Upon entering the Great Hall, Bill couldn't remember it ever feeling darker. The candles and torches seemed dimmed; the enchanted sky above their heads was blacker and more empty. The mood was certainly bleaker than he'd ever experienced in the past—somber, scared, anxious. Some of the younger students were sitting at the four house tables in their night clothes, looking absolutely petrified with fear. The adults in the room were attempting to keep up a brave face, but worry lines were deeply etched into many of their expressions.

McGonagall had walked to the front of the room where the teachers' table was and began quickly addressing the room from a platform. She was giving evacuation orders for anyone underage; telling everyone to move as quickly as possible. She'd yet to say the actual words that Voldemort was coming, but the message was straight forward. A fight was coming. Danger was coming. Those too young to handle it, and those simply wishing to avoid it, needed to leave now.

Her message became even more urgent once she was abruptly cut off by a high, cold, terrifying voice that seemed to seep through the walls around them and bury itself inside their brains. It gave Bill the start of his life; all around the Hall people screamed and jumped. Everyone was looking around in a panic for the source.

Beside him, Fleur had instinctively reached up to cover her ears, though slowly lowered them once the disembodied voice properly got into its message.

Once they realized Voldemort was making presence known.

"I know that you are preparing to fight," said the voice, which Bill had never heard before. It was higher than he'd anticipated, though far more haunting.

"Your efforts are futile," the voice continued. "You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."

The Hall had gone deathly silent. Bill immediately got the sense that everyone in the room felt like mice trapped in a box, all anticipating the hungry snake that would soon appear to select its dinner. People were shaking and holding their breaths. Fleur had stepped as close as she could to him and clutched his arm with one hand, gripping her wand with the other. He too gripped his wand. He could hear his heart beat in his ears.

"Give me Harry Potter," Voldemort continued, "and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."

Like a call ending abruptly, he was gone. All they were left with was a very loaded silence.

Bill scanned the room for Harry, who he'd seen enter minutes earlier, but had since lost in the crowd. It seemed he wasn't the only one looking because all around, every eye in the room was seeking him out. It made it easier to find him. It was hard not to pick him out when everyone started looking and pointing in the same direction.

Harry was standing to the side of the room, frozen in place, as if waiting to see what the reaction would be from the masses. Bill felt Fleur move forward beside him; a part of him thought she might be trying to close the gap between her and Harry.

"But he's there!" called a girl at the Slytherin table, pointing at Harry. "Potter's there! Someone grab him!"

Fleur definitely took several distinct steps forward now, and Bill found he did as well. He saw his parents and his brothers at the Gryffindor table all begin to raise their wands toward the Slytherin table; Remus had started walking toward Harry.

But it didn't seem as though Harry was in any imminent danger of being handed over to Voldemort. Nearly the entirety of the room—the Gryffindor, the Hufflepuff, the Ravenclaw tables—had all stood and formed a human barrier between Harry and the Slytherins. Wands were being drawn every second; all being pointed in the direction of the girl who had spoken and her peers.

There would be loads of people to get through if anyone—any of these children of Death Eaters—wanted to get their hands on Harry.

"Thank you, Miss Parkinson," Professor McGonagall declared, sounding exasperated. "You will leave the Hall first with Mr. Filch. If the rest of your House could follow…"

The Slytherins were slowly standing from their seats and being led to the exits of the Great Hall, most of them willingly. Behind them, the underage children of the other houses were instructed to follow in rows.

What remained once the crowds cleared were older members of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor—with some underage stragglers attempting to remain behind, arguing to stay. They immediately reminded Bill of Ginny and her desperation to fight. They all had the same sort of fire in their eyes and desperation in their voices.

Speaking of his sister…

"Did Ginny go home?" he asked his father, having walked over to the Gryffindor table where his family sat, kneeling down beside him.

His father shook his head, while his mother chirped, "No, but she said she'd stay in the Room of Requirement and avoid the fighting."

