Regina had found herself marshalling terrified students into the Great Hall, reassuring them enough to get them seated at the long House tables and listen to Professor McGonagall explaining the situation in a blunt fashion. They needed to know the reality of what was facing them; what was at stake and what the potential outcomes were.

As her eye fell on Henry, sitting at the Ravenclaw table with his friends, his eyes trained on the witch standing beside her on the raised platform, she felt a tightening in her chest. Moving her gaze sideways to look at Minerva, her attention was pulled away as she spotted golden hair in the crowd of members of the Order of the Phoenix. She hadn't been able to speak to any of them; their arrival coinciding with her attempts to calm the students milling around the hall.

"… evacuation will be overseen by Mr. Filch and Madame Pomfrey. Prefects, when I give the word, you will organize your House and take your charges in orderly fashion to the evacuation point."

"And what if we want to stay and fight?" Ernie Macmillan shouted from the Hufflepuff table, receiving a brief round of applause.

"If you are of age, you may stay." Professor McGonagall informed them, her jaw tightening slightly.

"But only if you are of age. No exceptions." Regina added in a loud, clear voice. Henry scowled immediately; just as she had expected him to do.

"What about our things? Our trunks, our owls?" A Ravenclaw asked.

"We have no time to collect possessions. The important thing is to get you out of here safely."

"Where's Professor Snape?"

"He has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk." Regina clenched her fists at her sides, forcing her face to remain emotionless as Minerva answered the question coldly, trying to block out the cheering that had erupted from three of the four tables. "We have already placed protection around the castle, but it is unlikely to hold for very long unless we reinforce it. I must ask you, therefore, to move quickly and calmly, and do as your prefects–"

She stopped abruptly as a voice, which was sickeningly familiar to Regina, echoed through the Great Hall. It echoed around them, bouncing off the walls and making it impossible to place where it had originated. The brunette witch felt her muscles reacting instinctively, readying themselves for action as she listened intently to the cold, serpentine tones.

"I know that you are preparing to fight. Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts." Regina ignored the screams of terror that some of the students in front of her were unable to force down, listening intently to the voice. "I do not want to spill magical blood. Give me Harry Potter and they shall not be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded." There was a pause; a stomach-churning, deafening silence as every witch and wizard held his or her breath. "You have until midnight."

Before it was possible for any of the adults in the Great Hall to react, Pansy Parkinson stood from her seat at the Slytherin table and pointed her finger at Potter, who had apparently been attempting to enter the room unseen. "But he's there!" She screamed, almost hysterically. "Potter's there. Someone grab him!"

At once, moving as one the Gryffindors rose to their feet, blocking Potter from the Slytherins, a great number of whom were also on their feet. Seconds later, everyone at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables stood too, moving to join the wall of students protecting Potter. Every single student was staring defiantly at Pansy Parkinson, wands being pulled out from their hiding places and raised in defence of the teenage boy behind them.

"Enough!" Regina roared, taking a single step forward. She could see what was in danger of happening and the last thing they needed was to begin fighting amongst themselves. Her order was enough to stop the commotion and force every eye in the room in her direction.

Professor McGonagall moved to her side, laying a soothing hand on her arm but not looking at her. "Thank you, Miss Parkinson. You will leave the Hall first with Mr Filch. If the rest of your House could follow." Regina clenched her jaw as every single Slytherin traipsed out of the Great Hall, disappointed that none of them were remaining to join the fight. "Ravenclaws, follow on!"

While all of the Slytherins had left, a large number of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had stayed behind. By far the largest number of remaining students was seated at the Gryffindor table, many of whom were underage. Minerva and Regina, amongst others, descended from the raised platform and moved amongst the students, resolutely refusing to listen to arguments and allow the younger children to stay and join the fight.

"Henry!" Regina rushed towards her son, who was sitting resolutely at the Ravenclaw table, his arms folded and his face set determinedly. "You are not staying."

"I am."

"Sweetheart… you're fifteen. You're underage and I am not going to let you risk your life when–"

"Are you staying?" He asked bluntly, cutting across her.

"Of course I am."

"Then so am I."

"No, Henry." She shook her head, cupping his face gently. "You aren't. You're leaving and getting as far away from here as possible."

"Mom!" He scowled at her and Regina was reminded of the petulant toddler he had been not long ago.

"We've only got half an half an hour until midnight, so we need to act fast." Kingsley Shacklebolt's booming voice cut through the chatter and caused everyone to fall silent at once. Regina kept a tight hold of Henry, knowing him well enough to realise that he would slip away and hide from her if she gave him the opportunity. "A battle plan has been agreed between the teachers of Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix. Professors Trelawney, Sprout and McGonagall are going to take groups of fighters up to the three highest towers – Ravenclaw, Astronomy, and Gryffindor – where they'll have good overview, excellent positions from which to work spells. Meanwhile Remus, Arthur and I will take groups into the grounds. We'll need somebody to organise defence of the entrances or the passageways into the school."

"Sounds like a job for us." Fred Weasley offered, indicating towards his twin who nodded in agreement.

"All right, leaders up here and we'll divide up the troops!"

