HERMIONE'S REVELATION

"What do you mean your parents?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Before we left on the hunt for the . . . artifacts, I moved my parents to Australia, placed them under a Memory Charm, and put their home here in London under the Fidelius Ward as well as their new home in Brisbane," Hermione sniffed.

Both teachers' eyebrows shot up and Professor McGonagall asked, "To protect them?"

"Yes ma'am," Hermione replied. "I sat them down last year and spent eight hours explaining what was happening in our world and my part in it. It took another three days to convince them that they needed to leave the country. The worst argument was getting them to agree to the memory charm to protect them."

"I'm impressed Miss Granger," Professor Flitwick said. "Very few people know how to perform the Fidelius Charm. That's some impressive work!"

"Not to mention getting her parents to agree to that," Ron added.

"It was my Father that put up the worst fight. He may be a dentist now, but he also served in the Royal Marines. He wanted to help. It was only after I put him in a full body bind hex that he finally understood he wasn't equipped to fight this type of war," Hermione said tearfully. "It just about broke his heart to understand he couldn't protect me."

"Does Harry know where your parents are?" Professor Flitwick asked.

Hermione gave a small smile. "I gave him the address and then put the information under a memory charm that would automatically release itself when Voldemort was dead or if I was killed, but he's never been there. Who do you think provided me with the money to do all that?"

"Harry has a large heart," Professor McGonagall said quietly. "It's even more amazing when you consider the people who supposedly raised him."

Professor Flitwick smiled and then frowned. Hermione finally released Professor McGonagall and looked at him. "What's . . . ?"

Professor Flitwick interrupted, "We need to get to him now."

"Why, what's the problem?" Hermione asked.

"Harry may be the most powerful wizard in the world, but I guarantee you, that the only thing he did when he arrived in Australia was collapse immediately. We have to find him now."

Hermione summoned a quill and parchment and wrote down the address to her parent's home before handing it to Professor McGonagall. "I'm also the secret keeper," she said.

"We'll need an International Portkey then," Professor McGonagall stated and abruptly Apparated Out.

Hermione jumped, startled by the abrupt departure. Professor Flitwick steadied her with a hand to her shoulder.

"I'll get Madame Pomfrey," Professor Flitwick stated. "I want her to go with you."

"Ron, could you please stay put here and find out what's going on with your family?" Hermione asked.

"Not a problem, Hermione. Harry needs YOU right now. I don't think he wants to see anyone with red hair at this point," he said with a grimace.

Ron looked up and pinned Hermione with an intent stare. "You know what you need to do Hermione. Do it. You need to tell him."

Hermione looked at Ron, "Are you . . . "

Ron cut her off again, "Hermione, remember our conversation? You're the only person that Harry will trust now. Talk to him. I'm sure you'll be able to work it out. Now, I've got to go. Be careful and take care of my best mate," Ron said as he gave her a brief hug and then hurried off towards his family.

"I will Ron," Hermione whispered to Ron's back.

Hermione then had an idea. "WINKY!"

POP.

"Missy Grangy called Winky?" the small elf asked.

"Yes, Winky. How would you like to go on a long trip?"

"Anything for Master Potter's Missy Grangy," Winky answered.

Hermione's eyebrows rose as she dissected Winky's answer. Winky had been Dobby's life mate and Dobby had been bonded to the House of Potter and specifically to Harry after he had freed Dobby from the Malfoy's. For Winky to refer to her as 'Master Potter's Missy' meant the elf saw something more between her and Harry than friendship. Otherwise, she wouldn't have used the possessive form of address. Then shock hit her. Winky was bonded to the Potter family, not her, so why did Winky answer her call initially. Come to think of it, why had Dobby always come when Hermione called for him?

"Oh My God!" she sobbed. "How could I have been so blind?"

"What are you talking about Hermione?" Professor Flitwick asked as he walked up with Madame Pomfrey in tow.