Fleur, who had followed him over to the table, was shooting him a skeptical expression that said, "I'm sure that will happen…" which made Bill's stomach flip a bit. If his sister could just listen, for once, he really hoped it would be today.

Emerging from the crowd, Harry suddenly joined them where they were sitting. He looked anxious; his eyes scanning the room. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

No one had an answer for him. Bill looked around as well, not having realized Ron and Hermione weren't here. Where the hell were they? Not only was it unlike them to not be at Harry's side, but it seemed especially strange at a moment like this. All jokes aside, there was no way they'd have gone to have alone time in a toilet for this long.

Kingsley had now assumed McGonagall's position at the raised platform at the head of the Hall, immediately shouting out orders and plans; letting everyone know that time was of the essence. The various teachers and much of the Order had apparently worked something out with some fighters going to the highest towers to get a better vantage point. Lupin, Kingsley, and Arthur were taking groups onto the grounds.

Bill caught his parents exchanging looks—deep, worried emotions were silently transpiring between them. They were trying to keep up appearances while simultaneously being quite scared.

"We'll need somebody to organize defense of the entrances of the passageways into the school," Kingley continued.

"Sounds like a job for us," Fred said with a confident smirk, gesturing to George. Kingsley nodded as if he couldn't think of any better people for the job. Bill had to agree. He truly felt sorry for whomever attempted to get through one of the twins' traps.

"Leaders up here and we'll divide up the troops!" Kingsley then announced, and just like that the various members of the Order and the teachers approached the front. Kingsley and Remus went about asking students for their strengths—trying to work out who would work better defensively and with certain spells; who was more tactical—sending them to different groups based on their answers.

"Dad," Bill said, approaching his father and the group forming around him. "Do you want me on the ground?"

"I actually think Kingsley was saying he wanted you up above," his father said. "Felt your knowledge and strength with protective spells would be more useful from a higher vantage point."

"Oh…uh," Bill said, finding that surprising. He was being sent away from direct action?

He turned and found a passing Kingsley rushing by, but forced him to stop so he could ask, "You sure you don't want me on the ground?"

"Bill, I need you with Flitwick and the others because of your ability to perform complex spellwork. We need big and powerful right now. Something strong to hold You-Know-Who's forces back as long as possible."

"But, I—"

Someone called Kingsley's name, and Bill immediately knew he was going to be pulled away. Kingsley seemed to know this as well, stepping backwards and adding, "I need you up there setting up defenses, pulling out the big stops, and working to keep us all alive."

He then patted him on the shoulder, his demeanor very, "Those are the orders and I know you'll follow them," before he turned to go. However, he quickly doubled back to suddenly inspect Fleur.

"You," he said to her. "After what I saw of you at your wedding, I know you would do real damage on the ground. Your quickness, not only with your wand work but on your feet, rivals many of the Aurors I know."

Bill flinched, though did his best to hide it. Was Kingsley going to separate them? Because his gut reaction to that was no. Absolutely not. No. No.

No.

Fleur's eyes had widened, she too clearly not fond of the idea seeing as that meant he'd be going up and she'd be going down. She seemed to not know what to say or whether to challenge Kingsley, who'd very much taken the leadership role tonight.

"I'll happily take you on my team," Kingsley said to her, quickly glancing at Bill before looking back at her again. "But I'm also sure they could use the help in the towers as well, so it's your decision. Just make it quickly."

With that he turned and went back to helping Remus tell people where to go; instructing students to not be afraid to do their worst since the Death Eaters would not be holding back.

Fleur turned to Bill, looking as if she was considering what Kingsley had said. He didn't want to necessarily sway her decision—she was very quick and he'd seen her with Yaxley that night holding her own—but he also knew he'd never be able to concentrate properly if he had to think about whether she was alive or dead; whether some Death Eater had got the jump on her.

"What are you going to do?" he finally asked her.

Her face—her perfect, beautiful face—suddenly screwed itself into a rather obvious sort of expression, almost as if she thought the question was stupid. "I am going to go wiz you."

He stared at her, not speaking straight away. When he did, his voice was quiet. "You're sure?"

