mother could not do that. See the future, sure, talk to animals, easily. But she couldn't charm her wand to burn anyone who touched it."

Hope bent down and grabbed her wand. "It's not a charm. My wand has phoenix tears. Anyone except for me touches it, and they get a nice reminder never to do it again. That's going to scar by the way."

Voldemort's face contorted with rage. He lifted his wand and yelled "Crucio!" Hope fell to the ground in pain as Voldemort held the curse.

"Stop!" Harry yelled, his wand pointed at Voldemort.

"Young Harry, do you want to play also?" Voldemort asked, still holding the curse.

"I want you to remove the curse before I curse you!"

Hope whimpered under the continuous pain. Harry waved his wand, following the steps Severus showed them at the beginning of the summer. He watched the spell hit Voldemort and as the sick creature let out a scream of pain and fury as he broke the curse on Hope.

Harry went to Hope's side and raised her to her feet. Voldemort narrowed his eyes before turning toward the group of death eaters.

"Kill Him!" He ordered to one of them waiting.

"With pleasure, my Lord," the voice of Lucius Malfoy replied back, coldly.

"NO!" Hope and Harry yelled as a green light flew towards the blonde teen. Instead of hitting its target, however, it was intercepted by a red headed figure.

"RON!" Harry yelled as he and Hope ran over. Hope pushed Draco towards Hermione and leaned down next to the figure. She put her hands over him, even though she knew it was hopeless.

"Ron, please, wake up!" Hope screamed when no magic came out of her hands. "Please!!!"

"Hope, move!" Harry yelled as she pushed her. She felt a curse hit her leg and pain exploded. She looked down to see blood staining her white pants.

"So much for not having to fight today," Hope muttered.

"ENOUGH!" Voldemort yelled. "We got what we came for. Two of her loved ones are dead. Send up the mark and let's leave."

A murmured spell later, the death eaters were leaving and a Voldemort's mark was floating in the sky. Harry got up and helped Hope before walking looked at Ron.

"He's gone."

Hermione started screaming through her tears as Draco pulled her close.

"What…what about my dad?" Draco asked, crying for the first time any of them remembered.

"I don't know, let me check," Harry replied.

"I want to." Hope said, limping over to him. She knelt down to the ground in front of him, ignoring the blood that seeped through her pants. She checked for a pulse before sighing in relief.

"He's alive!" She yelled to Draco. "Just barely, but he's alive."

"Where's everyone else?" Draco yelled, frustrated as everyone came over to her. "He needs help."

"What do you think I am?" Hope asked scathingly.

"Hope, you can't!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Why not? What else am I supposed to do, let him die?"

"You could kill yourself if you do this," Harry responded worriedly. "You were under the Cruciatus for several minutes, and are losing a lot of blood. Plus you've already healed Hermione, and you've been fighting all day. You don't have the energy."

Hope was extremely angry and upset. "I have to heal him! If I don't, then he'll die. Nobody else is here."

Just then a series of pops surrounded them as everyone came back. Every single person had bloody robes and looked exhausted. Molly was cradling one of the twins, who appeared unconscious, while the other trailed behind them with a sad look. Dumbledore was sitting down, pain obvious in his features. McGonagall, Lupin, Tonks, and Kingsley were also all in obvious pain.

"Guys, I have to heal him or almost everyone here will die. This is my gift, let me use it."

Everyone hesitated but nodded. Hope positioned her hands over her father's chest. "Harry, I need you to get behind me. Hermione and Draco get on the other sides. I don't want the adults to see this. Most of them don't know I can heal."

Everyone positioned themselves as a bright blue light came out of Hope's hand. Slowly it turned a dark blue to match her eyes, and everyone gasped except Hope, whose eyes were closed. It took several minutes before she removed her hands, yet Severus still didn't wake.

"Hope, why isn't he waking up? He can't be dead!" Draco exclaimed frantically.

Hope leaned back against Harry who had kneeled down. "He's not completely healed yet Draco. I had to rest for a minute. I won't let him die. I need him too much, we all do."

Hope closed her eyes for a few seconds before leaning back over. Harry kept a supported hand on her shoulder but she brushed it off. "I'll accidentally pull some of your magic if you touch me," she said as a way of explanation. Repositioning her hands, she watched her father's face for any sign of awakening.

"Come on, wake up," she muttered, feeling extremely weak.

Severus eyes fluttered open. He looked confused and tried to sit up, but Hope's tired voice stopped him.

"Stay down, Dad. I'm not done."

He smiled at his daughter while everyone else looked at her with a surprised expression. Finally, Hope pulled back and sagged against Harry before noticing all the looks.

"What?" She asked, exhausted. "And hurry, because Fred, the headmaster, and McGonagall all need help as well."

Severus' pride showed clearly on his face while he stood. "You called me Dad. It was the first time it's happened."

Hope thought about it before smiling herself. "I guess that's because it's the first time you've almost died on me. Now get your potions and go help the headmaster and McGonagall. I'll go heal Fred." Hope looked sad. "She can't lose another son tonight."

Severus nodded and helped his daughter to her feet, giving her a worried expression when she almost fell.

"I'm fine. Just tired. Go."

Hope let Harry help her over to where Mrs. Weasley was sitting. She was lying next to Ron's body with Fred's body pulled close to her. She looked up at Hope and Harry.

"He won't stop bleeding. I can't lose him, too. Not so soon." Hope kneeled down next to her, wincing.

"I can help. Show me where he's bleeding."

Molly lifted Fred's shirt to show a huge gash in his stomach. Hope placed her hands once again and watched the wound close. Seconds later Fred opened his eyes.