"Harry loves me! That's the only reason Winky and Dobby would have come when I called for them. They believe I'm Harry's Life-Mate."

"Yes, that follows if Winky is bonded to the House of Potter," Madame Pomfrey replied.

Hermione whirled back around to Winky and asked the small elf, "How did you know?"

Winky stepped back fearfully and stuttered, "Your glows, Mistress Grangy."

"Hermione," Madame Pomfrey said, "House elves see a bit differently than we do. You know that our auras can be seen in times of extreme stress almost like a shield. House elves refer to our auras as 'glows'. They see our auras all the time."

Hermione thought about it for a second before turning back to Winky again and asked her, "Winky, what do you see in our 'glows' when Harry and I are together?"

"Well . . . your glows mingle and surround each other. Deys' also change color and soften when you and Master Harry sit together studying those dusty tomes.

It was at that moment that the light from the candles faded and everybody in the Great Hall looked up and abruptly started dodging candles as they fell. Professor McGonagall came running in holding a tea cup and stopped, then fell to her knees.

Hermione, Madame Pomfrey, and Professor Flitwick hurried over to her as she shakily stood back up.

"Professor, what's going on?" Hermione asked.

"Something has drained practically all of the magic from Hogwarts," she answered.

"I don't understand, you mean . . ." Hermione started when Professor Flitwick interrupted.

"Hogwarts is a magical dwelling and magic has been imbued into the castle itself by hundreds of people over the last thousand years. Most of that magical energy is held in the structure and foundation of the castle as a reservoir against times of need. It is used to power the wards surrounding the castle and for other such mundane things as the candles here in the Great Hall. The Portraits derive their energy from the same source and the Room of Requirement also draws on it to meet its needs. I can't begin to list everything that we take for granted that Hogwarts uses this energy for," Professor Flitwick stated.

"A lot of that energy was expended last night trying to maintain the wards when Voldemort attacked, but nowhere near all of it. There may have been only a minor fraction left, but that minor fraction was still more power than any fifty wizards could match. The question is, where did it all go?" Professor Flitwick finished up.

"I think Harry tapped into it to Apparate out of here," Hermione said stunned. "That's where the six rings came from and that's how he was able to bypass the wards. That's got to be it!"

"If that's true, Harry may have survived jump, but we need to leave now to find out. Filius, you're in charge here. Madame Pomfrey, myself, and Hermione will portkey to Brisbane immediately." Professor McGonagall said.

"Professor, we need to take Winky with us also," Hermione asked quickly.

"Is that okay, Winky?" Professor McGonagall asked her.

"Yes Ma'am, Winky needs to go to her Master Potter," she squeaked out.

"Very well then, does anybody need anything?"

"No, I've got my emergency bag," Madame Pomfrey said.

"I'm ready," Hermione replied.

Winky just reached up to touch the tea cup and waited for the rest of them to also grab it. Professor McGonagall pulled out her wand and touched the tea cup saying 'Portus.' Five seconds later Hermione felt the familiar hook of a Portkey grab her behind her navel and the world went black.

"MINISTER! MINISTER!" a voice shouted yanking Kingsley Shacklebolt out of a conversation with a Ministry bureaucrat.

"Yes?" Kingsley turned around toward the shouting man running towards him in the Great Hall. "What is it?"

"Sir, I'm Auror Stevens," the man said sliding to a halt in front of him. "We just lost the Malfoy's!"

"What! What happened?"

"They were being taken to the main gate for transport when the windows all blew out. Lucius Malfoy used the distraction and snatched someone's wand off of the ground. He then grabbed his wife and son and Apparated out with them. I'm sorry sir. He took us by surprise. We didn't think Apparition was possible while still inside the grounds of Hogwarts, so we didn't have enough people covering them and we didn't have them in anti-apparition manacles."

"Shit."

"All of the wards around Hogwarts must be down then," Professor Flitwick inserted calmly as he walked up. "We should have realized that when Mr. Potter left."