"I may 'ave started zis journey wizout you, but I will finish it wiz you on way or anozer. And I cannot do zat if we are an entire castle apart." She smiled a little. "I am sure zere was somezing in our vows about fighting to ze very end together."

He smiled. "I don't know if they meant it literally."

"Well, zat is 'ow I am choosing to take it."

He reached out and pulled her in to hug her, kissing the top of her head. "You probably would be terribly useful on the ground."

She was quiet for a long moment, until he finally heard her mumble—more to herself than him, "I 'ave a feeling we will all find ourselves in combat one way or anozer…"

"We must get a move on to the towers!" Flitwick shouted over toward a group, Professor McGonagall coming up alongside him to nod and commanding people to follow in a specific direction. A centaur also thundered by at full speed as if trying to get somewhere in a hurry.

Bill didn't immediately follow, instead turned to look at his parents. He knew his father was headed to the grounds, and it seemed his mother would follow him. Fred and George were headed to the various secret entrances; Percy looked to be going into the castle like Bill was.

Something really should be said before they all split up…

"Hey," he said, walking over to his father and patting him on the back. "Be safe."

His father pulled him into a crushing hug, repeating back to him, "You too, Billy. Take care of yourself."

He saw Fleur hugging his mother once he pulled away, and the pair switched then so that he could also be embraced into the tightest hug he'd ever received from his mother. He could hear the fear and worry in her voice as she begged him to be careful. To come back alive.

"If you don't…" she said, tears in her eyes, "so help me, Bill, I'll…"

"I love you, Mum," he said, squeezing her tight and kissing her head. "I'll see you soon."

Bill turned to his twin brothers, walking over to pull them both into a three way hug with a twin wrapped up in each arm.

"Don't be stupid," he said.

"You don't be stupid," Fred said back.

"It's not something I often known for being," Bill muttered, releasing them both and tousling their hair for good measure. "You two, however…some of your wilder ideas."

"It's the best kind of stupid," George said with a smile

"Just be safe, will you?" Bill said, far more serious this time as he looked from one to the other.

George nodded and Fred gave him a funny salute with a cheeky sort of smile. He didn't know it then, but he would never, for as long as he lived, ever forget the way Fred had smiled at him then.

"I only wish Charlie and Ginny could be here," Percy chimed in, standing to the side of the group.

"Well, I certainly do not," their mother said. "It's two less people I have to worry about!"

"I only mean," Percy muttered, "I can't remember the last time it was the whole group of us. I know that's my fault, but…" He trailed off, looking suddenly ashamed.

"I mean," Fred offered, "Charlie's often not around either. It's not… entirely you."

"Though, had you been at Bill's wedding…" George muttered.

"When was the last time…?" their father suddenly mused, as if he couldn't remember. Truthfully, it was hard to recall instantly since it really had been that long. Years, in fact.

"Just before the World Cup," Bill interjected, causing everyone to look at him. "The night before we left. That was the last time we were all together. When we had dinner."

Everyone seemed to think about that, though no one questioned it. Bill knew he was right—that the last time all nine of the Weasleys had been present in the same room. He and Charlie had come back home to attend the World Cup; all of his younger siblings were home from school. They'd had dinner that night—with Harry and Hermione also present—and it was the very last time all of them had been together. The following day, they would have gone to the campsite to enjoy the World Cup, but their mother hadn't come along.

"That was four years ago," Fred said in disbelief. "Has it seriously been four years?"

There were lazy nods of confirmation, just as George mumbled, "And the World Cup was when we had our first run in with Death Eaters."

"And here's hoping tonight will be our last," his father said, looking from one son to the next. "Here's also hoping we can get through tonight and fix the fact that we haven't all been together in years."

"Oh, I would love that," said their mother, just as Kingsley summoned everyone to get into their positions. As he spoke, Remus came rushing by, wand in hand, throwing all of them an encouraging smile.

"Tonight it ends!" he said, patting Bill and Fred on the back as he continued on his way, calling for others to follow him.