Molly gathered her son close while thanking Hope profusely. Hope stood again with Harry's help and leaned against him heavily.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm so sorry about Ron. I never meant to put anyone in danger. I would have taken his place if I could," Hope said sadly, with tears coming to her eyes. "Please don't hate me. You're the only thing close to a mother that I have left."

"Oh, Hope darling. It's not your fault. Not at all. You saved Fred, how can I hate you?"

Hope went to respond but was interrupted as Draco came over and interrupted. "Hope, Dad needs you. Apparently, the headmaster is worse off than we thought."

Hope sighed and made her way slowly over to her father. He looked at her worriedly before rising to meet her.

"Hope, are you okay?" She nodded. "Do you have enough energy to heal the headmaster? He'll survive if not, but it'd be helpful to have him fully healed so he can help clean up the mess."

Hope nodded hesitantly. She went to the headmaster's side, and for one last time that day, she placed her hands over his chest and let her magic work. She closed her eyes pushing every last ounce of energy into healing him. She felt someone grab her hands. Opening her eyes, she stared into Dumbledore's sparkling blue ones. "I'm okay now, Hope," he whispered, gently.

Hope pulled away and fell backwards onto the ground. The world around her was spinning and her leg was on fire with pain.

"Hope!" Voiced all around her echoed. She tried to focus but it only made everything worse. She felt someone kneel in front of her, and managed to make out her father's worried expression.

"Hope, are you okay?"

Hope shook her head no, and then regretted it as the world spun even faster.

"Sir, she was held under the Cruciatus curse for several minutes, and hit in the leg with a curse. You can't see it now because she was kneeling in your blood, but she was bleeding heavily. Then she healed Hermione earlier, you, Fred, and now the headmaster," Harry spoke quietly.

"Lea, you foolish child," Severus admonished gently as he carefully picked up her. "When will you learn your limits? You'll be lucky if you don't end up having to relearn how to use your leg."

Hope winced. "Sorry, Dad."

"Shush, child. We'll get you healed and everything fixed up. I'm proud of you."

Hope smiled at those words before leaning her head back. "'m tired, Dad."

Severus jerked to a stop, causing Hope to moan. "Hope, you have to stay awake. At least until we get some potions in you. Can you do that for me?"

"Why?" Hope muttered.

Severus sighed. "You just do, child."

Hope nodded, but buried her face in her father's robes. She felt safe with him carrying her and came close to falling asleep. He entered what was remaining of the house and told Hermione something that Hope couldn't understand before gently lying Hope on a comfortable couch. Hope grabbed on to his robes.

"No," she muttered.

"Lea, I have to put you down to give you your potions."

"No, I almost lost a third parent. Please, just stay," Hope cried, letting tears leak out.

Severus locked eyes with her and saw the barely buried fear. "Okay, Lea. It's okay." He shifted her enough to take off his outer robes. "Draco, can you get into those and get out the potions. She needs the pink one and the purple one. Then the headmaster needs to look at the curse that hit her leg before we can give her anything else."

Draco nodded and got the vials out of the robes. He was also very upset by what had happened today, but he knew how much Hope needed their father right now. He would be able to talk with him later, after Hope was asleep.

Severus was murmuring things to the crying girl after administering the potions when the headmaster entered.

"Is she okay?" He asked worriedly.

Severus shook his head. "Can you check out her leg? I didn't want to risk using a potion that would react badly with whatever curse they used."

Albus nodded and went forward the lift the girl's pant leg up. The ugly gash was large and in the shape of a circle. It was clear that it had torn through muscle and ligaments by the bone that was exposed.

"I don't see how she walked on this, Severus."

Severus winced. "She's determined. She selfless, as we already know. She was more worried with saving everyone than she was herself."

Albus nodded and began to chant old magic. Everyone watched in amazement as the skin wound itself back together over Hope's leg as Hope whimpered from the pain.

"You can give her a pain potion now, Severus, and I would suggest a dreamless sleep as well. She needs a lot of rest in the next few days, but she'll be fine. I'll send Poppy over tomorrow to take a closer look at the leg."

"You mean, you didn't heal it?" Hermione asked, staring at the place where the skin had just grown.

"No, dear Hermione. I only replaced the skin. She will have to regrow all the muscle back herself. Her leg might as well be useless until she learns to use it again."

Everyone was crestfallen at that news. They nodded sadly as Severus gave the girl more potions. Soon, she was asleep.

"Take the children home, Severus."

"No, you need me here."

"All we are doing tonight is finding a place for the Weasleys to stay. The rest will wait until we are all well."

"They can stay at my manor. We have six rooms that are not in use."

Albus smiled at the man he considered a son. "Thank you Severus. I shall bring them there in a few. It should just be Molly, Arthur, and the twins. Ginny, Bill and Charlie should be showing up as soon as they hear the news of poor Ronald, and I imagine Ginny will stop by tonight. Do you mind if Hermione also stays, rather returning home and putting her parents in danger?"

"She's welcomed as well; we'll work on rooming once they get there."

"Very well. We'll be there shortly. Put Hope to bed, and make sure the other two are alright."

"I want to go with them, headmaster. Please?"

"Hermione, they need time to get everything settled."

"It's fine, headmaster. She may be of some help," Severus said.

Albus nodded before turning and walking back outside to join all the Weasleys. Severus stood with the now sleeping Hope in his arms and led the other three teens to a place where they could rest and recover from the long day.

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A/N: Hey Everyone. I'm so sorry about the long wait. It's been so chaotic lately. My boyfriend and I broke up, my best friend tried to kill herself, my other friend wrote me a good bye letter threatening to kill himself, I've been working twice as many hours as normal, schoolwork is increasing, and about a million other things. So I'm extremely sorry that I've not updated. I'm not sure how long it will be until I can update again. I promise it won't be like a month, but it will be more than a week. Maybe like two. Sorry!!! Let me know what you think, please???
Kayla