"Professor, can you please get with Minerva and verify the status of the wards? We'll also need to know what it will take to get them back up as soon as possible," Kingsley asked.

"Certainly, I can check them myself. Minerva will not be available for a while. I'm not certain if I can get them back up though. The Anti-Apparition wards were put in place over a thousand years ago by Godric Gryffindor himself. Those wards were then strengthened by each Headmaster or Mistress when they assumed the position. I may be able to get them back up, but they will NOT be as strong as they were. Also, of a little more concern is the Anti-Muggle wards. They were an integral part of the wards that He Who Must Not Be Named had to bring down to gain access to Hogwarts. I'm sure those are down as well and right now Hogwarts is in full view of any Muggle that happens to walk by."

"Professor, you're correct of course. Get those wards up first. I'm going to get some Aurors in here to establish some temporary Anti-Apparation Wards around each of the four houses. We've got a lot of people here that don't know they are wide open to a counter attack."

"Stevens, Get me 4 Aurors immediately and get those wards up NOW. When that's done, let me know," Kingsley said emphatically.

"Sir, I'll try, but you must know that the Auror Department is severely depleted. We can get the wards up, but I don't know how long we can maintain them before we run out of Aurors. That's not a simple ward and it takes a great deal of power."

"I'm aware of that, but we'll just have to maintain them long enough for the Headmistress to get the wards re-established. Now get moving and send Charlie Weasley over here on your way out," Kingsley said motioning with his head across the room where Charlie was standing near the doors talking with a group of witches.

"Yes Sir."

CRACK!

Draco stumbled and went to his knees as his Father released him and his Mother collapsed next to him.

"Get up," his Father snarled. "We've got less than ten minutes before we'll have Aurors pouring out of the woodwork."

Draco got to his knees and leaned over his Mother. Looking up at his Father he stuttered out, "Mum's out cold."

"Leave her here then. You've got five minutes to grab anything you think we'll need and then we're apparating out. Remember, five minutes! Meet me back here in the foyer when you're done."

"But Father, what are we going to do?"

"Finish what the Dark Lord started," Lucius Malfoy said coldly. "Malfoy Manor will start the job and I'll finish it."

"Father, what are you planning?"

"You're wasting time. You now have 4 minutes. In exactly nine minutes Malfoy Manor will cease to exist, so get moving!"

"Yes Sir," Charlie Weasley answered. "I'll Apparate directly to the Ministry and have two teams of Aurors at Malfoy Manor in ten minutes."

"Good man," Kingsley answered. "Get moving, and oh . . . You can Apparate directly from here. Hogwarts wards are still down."

CRACK

Kingsley turned to Bill Weasley and said quietly, "Lucius Malfoy is going to go after three things. First, he's going to want to recover anything from Malfoy Manor that he needs, and that could be anything from a family heirloom to Voldemort's personal diary. Second, he's going to go to Gringott's and empty his vault. Third and last, he's going to go to wherever the Dark Lord's retreat is. He's NOT going to give himself up and he will not just go into hiding."

"Shit," Bill Weasley paled. "That's only part of it. He was part of Voldemort's Inner Circle for a long time. I'm sure he knows a good bit of the rituals that the Dark Lord went through to increase his power and he now has access to anything he left behind."

"Right. Bill, you used to work for the Goblins. I want you to gather as many people from the Order of the Phoenix as you can find in the next ten minutes and then take them to Gringott's. Let the Goblins know what's going on and set up an ambush when, and if, he shows up. If we get lucky and apprehend him at Malfoy Manor, I'll send my Patronus to let you know to stand down."

"Yes Sir, I'll get my Father and we can both . . ."

"No," Kingsley cut him off. "Arthur needs to be with your Mother and the rest of your family. They need him worse than we do right now."

"You're right and . . . Thanks. Fred would have appreciated that," Bill replied softly. He then turned and raced out of the Great Hall waving at two Order of the Phoenix members to follow him.