Tonight it ends, Bill thought. Here's hoping.

Things immediately became hurried after that. More quick hugs and 'I love yous'; more 'Be safes'. Bill tried to remain optimistic despite his fears as he, Fleur, and Percy headed one way while the rest of his family headed in other. directions He had to hope for the best; that they'd all be having dinner again soon.

As they ascended the stairs toward the castle's towers, Bill watched as enchanted suits of armor passed them on their way down, marching in straight rows and their steps in perfect unison. He'd never bothered to think about how many armored soldiers the castle walls held, but given the sheer amount he remembered stumbling upon during his time here, he was suddenly comforted by the barrier they would provide.

They were only halfway up the stairs, having barely made it past the fifth-floor, when a loud rumbling outside of the castle began shaking the walls and windows. The sounds of several shattering windows now echoed close by; a faraway explosion boomed somewhere in the distance.

It seems it had begun.

"I'll go to Ravenclaw Tower!" Flitwick shouted once they reached the landing where the stairs split separately to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Towers. "Minerva will do the same for Gryffindor. Bill, you take the Astronomy Tower!"

"Right," Bill said, looking to see Percy and Fleur standing there. "Coming with me?"

They nodded and Bill led the way up the remaining stairs to reach the Astronomy Tower. The second they emerged into the tower's rotund chamber, all three of them went immediately to the edge and the barrier wall to peer down and see what they could see on the grounds below.

It wasn't a comforting sight.

Voldemort's army of supporters had already advanced into the interior perimeter of the castle grounds, and they were numerous. Not that Hogwarts' didn't also have a fair amount of people, but Bill suddenly worried that they were outnumbered. The spells that were being fired were clearly visible from up here; they were impossible to count given the sheer number flying back and forth between both sides.

The amount of green that Bill saw made his chest feel tight. Green was never a good thing in a duel.

"Giants," Percy said, pointing in the distance, where sure enough, the massive forms of giants were growing more visible against the darkness of the horizon. They were lumbering their way toward the castle, one letting a deafening sounding roar rip through the air.

Holy fucking shit.

"Zere iz one close," Fleur said, pointing toward the Forbidden Forest, where a giant—albeit, a smaller one—was now emerging. It was taking large, quick steps toward the castle and, by the looks of things, was about to smash straight into it.

"Stun him!" Bill shouted, as all three of them pointed their wands at the huge, beastly form, firing repeated Stunning Spells in the hopes that their combined powers may actually slow the thing down. Bill could see that he'd made contact, but it didn't seem to matter. The giant bellowed loudly, though he sounded more irritated than affected. Their spells hadn't stopped it in the least—he'd knocked a hole straight into the side of the castle, causing the ground to tremble below their feet.

Bill suddenly did not feel particularly safe up in a tower with giants smashing at the exterior walls below them.

"Three people aren't going to stop a giant!" Percy called back over the noise, all of them still firing as quickly as they could. "It's a futile effort!"

"What do you suggest, then?!'

As they spoke, the giant in question had suddenly itself pulled back and was now retreating from the castle, hollering an awful sort of sound and charging—rather erratically—toward the direction of Voldemort's troops. Perhaps the Stunning Spells had worked? Or perhaps…

"He's running toward the Death Eaters!" Percy shouted.

It was almost as if…it was on their side? But how? Giants didn't care for anything more than harm and destruction. Who would have managed to convince a giant to be on their side?

"What is happening?" Bill said, seeing spells suddenly shooting past him way up here, both from above and below. The ones from above were likely that of the others in the adjacent towers, but the ones below meant that they had likely been spotted. People on the ground were firing up at them.

He started shooting back, though it was hard to tell whether or not he was even hitting anyone. And if he was, he couldn't be sure if he was hitting their side or Voldemort's.

"Acromantulas!" Percy shouted, directing his wand in the direction of the forest, where spiders the size of dogs and even larger were now emerging in one massive form.

"How the hell did he get Acromantulas on his side?" Bill shouted, following Percy's lead and shooting spells at the stream of spiders. "And why are there so many of them living in the bloody forest?"