As everyone swarmed to prepare themselves for the fight, Regina turned back to her son. "I'm not messing around, Henry. This is far too dangerous for you. You have absolutely no experience of duelling or the type of magic that–"

"Do any of these kids?" He demanded furiously, motioning around him towards the students milling around. Beneath the determined expressions, most of them looked vaguely green and completely terrified. "What's the difference between them and me?"

"They're overage." Regina pointed out as calmly as she could. "I can't stop them."

"In less than two years I'll be overage." Henry reminded her. "I bet I've had way more experience of what's coming than any of them. I'm staying."

With a deep sigh, Regina pulled him into a close embrace. "I won't be able to concentrate, Henry. I'll be worrying about you and that will mean that I'll be useless. If you stay here… I'll be a liability."

"Mom… I want to help."

"I know, sweetheart, I know. The best way you can help is to go and help Aunt Dromeda. She'll need you. Please, Henry… you have to go."

Finally, bitterly disappointed at the outcome, Henry admitted defeat. He nodded slowly and allowed Regina to fold him into her arms once more, pressing kisses into his hair, before heading towards the Entrance Hall with the rest of the underage students.

"I love you!" He called, pausing as he reached the double doors, apparently not caring who heard him.

Regina smiled broadly. "I love you, too."

As soon as he turned and hurried away, the smile dropped from her face and she strode towards the assembled members of the Order of the Phoenix at the front of the room. Listening to the battle plan, she nodded as Kingsley requested she went with the party heading out to the front of the castle. They expected a large number of Death Eaters to attack from the Hogsmead entrance and so defending that point was a priority.

Closing her eyes, Regina took a moment to compose herself. She was relieved that Henry had seen sense and she hoped, beyond anything, that he hadn't been stupid enough to stay behind at the castle after all. Somewhere in her mind there was a nagging thought that she couldn't block out; that Henry was too stubborn to back down and that he would ignore her pleas for him to leave.

Opening her eyes and taking a couple of steps towards the Entrance Hall, Regina paused as her eyes fell on Emma. The blonde was talking seriously with Ruby Lucas and David Nolan, the three of them looking pale and drawn. As though she could sense Regina's eyes on her, Emma glanced over and met her gaze. Immediately she turned and crossed the flagstones, pulling the older witch into a tight hug. Regina melted into her arms, revelling in the closeness and security of her girlfriend.

"Be careful." Emma requested softly. "I need you to come back to me."

"As do I, you, dear." Regina replied. "I love you, Emma."

"I love you too."

Pressing her lips tenderly against the blonde's Regina extricated herself from her grasp and continued towards the doors that led out into the Entrance Hall. She crossed the floor and strode down the steps into the crisp night air. Everything was still; the calm before the storm. Watching the driveway that wound through the darkness and disappeared from sight, Regina raised her wand slowly.

Then, as if from nowhere, spells and curses reigned down on those defending the front of the castle. The calm broke in seconds and the air was filled with shouts and screams and Death Eaters bearing down on them from all sides. Holding her own, Regina fended off the attacks of two masked wizards at once, shooting stunning spells and curses in their directions quickly. She slashed her wand through the air, causing one of her attackers to crumble to the ground with a cry. No sooner than he was down, another stepped in to take his place.

The battle was raging on around her with no shortage of Death Eaters to step in where others failed. Regina was pushed back into the castle, taking up a defensive stance in the middle of the Entrance Hall, duelling back-to-back with David Nolan. They circled slowly, firing off spells at a rapid pace and taking down advancing wizard after advancing wizard. Their cloaked adversaries kept coming, surging forward and attempting to break through their defences but, Regina thought through gritted teeth as she aimed a bombarding curse at a group of Death Eaters who were heading straight for a cluster of sixth year girls at the foot of the staircase, they were managing to hold them off at the moment.

"Regina!"

The brunette turned and met the eyes of the woman who was approaching quickly. Cora was stalking across the flagstone floor of the Entrance Hall with narrowed eyes. The hood of her cloak was pulled up, casting most of her features into shadow, but her eyes were still clearly visible. They almost glowed with excitement as she surveyed the chaos around her.

"M-Mother…"

"Isn't this wonderful!" Cora breathed, stopping in front of her daughter and gripping her shoulders tightly. "You can feel the fear in the air."

"It's horrendous!" Regina retorted, not even bothering to pretend. "All these students… they're just children! Look at them!"

She motioned towards the battle raging around them. The air was filled with shouts and screams, dust and debris falling from above them, the shimmering of spells flying haphazardly in every direction. Death Eaters were duelling with students, teachers and members of the Order. The figures in the Entrance Hall and on the grand staircase were weaving and dodging about so much that being injured by someone on their own side was a very real possibility. Peeves was adding to the confusion, zipping about in the air about the duellers, attempting to aim Snargaluff pods onto the Death Eaters in order to distract them by overwhelming them with the writhing green tubers, like oversized worms.

"What are you saying, Regina?" Her mother asked, her voice low and threatening. "Are you not glad that we have the opportunity to wipe out the blood traitors and disappointments once and for all?"

"No, Mother, I'm not." Regina informed her bluntly. "I think you're wrong… about all of this. This is wrong. He is wrong."

Understanding flared behind Cora's eyes as she mentally digested the words and she fixed her daughter with an icy stare.