"Ron and Harry told us that!" Percy shouted back. "It seems they weren't making that up!"

"Glad to see you're finally realizing they don't tend to make things up!"

Fleur was shooting spells off too—Bill swore he saw her get a larger one of the spiders—though it seemed they now had some assistance with the spiders once a single centaur went charging at the cluster with a bow and arrow raised. He was shouting at the top of his lungs, specifically looking as if he wanted to challenge the Acromantulas. The two moving objects, the centaur and the spider cluster, were now starting to converge onto each other. They seemed drawn toward each other like magnets.

Bill didn't feel entirely confident that one centaur would do much damage. If only he had the rest of his herd, but it was well known that centaurs cared not for wizard problems. That was likely why this centaur was alone in the first place. He'd broken away.

"Bill!" Fleur said, sliding down the length of the barrier wall and, for a brief moment, giving Bill the impression she'd been hit. However, it seemed she was merely taking momentary refuge to address him. "Kingsley wanted you up 'ere for a reason. A spell zat can protect more people—"

"Right," he said, realizing that was exactly why he was here. "Off the top of my head, all I can think of is Protego Maxima." He shoot a spell over the wall before ducking and covering to avoid getting hit. "Though, I don't see how that would hold long. Not against You-Know-Who. He'd figure out how to get around it."

"He could wear that down easily!" Percy shouted back.

"Yes, that's why I said just that," Bill muttered, agreeing that the spell was just a basic barrier protection that someone the likes of Voldemort would be able to crack in minutes. He was trying to think of something more specialized that he could do. Something more geared toward blocking dark magic that would buy them additional time…

"What about Protego Horribilis?" Fleur suggested, glancing at Bill. "Would zat not give us more time?"

Protego Horribilis. Yes. Bill almost wanted to smack himself for how obvious the answer was. It was, in fact, a very difficult spell to learn—even harder to perform. He'd struggled with it for years when he'd been right out of school and in the field while in Egypt.

But in the days since, it had become such a common spell in his life that he used it at the bank to protect it against Dark Magic infiltration. He considered it routine. It was as basic as Lumos in his life and he could do it in his sleep. Here he was racking his brain for something obscure and unknown; something he'd have to tap the recesses of his brain for, but it was actually just his typical day-at-work charm.

"It could certainly buy us more time," Percy shouted. "But it's incredibly advanced. Very difficult to perform! I've never even attempted—"

"I can handle it," Bill interrupted, inching himself back from the barrier wall and toward the center of the tower to avoid getting hit by a stray spell.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Percy said, turning to look at his brother. "It's very difficult—"

Bill threw him a look. "I know it's been a bit, Perce, but don't forget who you're talking to." He then took a step back and a deep breath, pointing his wand toward the sky.

At the same time as he heard Fleur say, "'E can do anyzing. 'E iz brilliant."

He cracked a smile, closed his eyes, and put his full concentration into now saying, "Protego Horribilis." Immediately, he envisioned securing bank vaults and not human lives. It was easier that way; took the pressure off a bit.

A great burst of energy was attempting to pull from him, as if the spell was sucking power from his body into the magic. He could remember the first time he'd tried to perform it, it had knocked him unconscious and, when he came to, left him with a headache that last for days. But he'd eventually got used to the feeling and now knew exactly what to expect.

When he opened his eyes, he could see his charm at work, almost like an invisible force pushing back against the fight below. With this in effect, dark magic spells wouldn't be effective. The Death Eaters would be forced to use typical, non lethal spells. It evened the playing field a bit. If Flitwick and McGonagall were casting the same charm, that would definitely buy them some time.

Maybe not all night, but it would keep some deaths at bay for a bit.

As he was finishing, his body struggling to hold onto the spell for much longer since it really did take its toll, the tower shook again; the ground moving beneath his feet and shaking enough that it caused him to stumble and catch himself on the wall. His connection to the spell had ceased, and he wasn't sure he'd entirely finished it. Another few seconds and he'd have been positive, but given how badly the tower continued to shake, he was going to have to trust that he did what he could. He didn't have the time or the strength to do it again.

"We need to get out of 'ere!" Fleur shouted. "It iz not safe!"

She was right. Bill rushed forward to pull her alongside him toward the door, with Percy right behind them. They made a mad dash toward the stairs that led back inside, and Bill made sure to check back behind him before they left. A spell had just hit the barrier wall Fleur and Percy had been standing beside, the stone shattering violently.

He slammed the door shut behind them, as if that somehow helped to protect them, and raced after the others back down the stairs and until he reached the first available landing. It was there they ran into Flitwick coming from the direction of Ravenclaw Tower.

"I've done all I could from up there," Flitwick announced, never stopping as he headed toward the main stairway. "We all have! It is time to rejoin the battle below!"

"Right behind you, sir," Percy said, Fleur going first and Percy on her tail as Bill pulled up the rear.

That is, until Bill felt himself get knocked off of his feet.

He heard Fleur scream his name, but at the same moment, Death Eaters in masks had appeared on a lower landing of the floor beneath them, five or six in total—all firing at the group as they ascended the stairs toward them. They had no choice but to go back up the stairs—Percy almost stepping on Bill while he lay there—as everyone's wands came out and Flitwick immediately began dueling two on one. Fleur and Percy were also shooting spells off at the masked assailants, all while Bill struggled to get back to his feet. He was still weak after casting such a powerful spell, but if he didn't move, he was afraid he'd get trampled in the chaos.

Flitwick attempted to push the Death Eaters back down the stairs, charging at the group with spells shooting out of his wand at dizzying speeds. His wand work was hypnotic—he'd taken out the first two he was fighting with ease—and he was already starting to run the others off with spell after spell shooting out of his wand. Bill had always heard rumors that Flitwick was a master dueler, but outside of a few dueling lessons he'd taught during his time at school, which were absolutely nothing like this, Flitwich had never shown anything close to this before. He was practically a blur when fighting—like a bumblebee striking again and again.

Fleur took out another Death Eater with a hex, and Percy had stopped to help pull Bill up. Though as he did the building shook again; this time the most violently yet. Nearly everyone on the stairs was knocked sideways or stumbled backwards—Percy actually fell onto Bill just as he'd got up, pushing the both of them to collapse onto the seventh-floor landing.

Flitwick however, managed to stay on his feet; he barely wobbled and was now stunning the remaining Death Eaters as they attempted to run away from him.

Bill and Percy attempted to scramble off of each other, to help, but just then the staircase Flitwick and Fleur were still standing on chose that very second to move itself into an entirely different direction. Just like that, they were being swept away to the opening of another corridor.

"Fleur!" Bill had shouted, and he caught her looking back at him as if lost as to what they could do. He and Percy were stuck on the landing; she was now being taken down to the sixth-floor on the opposite side. Even worse, he saw Death Eaters coming up the stairs and in the direction of where she and Flitwick were headed.

"I have to get to her," Bill said as he got to his feet, trying to remember the fastest way to get to the corridor from where they were standing; what shortcuts he could take. He'd been about to take off and cut left, remembering a tapestry that would lead him toward a shortcut, when a loud crash, a scream, and a cackle of a laugh came from just down the corridor nearest to them. He and Percy looked at each other, and while instinct said to go and investigate, Bill absolutely could not leave Fleur to fight a group of Death Eaters that he knew were headed her way.

"I'll go that way!" Percy said, pointing toward the noise. "You go help Fleur and Flitwick!"

And with that, they split up, heading in separate directions toward who knew what. Bill was running full speed toward the shortcut behind the tapestry, but it turned out to be for naught. The corridor was blocked in by, what looked like, a ceiling collapse. The shortcut was no longer very short.

He heard screaming again—female screaming—and he couldn't be sure if it was Fleur or someone else. The only choice he had, however, was to turn around and head back to the main stairs. He had to discover what was waiting there and fight his way out. He had to find Fleur.